
There are many people out there who have never tried handmade soap and don't understand why it seems so much more expensive, and why they should bother paying extra for what essentially seems like the same stuff you buy in supermarkets. On the other hand, there are those who use and love handmade soap and know that's it feels better on their skin - they just don't know why! So I thought I would take this oppurtunity to explain exactly WHY our handmade soap is so much better for you.
Inner Earth Soaps retain their natural glycerin content.
Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it attracts moisture to the skin. Glycerin is a natural product of the soapmaking process, and while it is extracted from commercial soaps (and sold to pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies - you will find glycerin in almost any moisturiser you can think of), in handmade soaps it is left intact. So handmade soap is much more gentle and moisturising on the skin.
Inner Earth Soaps don't use cheap oils as the main ingedient.
Check the ingredients list on any box of commercial soap and you will usually find that the main oils used are one of: sodium tallowate (tallow, or beef fat), sodium palmate (palm oil) or sodium cocoate (coconut oil). Why? Because they are cheap.
Tallow - we would never use any animal fats whatsoever, and that includes tallow. All our soaps use plant or vegetable based oils/butters and most bars are vegan (with the exception of milk/honey soaps).
Palm Oil - palm oil does have its place in soapmaking, as it lends hardness and stablility to the bar. Our soaps do contain some palm oil for that reason. But when used as a main ingredient - as it is in many commercial soaps - the bar has very little natural lather or bubbles. So to compensate they need to add foaming agents like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) or sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) - a cheap, chemical way to give the soap a good lather.
Coconut Oil - coconut oil also has its place in soapmaking, as it provides an excellent lather and high cleansing ability. But as a main ingredient in commercial soap it can be very drying on the skin, and leaves you with that dry, tight feeling after washing.
(NB: our Salt Spa soap is made with 100% coconut oil, but because it has a very high superfat and a large amount of sea salt, it does not dry out the skin.)
So what are Inner Earth's Soaps made of?
We use a custom blend of high quality olive, rice bran, coconut, palm and castor oils in our soaps, and often add nourishing butters such as cocoa or shea as well. These oils combine to make a mild, gentle soap that cleanses the skin without stripping it of its natural oils, and still maintaining a natural, bubbly lather. I have many customers with dry/sensitive skin conditions, those who say they can't use "soap" (supermarket soap of course), who have been pleasantly suprised to find that they can use my soap, without suffering any of the awful itchiness and dry, tight feeling that comes with using commercial soaps. Feel the difference of handmade soap today!