I started making cold-processed soap several years ago when I was looking for a way to use up some of our extra goat milk. After watching several YouTube videos, I jumped right in and ordered all the supplies I would need and got to work making my first batch. As with anything new that you try, there are always learning curves. My first bars of soap were definitely not pretty! I continued on and tried many different recipes and used many different oils until I started perfecting my method and formulas.
Another thing that motivated me to learn the art of soap-making is my very sensitive skin. I found many commercial soaps and body washes to be full of chemicals and very harsh often causing eczema and skin reactions. While learning how to make soap I also learned the history of how soap came to be which I found very interesting.
There is evidence that soap-making was known as early as 2800 B.C. and up until World War I, when detergent soaps began mass production, soaps were always made with some type of fat or oil and wood ash, which contained lye. Soap was named after an ancient Roman legend of Mount Sapo. The story goes that water would run down the mountain and at the bottom, it would mix with animal fats and ash that was left from where they had harvested animals. The mixture created a clay-like substance they found to make cleaning easier. Handmade soap today is still made with fats and oils, but instead of wood ash lye, commercially made lye is a much better, and now widely used, option.
Many people think of lye as scary and harsh, and while you do have to take safety precautions while using it, it’s very easy to utilize, and when the oils and lye saponify there is NO lye left in the finished product and the end result is glycerol and soap. Gotta love chemistry!
Many people today use body washes in the shower, and those products cannot even legally be called ‘soap’ because they are actually detergents. During World War I, because there were so many injuries, there was an increased need for cleaning agents. The usual soap ingredients were in short supply, so scientists created the first detergent ‘soaps’. Most were made with petroleum by-products and still are today. If you see a ‘beauty bar’ in the store, it’s most likely not actually soap at all.
Commercial companies also tend to remove the glycerol, or glycerin, from the soap products, which is the part that moisturizes your skin. They then add it to more expensive items like lotions and creams so they can sell you a second product to use when the soap with the glycerin removed dries out your skin. Gotta love marketing!
Our hand-made cold-processed soap is made with a variety of liquids, fats, and lye and the finished product is a luxurious bar of soap. We do not use water as a base in any of our soaps. We use fresh goat milk from our farm, raw kombucha, craft beer, and even coffee concentrate for added benefits. We use high-quality, and often organic, fats and oils and all of our soaps are completely palm-free.
We’re confident you’ll love our artisan bars and hope you’ll give them a try. To order yours today, just click the link below.
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