Soap Talk - Ingredients
Last week I talked about cold processed soap here, which is the way I make our soap. This week I am sharing, with you, the ingredients I use in the soap I make. Recipes I put together have around 5-7 ingredients per batch. You can find the ingredients list of each soap in the product description.
Soap made with comfrey!
Oils and Butters
Let's start by talking about the oils and butters. I use different combinations of oils and butters in each of our recipes. My recipes are formulated to create a nourishing, rich lathering, a skin-loving bar of soap.
Coconut Oil - Coconut oil has cleansing properties that aid in removing dirt and oil from the skin. Coconut oil has moisturizing properties and may assist in slowing down the aging of the skin. Coconut oil creates nice bubbles and helps create a hard bar of soap, which will have a longer shelf life.
Olive Oil - Olive oil has antioxidants, Vitamin E, and assists in retaining moisture in the skin. It is another oil used to slow down the aging of the skin. Olive Oil is gentle and good for sensitive skin. It has anti-inflammatory properties and will assist in calming your skin. You will most likely find olive oil paired with coconut oil in our recipes. Coconut oil on its own can be drying, olive oil helps to balance out the coconut oil.
Sunflower Oil - This is a wonderful oil that easily absorbs into the skin and will not clog pores. It is also high in vitamin E, and great for nourishing the skin.
Shea Butter - The number one reason we include shea butter is it is a great moisturizer.
Castor Oil - Castor oil is a wonderful oil, full of fatty acids that are great for your skin. Castor oil has been used for years for many reasons. Castor oil is recommended to lessen the appearance of scars and stretch marks. It is also good to use on skin with acne.
Liquids
Now onto the liquids. There has to be a liquid in all of the recipes that we mix with the Sodium Hydroxide (lye), to create a lye solution.
Distilled Water - Water is the most common liquid to mix with Sodium Hydroxide (lye). It is used to dissolve the solid lye. We only use distilled water, because it is free of excess minerals, calcium, fluoride, and other impurities. Distilled water is pure and will not add extras we do not want in our soap.
Oat Milk - Oat milk is great for sensitive, eczema, and allergy-prone skin. It's gentle and moisturizing
Buttermilk - Buttermilk is rich in lactic acid and gentle on the skin. Because of the acidity, it can reduce the appearance of freckles & age spots. It is a natural astringent and will tighten the skin.
Coconut Milk - Coconut milk is great for the skin! It is high in fatty acids and like coconut oil will assist in removing dirt and oil from the skin.
Wine - We primarily use wine for the fun factor of it! It does contain antioxidants and assists in the lathering factor of the soap. We do simmer the wine to cook the alcohol off before mixing it with the lye. We do not want the alcohol in the soap to make it drying to the skin.
Beer - Again, we use beer for the fun of it. In addition to making a fun soap, hops can be calming to irritated skin. There are also amino acids in beer that make this soap skin softening. We also simmer and cook off the alcohol in the beer before we mix it with the lye.
Tea - In our soap we use it to add natural color and as an exfoliant.
Adding Essential Oils or Fragrance the Soap
It will say in the product description if the soap contains fragrance oil or essential oil.
Fragrance Oil - If truly natural is important to you, you need to know that fragrance oils are synthetic. There is no way to know and pass on to you exactly what ingredients are used in fragrance oils. I like to use them for fun and to create a specific scent, you may not be able to achieve naturally. All the fragrance oils I choose are PHTHALATE FREE
Essential Oil - Essential oils are natural and extracted directly from the plant source. It is important to know, even though essential oils are natural, you can still have an allergic reaction to them. It is also recommended that pregnant women refrain from using many different essential oils. Again, we list all essential oils we use in a soap under the product description.
Colors In the Soap
I use micas and natural colorants in the soap I make. Typically using natural colorants with essential oils or unscented recipes and micas with fragrance oil recipes.
Micas - Mica is a natural product mined from the earth. Micas get their color from FD&C colors (colors that are certified and allowed by the U.S. for food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetic & personal care industry). Micas are what you find in cosmetics, such as, eye shadow, blush, & lipstick.
Natural Colorants - You will find Activated Charcoal, Indigo, Rose Kaolin Clay, Paprika, Bentonite Clay, White, Kaolin Clay, Spirulina, Madder Root, Comfrey, and Alkanet Root in my soap
Additives
Loofah - a natural product used to exfoliant.
Himalayan Salt - Natural used as an exfoliant.
Sugar - Natural used as an exfoliant.
Oatmeal - Natural used as an exfoliant.
Honey - Humectant attracting moisture to the skin