Why I started making my handmade soap bars all started about a couple of years ago. I had made a new years resolution to try and not buy single use plastic, and was then thinking about what to do with the plastic liquid soap bottles and shower gel bottles. I started looking for refill soaps/shower gel to reuse the plastic bottles, but firstly its so hard to find soap refills available to buy in our local shops. Secondly, they all seem to come in plastic containers!!
So, I then considered soap bars. The one I started using made my hands so dry, and the thing about working with clay is that you end up with dry hands a lot of the time and so adding to that the horrible soap, it was a no-go. Plus, my husband has very sensitive skin and we were always buying the “Zero” or “Sensitive” options at the shops, so I needed to find something that worked for him too.
Someone mentioned at work whether I had considered making my own soap…. and that was it! I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I then did a workshop in Honley, West Yorkshire, which taught me the basics of making cold process soap. Following this, I did A LOT of research about what different ingredients did to the final soap bar and did some experimenting!
My family and friends all got different bars of handmade soap to try out. I also learnt that my mum isn’t a good tester because in her words the soaps were “too good to use” haha, and she still hasn’t used any!. But after this, I had perfected my recipe and was really happy with it. The best bit was that I had managed to replace soap and shower gel in our house with one product – something that worked well on face, body and hands, on sensitive skin, was moisturising and cleansing… AND smelt amazing!
I also love these handmade soaps because I know exactly what is in them – no nasty additives, no palm oil, no SLS… they are also vegan friendly and cruelty free! The ingredients I use are all top quality ingredients (you don’t find top quality ingredients in shop bought soap usually), and the essential oils not only give the soap its wonderful scent, but they also are extracted from the living plants and so have a range of properties. For example lavender essential oil promotes relaxtion and a good night’s sleep.
Here is one of the scents available to buy: Cinnamon & Mandarin. Warm, spicy cinnamon with the zesty, refreshing mandarin! Together, the perfect combination.
For more information on the other soaps I have available in my collection please click here !