The soap you use in the shower or at the sink may not stay on your skin long (if it fully rinses off….) but we’ve been making the switch to natural and handmade soaps this last year. I started out buying some of the more natural bars from the supermarket, then the ones at the health food store, and more recently, to handmade all-natural soaps.
I’d love to tell you how to make your own soap, but it’s just not something I’ve tackled yet. f you make your own, let me know. Comment here with some how-to links and I’ll add them to the post.
We’ve tried out a couple of different handmade natural soaps, some right from our local health food store. But since most of you don’t live around here I’ll just tell you about the ones you can buy online.
Simply Cleansing hand makes soaps from just plant oils and essential oils. I did a review for them right before Christmas last year and we’ve been enjoying their soaps ever since. My favorite is the spearmint as the scent is wonderful and the soap is also exfoliating. left my skin feeling great! We’ve also tried the lavender and cinnamon, and enjoy them as well. They also carry many different scents. The bars are sold for $3.00 each (3.5 oz) or buy seven, get one free.
Harmony Acres Soap Company also makes natural soaps from different plant oils and essential oils. I’m in the process of reviewing a few of their items right now and they even sent along a few mini bars of their soaps. My favorite is the Minty Nilla, though they offer a wide variety of interesting scents. The 5.5 oz bars sell for $6.95 each.
What do you use for a natural or homemade soap?
Donielle Baker
I thought glycerin soap was suppose to be more moisturizing than any other kind of soap. Did I get that wrong?
@Kristy,
Glycerin soap is just soap that is treated to become somewhat clear. Both companies Donielle mentioned (mine -Simply Cleansing and Harmony Acres) Would both have the glycerin still intact. Which is very nourishing to the skin.
Store bought soaps generally have the glycerin removed. Provided they were really a soap and not a detergent.
I use soaps from Sallyeander Soaps (which is local to me, being owned and operated in central NY) as well as from Sweet Hollow Farm (also known by her blog name, TNFarmgirl). I have found the prices are lower at TNFarmgirl, and she grows her own herbs for her soaps, as well as offers a variety of herbal salves. I used her Aches Away Salve to stave offmigraines during my pregnancy, since I could no longer take effective pain meds. It didn’t prevent them 100% of the time, but often if I caught it early enough in the day, by the time I left work (and the passel of preschoolers), it had diminished. I highly recommend her! She also has an e-book/course on soaps and herbal salves. I haven’t tried either, but hope to in the future.
My daughter makes our family’s soap. She used the West Ladies’ Homestead Blessings DVD to learn how to make great soap. She makes my hubby’s shaving cream and our liquid hand soap as well.
We used homemade goat milk soap from Mundare Soaps (www.bemadeclean.com) and I really like them especially the goat milk and cocoa butter.