What's the difference?

So, here’s a question I get all the time as a soap maker. People wonder why they should use homemade soap in the first place. We've already covered the “it’s too beautiful to use” problem, but why even buy it over commercial “soap” in the first place?

You’d think this question would infuriate a soap maker. However, once upon a time, many of us were in this same spot. We didn't know why we should buy, let alone make, soap. I know I personally grew up on liquid soaps that we made purely with artificial surfectants, and that was the only thing I knew.  When someone said “soap bar”, I thought of all those commercial soaps that exist on the market these days, and didn't know that they weren't actually soap. They looked pure to me. But what are we really using? When I found out, this is what drove me to buy REAL soap, and it was my crafty spirit that forced me to make it. Well, let me share some info with you.

Here’s the long and short of it. And for the sake of time, we’ll only talk about soap bars today, and save shower gels/liquid soaps and lotions/body creams for another post, okay? Okay. Well, here’s the skinny: Real soap is made with oils that are carefully chosen, not because they are cheap, but because of the different properties they have. Now, we can’t talk about healing skin issues, curing diseases, or treating specific afflictions because, well, the FDA doesn't like that. But what we can talk about is how nice these oils make your skin feel. When handmade soap is made, the most basic form is mixing water and oils with an alkali and it turns it into soap. However, if you only use enough alkali to turn 94% of the oils into soap, and leave 6% of the oils untouched, that left over oil is what prevents your skin from drying out. It doesn't leave your skin feeling oily, just soft and clean. And the glycerin, which is a natural byproduct of soap, stays in the soap and draws moisture to the skin.

No. I don't want you on me.

So what do commercial “soap” manufacturers do? Well typically if they are making an actual soap, they do not leave these excess oils in the soap because taking them out prolongs the shelf life. That means this soap can last for years and years sitting on the shelf in a warehouse somewhere. They also manufacture out the glycerin so that moisture is not drawn to it. Then, they add artificial surfectants as lather and foam boosters. These chemicals, most commonly sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLS, SLES) are the same chemicals we use in floor cleaners, dish washing powders, degreasers, and other powerful cleaners, and can be extremely irritating to the skin. It’s also commonly used in toothpaste, and if enough is ingested, it can cause some, well, unwanted digestive issues…Since the free oils and glycerin is taken out, and irritating chemicals are used, they tend to add cheap waxes to give you the illusion of being moisturized. But, who are they kidding? They aren't fooling anyone. Not anymore!

I mean, if Tyler Durden says it's ok...

So what sounds better to you: Handmade soap made with real ingredients, or a pressed bar of floor cleaner? Yep, that’s what we thought. And this is why we do what we do!

(please note, no organized fighting clubs take place in or around our soap making studio, unfortunately)