Organic extra virgin olive oil, organic palm oil, organic coconut oil. These three wonderful plant products form the base of our soaps. We never use any animal fats or synthetic fragrances, believing that if we don't want to put it on our skin you won't want to either. We use as many organic ingredients as possible (minimum 70%) while still delivering a bar that is highly price competitive and of excellent quality.

Steam-distilled essential oils, organic herbs and spices, and other botanical products such as flower petals and ground seeds are added in precise combinations to give the bars their complex scents and delicious colors. Because we use the cold-process method many of the beneficial properties of these delicate ingredients are held intact for the great benefit of the bather's skin.

Our color pallette, drawn exclusively from the plant world, contains a range of hues which are so delectable that many people have asked if the soap were edible. The bars create an eye-catching display in any retail setting or gift packaging, especially when different combinations are displayed side-by-side. 

To assist our customers in their purchase of a soap that matches their needs, our soapmaker has created a list of the major ingredients used with a brief description of their benefits and uses.

Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Separated from the freshly crushed pumace of olives by only centripetal force, never chemical solvents, extra virgin olive oil is the highest recognized grade, free from defects and unrefined. It creates a soap which cleans gently and provides a soft moisturizing finish.

 

Organic Palm Oil - Extracted from the kernel of the fruit of the oil palm, this highly saturated oil is a blessing to soapmakers everywhere. It makes a bar which is hard and long lasting, yet dissolves easily onto the hand when rubbed during washing, even in cold water. For those concerned about palm oil sourcing please see our green details page.

 

Organic Coconut Oil - Derived from the dried flesh of the coconut, or 'copra', this oil when saponified produces a rich lather which rises with little effort even in cold seawater, yet rinses away easily.

 

Essential Oils - The oils that we use are steam distilled, a process of forcing steam through a mass of the chosen plant material. The steam vaporizes certain volatile compounds from the plants and is then recondensed into liquid. This liquid is collected and allowed to naturally separate into its two phases, the oil phase, which is the essential oil, and the water phase, which is called hydrosol. This steam-distilled essential oil contains many of the most aromatic and active compounds created by the plant, and vaporizes slowly to produce lovely, complex aromas that often have immediate, and most often beneficial, effects on our mood and thoughts, memories and emotions.

 

Organic Herbs and Spices - We use various herbs and spices, as well as grains like oatmeal, and seeds like apricot kernel, to add colors and features to our bars. Please see our scents section for descriptions of some of these offerings.

 

Vitamin E - This antioxidant, derived from plant sources, is used as a natural preservative to prevent the rich natural oils we use from becoming oxidized.  It is also beneficial to the skin because antioxidants can neutralize the free radicals which can cause skin damage.

 

Sodium Hydroxide - A strong base, similar to very strong baking soda, sodium hydroxide is created when electricity is passed through highly salty water. This substance is critical to soapmakers everywhere because it is what turns the oils into soap (saponification).  When mixed with water it is known as lye.  When the lye is mixed with the vegetable oils each sodium hyrdoxide combines with an oil molecule to form a glycerin molecule and three soap molecules.  The sodium hydroxide is used up in the reaction and the water evaporates during the curing process. Often soap labels will say "saponified oils" which means vegetable oils have been mixed with sodium hydroxide.