Why should you choose to use natural soap on your skin? Better ingredients make better soap and mass produced soap that you often find in supermarkets often includes:
- Parabens which are chemical preservatives. These harmful ingredients are found in a wide variety of soaps and beauty products sold at big box retailers.
- Phthalates are known to cause cancer and this additive is often used to produce plastic… and soap.
- Petrochemicals are chemicals made from petroleum and should be considered unsafe for humans because little is known about the long-term effects they have on our health.
- Synthetic Perfumes which smell nice but are linked to causing issues with hormones and allergies. Additionally, synthetic products are known to cause skin conditions and aggravate existing issues like acne and psoriasis.
- Artificial Coloring is used in most commercial soaps and have been known to cause health problems, as well as illness, in humans.
If you can’t ingest the ingredients, Splendid Bee doesn’t use them.
Our skin is our largest organ, so it makes good sense to protect what protect us. At Splendid Bee, organic and natural ingredients are significant in regards to putting anything on our skin that isn’t healthy or could be damaging. In general, organic certification requires that farmers and handlers document their processes and get inspected every year to ensure they aren’t using chemicals or pesticides throughout the growing and harvesting seasons. Organic on-site inspections account for every component of the operation including, but not limited to: seed sources, soil conditions, crop health, weed and pest management, water systems, inputs, contamination, and co-mingling risks, and record-keeping.
Tracing organic products from start to finish is part of the USDA organic promise. The company that Splendid Bee buys all of the oils used in its products is certified organic by more than one governing body.
The most significant naturally occurring ingredient that is not added to the soap, but is a by-product, is natural glycerin. Glycerin is a natural skin emollient that attracts water from the surrounding air. Because of this, glycerin is highly prized in soaps, lotions, and creams for maintaining moisture in the skin throughout the day. Producers of inexpensive, commercial soaps often remove the natural glycerin in lotions, cosmetics, hair care products, etc. which they then market to consumers.
Good for business; bad for skin!
All the natural glycerin is retained in Splendid Bee soap, so generally less lotions are needed to achieve comfortable, less itchy, moist skin. Splendid Bee uses the cold process to make soap and includes an excess of free oils and cocoa butter. This makes a mild, moisturizing, cleansing bar of soap that can be used on the face and the entire body.
Splendid Bee is now offering subscription boxes to customers. Sign up to receive six, nine, or 12 bars of soap delivered to your door on a quarterly basis. No commitment required! Curious as to why I’ve taken this route? You can learn more about my hiatus from soapmaking and why I’m making a comeback here!