Commercial Soap | Soap Recipes

Handmade soap: Choose your skin’s nourishment

May 1, 2010 By nancy

photo by ghbrett

Are you drawn to commercial soap products for their persuasive claims and lovely models of the nourishing benefits to your skin, yet the opposite is happening? Do you feel desperate for not being able to find a soap that naturally cares for your skin rather than strip it of moisture causing dry spells? You’re not alone in this struggle.

Many individuals, groups, and organization today are in the craft of soap making after reports of the adverse effects of synthetic chemicals used in commercial soaps are reaching consumers. Besides that, many consumers are searching for all-natural pure soap that doesn’t leave any residue on the skin and doesn’t cause it to dry.

Natural handmade soap contains natural oils and herbs making it a great alternative to commercial soap products in the market. However, bear in mind that not because they’re handmade doesn’t mean they don’t contain some of the synthetic products you wanted to avoid in the first place. Thus, your scrutiny is also required when choosing a handmade soap especially that the US FDA does not strictly regulate herbal products.

Selecting a handmade soap

One thing is certain when it comes to handmade soap – there are hundreds of products to choose that can sometimes lead you into indecision. The handmade soap industry accounts this popularity to the growing number of evidence against commercial soaps. Thus, handmade soaps are no longer just available in specialty beauty shops but they are widely available on the Internet, by mail order, and in department stores.

Handmade soap formulations vary upon the manufacturer’s preference and concept of handmade soap. To guide you, here are a few things to consider when buying handmade soap:

1. Look for soap products made from a blend of vegetable oils like coconut, vegetable, peanut, sunflower, palm, and palm kernel. These are but a few of the popular vegetable oils used in the industry today. Olive oil contributes to the quality of a handmade soap. If you have oily skin, avoid a handmade soap that contains high amounts of coconut oil since it can leave it dry.

2. Handmade soap with no animal fats or tallow is most preferred. Tallow has comedogenic properties that tend to remain on the skin as if creating its own barrier. Animal fats include bees wax, tallow, lard, lanolin, honey, and milk.

3. Check for additional natural ingredients such as cocoa butter, shea butter, vitamin E, and Aloe Vera along with other organic herbs and spices. If you want a handmade soap with exfoliating abilities, select those that include oatmeal, ground almond, cinnamon, and corn meal.

Fortunately, the rising popularity of handmade soap has provided consumers with an excellent alternative indeed and healthier skin in the future.

Herbal soap: Nourishing skin the natural way

April 27, 2010 By nancy

photo by avern

Vegetable oils are, by far, more skin-friendly when used as soap base than animal fats or oils. This has been found to be true in several studies and, besides, vegetable oils contain vitamins and minerals not present in animal fats (such as goat’s milk, animal lard, etc). This is also what makes herbal soap a better choice over commercial soap.

The human skin

To understand the benefits of herbal soap, we need to understand our skin’s natural environment first. The skin acts as the body’s first line of defense against infection against many environmental hazards and is able to absorb and use nutrients that we apply topically.

The skin is also capable of detoxifying harmful substances with similar enzymatic processes the human liver does. Unfortunately, our skin is incapable of separating synthetic substances found in many of today’s commercial soaps, lotions, skin care, and cosmetics products that it practically has no use for and can be irritating to its natural state.

How herbal soap works

Animal fats and synthetic chemicals that make up almost all of today’s soap bars and skin care products are too drying for the skin. Many studies have found these chemicals to be potentially irritating and are listed among the carcinogens. Herbal soaps, on the other hand, contain many of the nutrients and essential oils the skin and body needs to nourish new skin cells and help strengthen the skin’s natural defenses.

The FD&A does not strictly regulate the herbal soap industry but released a guideline for consumers a few years ago. Manufacturers can label their herbal soap as “all-natural”, “natural”, and “made of natural ingredients”. The difference in this labelling is in the amount of natural ingredients used in the soap.

Just because they’re made of herbs doesn’t mean that herbal soaps are not formulated for various skin types. On the contrary, the benefits of an herbal soap on your skin depend largely on the type of herbs and vegetable oils it consists of. There are various types of natural ingredients used to make herbal soaps. For instance, coconut oil and olive oil are used as base and are excellent natural moisturizers to various skin types while lemon and mint may be included in the ingredient of an herbal soap for oily skin. Many of the herbal soaps also use natural fragrance derived from pure essential oils that adds aromatherapy benefits.

So give your skin a relief and let it heal itself naturally with natural ingredients found in herbal soap.