Old fashioned handmade natural soaps

Feb 23, 2019 | Articles

I remembered I did not like much soaps in the past. I did not like the dry feeling on the skin after washing the soap from my body. I usually took it only for handwashing, but still stayed sceptical for my bodywashing. Since that time it has changed a lot in my mind. Good old fashioned soap has become my daily choice.

There are several benefits I’ve found out about soaps. O, yes, I’m talking only about handmade natural soaps. Because it’s a big difference between commercial and natural soaps.

Natural ingredients

Typically handmade soap (cold or hot processed) is made of vegetable oils and butters. These ingredients are rich in antioxidants, nutrients and vitamins. In other words, handmade soap preserves the natural oils. For example, the coconut oil, shea or cocoa butter, and other natural vegetable oils actually stay in handmade soap. That’s why they nourish and protect the skin naturally.

Glycerin

Glycerin is an emollient that softens and maintains water balance by attracting moisture to your skin. Glycerin is actually created during the soap making process. Handmade soaps retain all of its natural glycerin and make a rich lather.

During the soap making process, the fats (oils) and lye blend together to form soap while the natural glycerin maintains its integrity as glycerin and basically settles in between the soap molecules.

A natural scent and color

Natural soap can contain natural essential oils. No synthetic fragrance, only naturally citrus, floral or woody scent of essential oils. It’s no need to use any essential oils at all. It can be non frangrance soap, if you prefere it. In a case you like naturally scented handmade soap, you can choose bar soap scented with a huge range of natural essential oils.

It’s the same with colors. If you like to colour soaps, clays, herbs or vegetable powders are very useful for beautiful soap coloring. They have also a nourishing effect.

Old fashioned way

I like a lot old fashioned crafting! Even with soaps. Traditionally handmade soaps are made in hot process and cold process. A cold processed soaps is about mixing lye (sodium hydroxide) with water, then blending it with oils and melted butters and at the end adding essential oils and/or natural colorants. Finally we pour everything in the mold for 24 hours to saponify or become a soap. After that we cut soaps into bars and »cure« them for 4-6 weeks.

It’s quite a process which takes time and energy for one piece of soap bar. For that reason, the whole quality of ingrediences stays inside the soap bars. Alleluia 🙂

Related posts

Ignite a fire in us

Ignite a fire in us

I love the customs and rituals of our ancestors, which among other things show how closely they...

Lavender Queen

Lavender Queen

We meet lavender all summer, as it adorns many homesteads. She is a lover of sun and dry weather....