Here you will find the latest information about new soaps that are in the process of curing, facts about essential oils, the newest Causes and fabric collections we will be using for future soaps, benefits of handcrafted soap and more!
~ We sell our soap at the Honest Weight Food CO-OP in Albany and we are a vendor at the Schenectady Green Market every Sunday so we have been very busy making & selling soap...Thank You!
DID YOU KNOW that our Blue Moon Soap is made once a month only on a full moon and contains 13 Essential Oils?
~ Research has confirmed that lavender produces calming, soothing, and sedative effects.
(University of Maryland Medical Center)
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/lavender-000260.htm)
Nourishing Body Butters!
~ Tangerine Body Butter - Organic Unrefined Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Tangerine Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Pure Tangerine Essential Oil and Vitamin E
~ Almond Body Butter- Organic Unrefined Shea Butter,Cocoa Butter, Almond Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Essential Oil Blend of Bitter Almond & Sweet Almond Oil and Vitamin E
~ Lavender Body Butter - Organic Unrefined Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Lavender Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Pure Organic Lavender Essential Oil and Vitamin E
~ Rose Geranium Body Butter - Organic Unrefined Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Organic Aloe Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Pure Rose Geranium Essential Oil and Vitamin E
~ Vanilla Latte - Organic Unrefined Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Coffee Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, Pure Vanilla Essential Oil and Vitamin E
~ Unscented - Organic Unrefined Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Organic Aloe Butter, Sweet Almond Oil and Vitamin E
A delicious & nourishing treat for your skin. Our soothing, healing Lavender Body Butter is perfect for all skin types.
Our Popular Body Butters are made fresh with a special blend of both West African and East African Organic unrefined Shea Butter from the Suhuyini Women’s Co-operative. The Suhuyini Women’s Co-operative
is a fair trade co-operative with a total membership of about 350 individuals who produce unrefined virgin shea butter using traditional processing methods.
~CONVENTIONAL BAR SOAPS~
(published courtesy of the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild, Inc.)
Much of the soap available in the store today is not really soap at all, but a detergent. Detergents are a petroleum based product, like gasoline and kerosene. Have you ever noticed how regular soap leaves your skin feeling dry, itchy and tight? Alkali, the most common irritant in soap is often the culprit. Others ingredients in mass-marketed soap have been proven harmful to human health and can cause severe skin irritations in some people. These include ingredients such as DEA, Isopropyl Alcohol, BHT and Triclosan (commonly found in anti-bacterial soap). The most common ingredient in conventional bar soaps is sodium tallowate. It is the natural product of combining tallow, or beef fat, with lye. The attractiveness for tallow for mass producing soap is that it processes quickly, produces a hard bar of soap and is cheap and plentiful.
What is the difference between Handcrafted Soap and Commercial Soap?
Also known as handmade soap or homemade soap, handcrafted soap is a blend of both science and art. By combining the scientific knowledge of the last 150 years and the artistic creativity of the soapmaker, each bar is safe, luxurious and unique. Handcrafted soap is soap in its true and most pure form.
Handcrafted soap can be made from scratch by the cold or hot process methods or by utilizing a pre-made soap base. The Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild recognizes any soap made by these methods to be handcrafted so long as at least 50% of the process is done by hand.
True soaps are the result of a chemical reaction
between vegetable or animal fats, water and lye. When combined, they transform into soap and glycerin with no lye remaining in the soap. This reaction is called saponification, which literally means the making of soap. Handcrafted soapmakers generally pride themselves on the unique recipes that create their signature soaps.
What About Glycerin?
Glycerin is a humectant, which means that it attracts and retains moisture on your skin. It is like a natural skin lotion in the soap.
Glycerin is a natural by-product of the soapmaking process. Most commercial soap manufacturers remove the glycerin from the soap, process it and then sell it to other industries where it is used in foods, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other products.
With handcrafted soaps, glycerin remains intact in the soap. The end result is mild, pure soap that gently cleanses your skin without being harsh, irritating or drying.
THE TRUTH ABOUT HANDCRAFTED SOAP
Most handcrafted soapmakers use food-quality, natural ingredients, starting with a variety of vegetable oils such as olive, coconut, or palm, or they may use purified tallow or lard. To these might be added specialized oils, nut butters or seed extracts to bring the desired qualities to the finished bar.
Fragrance oils or plant-based essential oils are added for scent. For color or texture, soapmakers often use cosmetic-grade pigments or dyes, botanicals, herbs, spices or other natural ingredients. For those with sensitivities, many soapmakers also make simple soap with no additives or scent.
Besides all the wonderful ingredients that may be in handcrafted soap, perhaps the biggest advantage of handcrafted soap is in the soapmakers themselves, each of whom invests their care and attention to detail into every batch and bar.
When you use a bar of handcrafted soap, you know it was made with the personal touch of a local soapmaker.
The information above is used with permission *Copyright by HSMG