Organic soap is simply better for your skin. It contains natural ingredients such as plant- derived base oils, glycerin, and organic – natural essential oils. By contrast, synthetic, mass-market soap is made of petroleum-based lathering agents, synthetic fragrances, harsh dyes, and dangerous preservatives.
What is organic soap?
Organic soap has benefit of being made of ingredients that are produced with organic farming practices, that is, farming practices that don’t use pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. So organic soap is natural soap, but it is also one step better.
Nature has always been the best and gentlest pharmacy when it comes to taking care of our skin. Nature provides emollients like cocoa butter, which is a great antioxidant and skin moisturizer; jojoba oil, which is a great anti-inflammatory; sesame seed oil, which is great for psoriasis and eczema; and tea tree oil, which has great antiseptic and antifungals properties.NATURAL AND ORGANIC HANDMADE SOAPS
Nature has also provided us with a lot of great natural scrubs and exfoliators.
Among them, rose clay is a mineral that is great for gently cleaning and exfoliating the skin by drawing out impurities from pores. Another great exfoliator is oatmeal, which is a great anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.
Also another exfoliator that you might not expect is coffee, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and is said to stimulate collagen production.
Natural soap makers use all of these ingredients and many more to create products that are healthy, gentle, and very effective.
So, why don’t conventional mass producing soap makers use these ingredients in their manufacturing (other than sometimes a drop for marketing purposes), because although these natural ingredients work better and are better for you, they’re expensive compared to synthetics that are less effective and can often also irritate your skin.
Looking for some great natural and organic handmade soap makers, I found three great companies – Natural Handcrafted Soap, A Wicked Scrub, and Vermont Soap – each with a good variety of products that are worth looking at.
Natural Handcrafted Soap
Natural Handcrafted Soap are made with an olive oil base, without the use of synthetic chemicals, preservatives, artificial dyes, and synthetic fragrance oils.
Olive oil has great health properties including decreasing inflammation, reducing acne, and is full of antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids to heal and improve skin texture.
The company says that, “Every bar begins with a high percentage of cold pressed olive oil to which we add (a combination of other ingredients, depending on the particular soap, that include) organic coconut oil, palm and castor, avocado, Brazilian nut, almond and hazelnut, tea tree, and copaiba oils.”
These ingredients have some really amazing benefits. Coconut oil, for example, is a moisturizer that’s also great for treating skin conditions, including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema, and skin infections. It also has a lot of antioxidants that are great for reducing the signs of premature aging.
Natural Handcrafted Soap has a lot of different blends of soaps that I like. I want to focus on three diverse formulations – the South African Grapefruit with Moroccan Red Clay and Mango Butter Soap; the Oatmeal Organic Soap with Shea Butter and Brazilian Hazelnuts; and the Brazilian Espresso Coffee Scrub Soap with Coffee Butter and Hazelnut, Citrus Oils, and Hint of Vanilla.
The grapefruit in the South African formulation contains vitamin C, which is a natural exfoliator as well as a collagen builder that’s great for reducing fine lines. Vitamin C is also a great antioxidant for reducing free radicals in the skin.
The red clay in the soap has clarifying properties which include drawing out toxins, impurities, and dead skin cells. In addition, the mango butter in the soap has properties including healing rashes, restoring skin’s flexibility, and reducing fine lines. Other ingredients in the soap that have great healing and moisturizing properties include coconut oil and sesame oil..
Among the benefits of the Organic Oatmeal Soap is that oatmeal provides benefits including acting as an anti-inflammatory, soothing dry skin, and has antioxidants. The Shea butter in the soap is an incredible moisturizer, and has vitamin A which is great for reducing wrinkles in the skin, as well as improving the appearance of eczema and dermatitis. Source : Natural Handcrafted Oatmeal Organic Shea Butter
The hazelnut oil in the oatmeal soap is also a great moisturizer as well as an astringent that’s great for acne-prone skin. Also, among the soap’s ingredients is coconut oil, which again is a great moisturizer and great for treating acne conditions.
Another favorite from Natural Handcrafted Soap is the Brazilian Espresso scrub soap. You don’t normally think of coffee as good for your skin, but coffee and coffee grinds are great exfoliators.
Coffee has antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties, and mildly dehydrates your skin, which is great for reducing puffiness. The coffee grinds make an anti-cellulite scrub, which both scrubs off dead cells and makes skin appear firmer. The caffeine in the coffee also has the benefit of stimulating circulation in the skin.
Besides the soaps I just mentioned, the company also has a lot of other types of soaps using various clays, plant extracts, goat’s milk, and a lot of other good stuff that’s worth exploring.
Beer Soap is also worth looking at. While you might know that beer is a great conditioner for your hair, what you might not know is that it’s also great for your skin.
The hops in beer are considered to have great exfoliating properties, while the beer also works to retain the moisture in your skin. The yeast in beer is also considered to help improve elasticity and decrease acne in your skin.