About Our Handcrafted Natual Soaps, Lotions, & Creams
I started making handmade soap back in 1996. We had moved to the farm from Toronto and I had all this beef tallow on my hands. I was a visiting nurse in Toronto and I used to pick up handmade soap for my clients, most of them with skin conditions of one sort or other, ulcers that would not heal. We were running out of options of what to use on their skin. I discovered if I bathed the area with handmade soap before applying the lotions and creams prescribed the area seemed to heal faster.
I was hooked from then on.
I have come a long way since 1996. I have fine-tuned my recipes and am now down to approximately four base recipes. I no longer use beef tallow (even though it makes a superb soap) Almost all my soaps contain emu oil, a great majority contain both emu oil and goat milk. I also make soap for vegans.
I use all natural oils, butters, most are cosmetic grade from free trade countries, and a great many certified organic. My essential oils are all therapeutic grade, many certified organic. I also use fragrance oils, as some essential oils would put the price way too high.
Most commercial soap bars are actually synthetic detergents. Handmade Soap is produced by using either the Cold Process or the Hot Process methods. When properly made, these soaps contain both soap and moisture-rich Glycerin. I use the Cold Process method. Aside from the heat used to melt the solid fats to their liquid state, the heat produced by combining the precisely weighed oils or fats, alkali and water is sufficient to initiate the chemical reaction. Saponification is complete after the soap mixture has been poured into molds, cut into bars, and allowed to cure for several weeks.
I use olive, coconut, palm, emu and other assorted vegetable oils as my base. Essential and fragrance oils contribute scent; cosmetic-grade pigments impart color; and botanicals, spices and other natural ingredients add texture. I usually add Emu Oil and or goat milk at saponification to superfat my soaps.
Glycerin is a humectant. One molecule of glycerin is created for every three molecules of soap. Commercial soap makers remove the glycerin from their soap and then sell it to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. With Handmade Soap, however, all of the naturally occurring glycerin remains intact.
I make my soap in 5-pound batches. Each bar weighs approximately 4 ounces when cured. The bars are left a minimum of 3 weeks to cure after being cut and stamped. Once cured, no lye remains in the soap.
Holly is a member of the Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild. She is presently the chairperson for Good Manufacturing Policies. She is assisting the HSG to certify soapmakers internationally... Basic, Intermediate and Advanced or Master Soapmaker. It is very exciting. The tests should be available sometime early summer.
Feel free to browse my soap pages and visit my Online Store. I am sure you will find one to suit your needs.
