Facts and fallacies of handmade soaps

In this post, I am trying to clarify some doubts people asked me about handmade soaps. Other experienced soap makers may have discussed these before.These are my personal opinions. 

Fallacy 1: Handmade soaps are expensive

There are a few people who think that handmade soaps are too expensive.

They often compare handmade soaps with the bulk-made 3 or 4 pack soaps which are cheaply available in supermarkets. In my opinion handmade soaps are expensive, but affordable.

Lets do some calculation. 100g of handmade soap costs about 5-8 dollars. Taking the higher end:

Handmade Soaps	Supermarket soap bar	Supermarket beauty bar
Price: $8.00/100gm	Price: $3.25/100gm	Price:$1.8/100gm
$ 2.00 weekly	80 cents weekly	45 cents weekly
28 cents daily	11 cents daily	6 cents daily

*For simplicity I assume all soaps last for 4 weeks. Company soaps will last longer than handmade soaps due to the ingredients.

When using handmade soaps, you are spending 28 cents daily.This is the cost you are spending each day to clean your skin, which is the largest organ of your body. Do you still think that they are too expensive?

The cheapest soap available in supermarkets costs 6 cents daily. Based on the functionality, if you are getting something to clean your body for 6 cents or less, it is just that - cheap!

The most expensive bar of soap available in the supermarket costs about 3.25 for 100 gm. That costs you 11 cents daily. It is made of palm oil and its derivatives. I couldn’t find any other oil or butter in the ingredient list. 

We will compare the 11 cents and 28 cents. What makes them different is the ingredients and process of making. 

Artisan soap makers’ recipes differ from each other. Still they all have something in common:

1. They use multi oils in their recipes( of course single oil/ butter soaps are also there)
2. Many prefer to make  palm oil free or sustainably sourced palm oil soaps. 
3. They use at least one butter ( shea butter, cocoa butter, mango butter, kokum butter etc..) in their recipe, that too a minimum of  5%. 
4. They will never extract glycerin, the most valuable byproduct of the saponification process, from their handmade soaps. 
5. Artisan soaps are never bulk produced. It is made in small batches.
6. Above all you can understand the ingredients in their label. If you can read correctly and understand all the ingredients in a beauty bar label,  you are a genius!

Fallacy 2: Handmade soaps do not last long

In my opinion, the longevity of handmade soaps depends partly on the ingredients and partly on the consumer. Many people know how to care for handmade soaps. But still it is important to discuss.

1. Dry your soap bars between the showers. Make them stand on its smallest side as this will drain the water out. Handmade soaps contain lot of glycerine, which is a humectant. Keeping them outside the shower place when not using also helps it last longer.
2. Using a washcloth or pouf will help you use a small amount of soap and  will give you more bubbles.
3. Cut your soap in half and use.
4. If you have more than one handmade soap at a time, rotate using them.

 

Ingredients also matter. Even if you care the same way, coconut oil soap stays shorter than olive oil soap.

Fallacy 3: Handmade soaps make your skin dry

 

Each skin type is different. Handmade soaps can be crafted to suit every skin type. For this reason, I keep more than 10 recipes in my collection. Each one is moderately different in ingredients and composition and suits different skin types.

1. An experienced local soap maker can help you in finding the right soap. They can even make you a custom made soap with suitable ingredients. For example if you have eczema, coconut oil and neem oil can help you. If you have sensitive skin goat milk soap is a good choice.
2. Lather is the medium to get the benefits of handmade soaps. Lather your soap all over your body and rinse clean quickly. Do not spend too much time in water after soaping. That can wash out all the beautiful butters and oils.
   
3. Do not use very hot water for bathing, it can strip off  even the natural oils from your skin.

Fallacy 4: Will soaps burn my skin?

Many people fear that sodium/potassium hydroxide will remain in soap after  making it. In school we learnt that acid and alkali combines to form salt and water. That means fatty acids in oil neutralize the alkali ( sodium/potassium hydroxide) and make salt from that oil/butter (soap) and glycerine. It is an irreversible change. The saponification process will be  complete in 2 weeks. Depending on the recipe, all cold processed soaps are cured for 4-6 weeks before selling them. By that time all molecules of lye (sodium hydroxide) must be combined completely with fatty acids and the soaps must have dried well. So there is no need to worry about the presence of alkali in it.

Handmade soaps are alkaline in nature and  have pH value around 9-10, which is very safe to use. You might have heard that milk soap is mild. The reason is milk has lactic acid that will further bring down the alkaline nature of soap.

Fallacy 5: Bottled soaps are convenient

There are two parts to this.

First part is about soap. Cold processed soap bars are made by saponification of oils and butters with sodium hydroxide. When these oils are saponified with potassium hydroxide, the end product is liquid soap. They do have all the properties of soap and are so good for your skin.

But people often get confused with bottled body wash as liquid soaps. They are no way related to soap. Body washes are not made under the process of saponification. They are mainly packed with sulphates, detergents and other chemicals.They are cheap compared to liquid soaps. 

Second part is about bottles. Liquid soaps when purchased from artisan soap makers are sold in reusable glass/plastic bottles. As long as you are reusing them they do not pose any serious threat to our landfill. Body washes are often sold in plastic bottles and you cannot reuse them. Only temporary option left is to recycle them. 

If you are still interested in buying bottled soap, try to buy liquid soap from a soap maker and not a body/hand wash. Beware of the chemicals in the ingredient list of bulk made body washes, that can be harmful to you and our environment.

 Facts to wind up.

Soap making is an old profession, as old as wine brewing. People were using soaps for a much longer period than recent soap substitutes. You can trust it.

If you have tried once using handmade soap, the chance of going back to commercial soap is rare (unless you are allergic to glycerine). The change in the feel and look of your skin is truly fantastic. You know your ingredients. You will be proud of reducing your ecological footprints. You are supporting a product which is made locally thus reducing the carbon emission. Soaps are usually wrapped in biodegradable paper, so it is a zero waste product. Above all you are supporting an artisan who is the actual backbone of any country.

You may still have some doubts in your mind that need clarification. Feel free to contact me if you have any query. I highly appreciate your valuable feedback.