We've been making handmade soaps for more than 15 years now, and get a lot of curiosity questions about the differences between our soaps and other soaps.

Recently, I had a conversation with a new curious neighbor who heard that I make soap. This person asked, “Why do you care? There are a lot of soaps on the market, that clean and don’t cost a lot.” To which I replied, You can buy that, but I choose to put clean, high quality and less harsh on my skin. I’m not comfortable putting unpronounceable chemicals and detergents like SLS which is to wash cars and dishes not a human body specially on my skin.

Here is what the FDA has to say:

“Today there are very few true soaps on the market. Most body cleansers, both liquid and solid, are actually synthetic detergent products. Detergent cleansers are popular because they make suds easily in water and don't form gummy deposits. Some of these detergent products are actually marketed as "soap" but are not true soap according to the regulatory definition of the word.” Source

What’s special about artisan soaps?

A soap made by an artisan is actually soap

If commercial "soaps" add oils and butters to their bars, they are often ultra-refined. One ingredient is Unrefined Palm Oil

We do not use palm oil, since palm oil production is causing rainforest destruction and contributing to the extinction of Bengal tigers and orangutans. We have heard some artisans use "sustainable" palm oil - we disagree with the standards set by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and hold the view that "sustainable" palm oil is a label bought, not earned.

The result of our painstakingly, meticulous soap-making process is a mild, rich, moisturizing soap bar that feels creamy in your hands, offers a magnificent long-lasting creamy lather, and leaves your skin clean, soft, silky, and radiantly healthy.

Handmade By an artisan  is more SUSTAINABLE and GREENER.

NO ANIMAL TESTING 

No harm

You can be pretty certain that no humans were harmed, impoverished or subjected to sweat shop working conditions in the process. Not come from chemical factory and we artisans don’t use lab animals to test our products.

Artisans soap maker test their own soaps (and possibly some family members and friends when it’s deemed safe), and as a soap maker it is incredibly easy to tell whether or not a soap is safe to use.

How an Artisan Soap is Regulated?

A handmade soap does not need FDA approval. As long as the soap meets the definition of true soap, and is meant only for cleansing, If a soapmaker make claims that their soaps cure, treat, or prevent anything then these soaps are just soap and need to regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

“Soap products consisting primarily of an alkali salt of fatty acid and making no label claim other than cleansing of the human body are not considered cosmetics under the law.” Link

In summary:

We as artisan soap maker enough put the small-scale with 1-3 employers typically make soap in batches of 25-100 bars using food-grade ingredients that can be found in any grocery store. You could not ask for a safer soap! 

Artisan's skills which are not utilized in bars mass produced using continuous batches and machinery convenience, and most importantly, harsh detergents and dangerous chemicals.

Now, what exactly does this have to do with the comparison of artisan soap making versus mass-produced? Probably more than you’d think! Because soap making is a craft that has taken years to develop and perfect, certain skills associated with the creation of soap have been simultaneously developed as well. These skills require human hands, personal techniques and unique recipes developed over each soap maker's careers to translate into high-quality artisan soap, and they’re not quite replicable by the machines actually producing the bars you’ll find on your average store shelf.

Why Artisanal Soap Is So Expensive?

An artisan soap is going to cost slightly more than “regular” soap. But think about how long grocery store soap lasts for you—maybe three or four weeks, if you keep it dry? But generic store-branded soaps have few to none of the benefits of an artisan bar.

When comparing natural, handmade, and traditional artisan soaps with the mass-produced varieties so often lining store shelves, a simple and similar comparison to make would be that of a microwave dinner to a home cooked meal from scratch. While one may offer economic efficiency and convenience, the other provides you with a way to translate tradition, skill, and artistry into a form of body pampering and nourishment, which is precisely the artisan way!

Unique artisanal designs

When you purchase artisan products, you’re getting items that are truly one of a kind. “No bar turns out the same, because we make each individually with love.”  

You might opt to buy an artisan soap for the same reasons you’d go to a local family-run restaurant rather than a chain joint. The ingredients will be fresher, you’ll actually know who’s making your food (or soap), and the experience feels more authentic and unique.

Knowledge and Experience takes time!

The real test will be when you use a well made natural bar soap. Note I said well made, because not all soapmakers make soaps equal! If you get a soap from an artisan in the farmer market and it dries your skin out or makes it feel tight or itchy, it may not be real or it may not be properly made.

No one makes real soap “real quick” on a random day.

Buying Natural Soap is Supporting Small, Local Producers

Mass-produced consumerism means that your wealth is sent away, to wherever the owners of the big companies live. By supporting a smaller producer, you are allowing cottage-type industries to flourish and generate wealth for the local community.