Have you spent all day in the sun and noticed that your skin is dry?

When you get home, the first thing you want to do is take a shower use a powerful soap to clean up - but many people don’t realize that cleansing with cheap, harsh, skin care products can actually cause more harm and damage to your biggest organ – your skin.

Sure, you want to wash your skin of dirt, bacteria, and pollutants, but you don't want to replace that dirt with chemicals that can be absorbed into the body.

What’s so bad about Commercial Soaps anyway?

Many commercial soaps aren’t Soap… they are synthetic detergents.

COMMERCIAL SOAP YOU'LL FIND ON YOUR STORES SHELVES MAY INCLUDE:

Parabens: These unnecessary ingredients are found in majority of commercial soap and beauty products and act as chemical preservatives (extend shelf life)

Phthalates: This additive (known to be linked to several cancers) is often used as a ‘plasticizer’- an ingredient used to produce plastic.

Petrochemicals: Made from petroleum, these chemicals should be considered unsafe for humans because little is known about the long-term effects they have on our health.

Synthetic Perfume: Artificial perfume scents, although they smell nice, are linked to allergies and hormonal issues. As well, synthetic ingredients such as perfume are likely to cause skin conditions and to aggravate existing issues such as acne.

Artificial Colouring: Love that funky design in your soap bar? Like your soap to glow in the dark? Well, double check the labels. Commercial soaps are packed with artificial dyes that have been known to cause health problems and illnesses in humans.

What is Handmade Soap?

Handmade soaps are natural products that are good for your skin.

Natural soaps are often produced locally, or in smaller batches, with fresh, locally sourced ingredients and also has a very minimal carbon footprint.

Hand-made, natural soaps are rising in popularity due to the fact that it's becoming an artisanal craft, and each bar can be made with care using traditional methods such as "cold process method" of curing each and every bar for weeks before it hits shelves - which helps create a denser soap and extends the life of the bar for the consumer).

If a soap company is only interested in making money, they usually won’t commit themselves to natural soap-making due to higher production costs for mass-producing. For this reason, most natural soap lines are consciously created by people who are passionate about health and the environment.

NATURAL SOAP INCLUDES

Healthy Oils: It might seem counterintuitive - using oils to remove excess oils? Despite common belief – oil is actually an important ingredient in soap, especially for those with oily or acne prone skin. Oils like coconut oil, grapeseed oil, or olive oil help to nourish and moisturize skin and bring it back to its natural PH levels.

Shea Butter: has been heralded for centuries for its healthy properties. Some of its benefits include: Fighting inflammation Shea oil is rich in triterpene, a compound thought to reduce pain and inflammation.

Shea butter can also treat other skin conditions, such as psoriasis, cuts, and scrapes.

Shea butter is known to help reduce inflammation, which may help explain why at least one study (albeit it an old one, from 1979) found it could reduce nasal congestion.

Reducing wrinkles: According to a 2014 review of studies in the American Journal of Life Sciences, shea butter has been shown to boost collagen production in rats. Collagen helps plump up skin and reduce the look of wrinkles.

Essential Oils: These oils can be combined and used to create aroma and scent, naturally. They are harmless to the skin, provide additional moisturizing properties, and are safe against most allergies / sensitivities.

Honey, Clays, Oatmeal, Aloe, Charcoal, etc.: Natural soaps are made with organic, biodegradable ingredients that are harvested, produced, or sourced in a safe and conscious way. Unlike chemical ingredients, a consumer can easily understand what these ingredients are and how their body will react to them.

Better product, healthier skin, and cleaner environment. What's not to like?

In Summary

Soap should be hydrating and moisturizing, as we anticipate it to be. Whatever the case may be, your body is a natural living entity that deserves only the best ingredients. The real truth is that commercially produced soap organizations can't capitalize on expensive ingredients, so they use the cheapest ingredients to sell them at pricing we find appealing. However, for many of us who believe we have sensitive skin, these chemicals add to our skin problems. The truth is that we all have sensitive skin! Our skin, like our stomach, liver, and kidneys, is an organ that requires special care.