Bath & Body Q&A

We had our first festival of the year this past weekend and I was asked many great questions about soap. Yesterday I took a much needed day off to rest and enjoy the freedom that we have in this country because of so many brave men and women. While relaxing it occurred to me that sharing some of these common questions and answers might be beneficial to everyone.

Question #1
Is it safe to use your soaps on your body or are they best for hand washing only?
Answer: Yes, our soaps are great for all over use. They don't contain all of those nasty ingredients and fillers found in a lot of big name brand soaps and body washes. I design our products so they are not only fun (with names like Mermaid), but they are beneficial to the skin.

Question #2
Do handmade soaps actually lather and cleanse well?
Answer: Absolutely! When making soap, the lather that's achieved depends greatly on the oils that are used. For example: Coconut oil creates a really bubbly lather while Olive oil creates a very creamy lather. For this reason I formulate all of our soap recipes with coconut and olive oil, adding other oils to achieve different lathers, bar hardness and moisturizing, skin benefiting goodness.

Questions #3
Aren't handmade soaps really drying?
Answer: Not as long as they are formulated properly. Just as certain oils achieve different lather qualities they also effect the moisturizing properties of the soap. For Example: (again) Coconut oil can be drying in soap if used at a high percentage. That being said, it can be used at a high percentage when using a technique called superfatting. Superfatting is when a soap recipe contains more oil than will be saponified (turned into soap). This technique makes for a more nourishing bar of soap and counteracts the drying effect that some oils produce when saponified. All of our recipes are superfatted just enough to be cleansing, but non drying.

Question #4
I have really dry skin, wouldn't your Goat's Milk Soap be best?
Answer: (There's no yes or no for this one). Goat's Milk does produce a very nourishing bar of soap, but I formulate almost all of our soap recipes to be dry skin friendly. The one exception here would be our Charcoal Soap. This is because Activated Charcoal works to balance out sebum in the skin, in user friendly terms; it sucks up excess oils. For this reason I recommend Charcoal for those with oily skin types. Our current facial soap is geared towards those with oily skin (made with charcoal), but stay tuned because I'm currently working on a series of facial soaps geared towards each skin type. For the Goat's Milk Soap lovers, I am also converting some of our regular soaps over to Goat's Milk Soaps.

Question #5
Doesn't lye burn skin?
Answer: Yes, lye burns skin, but in soap making lye is processed out of the final product. When lye, water and oils come together they create soap. Saponfication is that fun chemical process that turns these ingredients into soap, creating a final product that cleanses and doesn't burn skin.

To wrap this up, if you have any questions I would be glad to answer them to the best of my ability, just ask! I would also like to take a moment to tell you all about the location of the festival this past weekend. Mohawk Falls is an absolutely gorgeous estate that books weddings and events. Their staff went above and beyond to make sure that the festival was a success. If you are in the market for a wedding venue be sure to check them out here.

As always, wishing you Blissful showers and baths. -Cassie