Keeping your skin healthy will help keep you healthier overall. The skin is our largest organ. Every day in my regular job as a healthcare provider I treat skin conditions. Most often these problems can be prevented if we could just give our skin the nutrients it needs.
The reason I began to make handcrafted soap was to help my dry skin and my son with his acne. I began with research into how to help him with his acne, then my dry skin. During my research I found that many of the soaps we use daily or multiple times per day are very harsh on our skin. Many of the soaps and cleansers at the local bog box store are made with chemicals. These chemicals strip the skin of its protective barrier. When our skin has lost that barrier we are vulnerable to bacteria and organisms getting in and causing illness or infection.
So how do natural handmade soaps differ?
Natural handmade soap uses natural ingredients to create soap. There are no harsh chemicals or detergents. Our soap is made with olive oil, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil, and palm oil. All of these oils are plant based oils. Each of these oils are organic and sustainably grown. What makes these oils into soap is adding lye to the oils. Lye is what has always been used to make soap. You may have heard a grandparent or great grandparent talk about lye soap. This is not that lye soap! Please do not panic. Science has given us the information we need to create a soft and gentle soap using lye. You cannot make soap without lye. Each of the oils used in our soap provide a benefit for your skin that is why I have chosen these oils. That is an article for another day. Today we are talking about 10 reasons to use natural handmade soap.
#1 natural soap has healing properties
Many soaps are made with herbs, spices, plants or essential oils that give it healing properties. For example oatmeal. Oatmeal is known to be soothing to the skin. Cucumber can also be used in soap for soothing itchy or inflamed skin. Nettle leaf is another natural additive that is known to help troubled skin.
#2 Natural soap is moisturizing
Most soaps that are readily available at the store do not include ingredients to moisturize the skin. The process by which these products are made eliminates any moisturizing qualities they may have had at the beginning. Our natural soap uses coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil which are known to be moisturizing to the skin. They nourish the skin for smooth healthy skin. Our soap is cold process soap which retains all the natural goodness in the oils we use.
#3 Natural soap uses better ingredients
Natural soap is made with few ingredients that are found in nature. Many of them are organic. Go read the ingredient label on your current “soap” product. If you cannot say all the ingredient on that label you should not be using it on your skin.
#4 Natural soap uses no preservatives
Preservatives are chemicals that make products last longer on the shelf. These chemicals are not good for us. This does make the shelf life of natural products shorter but most often we use them before their expiration date.
#5 Natural soaps have antibacterial properties
Antibacterial soap that is available includes a substances including triclosan, sulfates, and parabens. These are all known to be harmful substances, some are even known to increase the risk of some cancers. These are not ingredients you should be using. There are natural ingredients that provide antibacterial properties. Some of these are peppermint, eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender. Along with the antibacterial properties they smell amazing!
#6 Natural soaps are rich in antioxidants
The process of making natural soap preserves the antioxidants in the oils. What do antioxidants do for your skin? The help the skin repair itself. They help reduce inflammation and help keep your skin looking young and fresh. Who doesn’t want that!
#7 Natural soap contains glycerin
What is glycerin, you ask? It is a natural water and alcohol attractor that is found in natural soap. What it does is attracts moisture to the skin. It has been said that glycerin can help clear skin disease, improve the texture of your skin and strengthen the skins natural barrier against irritants.
#8 No animal testing
Natural soaps are made with natural, organic ingredients so no testing for safety is needed.
#9 Natural soap has a variety
Natural soap can be made with thousands of different scents, colors, patterns, styles, sizes, etc. Natural handmade soap can be customized for any occasion. What a specific set of properties, natural soap can accommodate. There are just so many options it’s hard to decide which scent, color, style size to choose when I am making soap.
#10 Silky smooth skin
Natural soap will have your skin feeling silky smooth, moisturized and pampered every time you use it. No after shower lotion needed. OH! There is a bonus reason, saves you time because you do not have to apply lotion after every shower to replace the oils that your old soap stripped away!
I hope this helped explain the amazing benefits of using natural soap. Thank you for reading. If you have questions comment below or send me an email.
Tonya (Honey)