Our Ingredient Philosophy

 

The base oil is the foundation of the soap bar and our soap bases incorporate many amazing ingredients with specific benefits. See below for details on some of the oils you may see in our soap bases.

Olive Oil is a traditional mild emollient used in soap that provides a rich moisturizing feel. Olive Oil is most commonly imported from Spain, Tunisia, and Greece.

Sunflower Oil is very similar to Olive Oil with the difference being that it has a lighter and cleaner feel to it. It can have a tendency to get slightly tackier than Olive Oil but the skin feels oh-so-nice when Sunflower Oil is used! We believe that we have found the perfect balance between luxurious and robust in our bar soap and the ratio of Sunflower Oil is a key factor to that.

Shea Butter adds another moisturizing element to the soap bar and creates a soft, creamy texture. We use only Fair Trade Organic Shea Butter that supports the environment and communities that cultivate the product.

Palm Oil is critical in balancing the softness that Sunflower Oil and Olive Oil provide. It is necessary to produce a stable and hard soap bar that lasts through repeated use without sacrificing overall quality, user experience, or incorporating undesirable ingredients into the soap bar. We are proud to share that we exclusively use Organic Palm Oil that is grown and harvested using only responsible and sustainable methods. Read more about the Palm Oil debate on the Palm Done Right website.

Note: when you sell our products, you can use the Palm Done Right logo to help the positive Palm Oil movement and draw attention to this important topic. Contact us, or Palm Done Right for more information. 

Coconut Oil creates a fantastic lather. It adds some additional hardness to the soap bar and supports a rich and luxurious lather.

Hemp Oil may be incorporated for a unique skin feel and additional moisturizing potential. We only use Unrefined Hemp Oil to eliminate the potential for contamination during the refining process.

An Essential Oil is a naturally derived plant fluid (usually by distillation of the plant) extracted from seeds, bark, leaf, or petals of the plant. Essential Oil is usually a pure, single-plant oil. The FDA has noted that blends of Essential Oils must clearly indicate each Essential Oil contained within or otherwise be listed as "Fragrance". Many of our suppliers utilize Essential Oils and other natural raw materials that we use to make our Natural Fragrance Oil Blends and they do not wish to disclose every ingredient. Therefore, our way of labeling them is to list them as a Natural Fragrance. This informs the consumer that it is indeed of natural origin while not requiring the manufacturer to list each individual Essential Oil contained within. If an individual does not care either way, we have many soaps that have lab-created aroma chemicals in them to "enhance" the aroma. These Fragrances will simply be called "Fragrance Oil" and the "Natural" will be dropped as a qualifier. In an effort to serve a wide range of customers and to offer a diverse product catalog, we feature soaps that incorporate Essential Oils, Natural Fragrance Oils, and Fragrance Oils.

This is an ambiguous title used to note any amount of aromatic chemicals used (natural and/or unnatural in origin) to create an aroma for a product. When a list of ingredients is not disclosed individually, a manufacturer must list it as "Fragrance" or "Fragrance Oil".  As noted above, when we use aromatic elements of natural origin, we note these on the ingredients in order to inform the consumer of the difference. If "Natural Fragrance" is not noted, the Fragrance may contain some synthetic chemicals. We use only cosmetic, skin-safe Fragrances in any case, though different skin types react differently. For example, some skin types will be OK with Cinnamon Essential Oil in soap while some will sense an irritation. It has been suggested by some that Synthetic Fragrances are to blame for skin irritation. This may or may not be true for the majority but each individual has to determine what works for them. In either case, Essential Oils and Fragrance Oils are all very strong components that should not be overused.

Several of our soap varieties feature Activated Charcoal. All of the Activated Charcoal that we use in our products is produced from sustainably grown hardwood trees which are one of the United States' most plentiful and sustainable resources. Unlike other charcoal sources, which can include recycled pallets and other unsustainable materials, all of our charcoal is made under the oversight of a reputable, nationwide forest preservation program. No old-growth trees are ever used to produce our charcoal.