Our Base Ingredients: What Each One Does for Your Skin
A spotlight on the trio oils/fats in (almost) all of our soaps
Coconut Oil makes big, fluffy bubbles and gets your skin clean without leaving it dry or tight. It’s naturally soothing, with antibacterial perks, and it’s loaded with vitamin E - great for skin. If you deal with breakouts, soap with coconut oil could be beneficial for you. It cleanses gently while keeping your skin moisturized.
It is important not to use soap with only coconut oil though, as it is such a powerful cleanser, it can be a little harsh for the skin. Which brings me to my next base ingredient…
Olive oil. Olive oil is known for its ability to deeply moisturize the skin. It’s high in oleic acid, which allows it to penetrate the skin effectively, leaving a lasting hydration. It is loaded with antioxidants — especially vitamin E — which basically acts like a shield for your skin. They help protect against free‑radical damage and can soften the look of fine lines and wrinkles. In short, it helps your skin stay healthy, smooth, and a little more youthful‑looking. When saponified (made into soap), it is a gentle cleanser perfect for babies or elderly skin.
To balance out our soap even more, there is one more ingredient that we like to use for our base. That is some kind of fat. Whether it is animal fat, such as tallow from beef, or lard from pork, or plant-based fat such as palm oil. For vegan soaps, palm oil would be used.
I personally like to use shortening like Crisco. It is a premade blend of soybean oil and palm oil, with some citric acid. It is shelf-stable, so the bars of soap last longer, and it is a very cost-effective option. Crisco has been used in soap for generations.
Lard and tallow are great options for a super creamy, conditioning bar of soap. My favorite bar of soap I have made is actually made with lard. However, it did strip the scent from the bar and the color also didn’t turn out like expected. Lard and tallow are not as easy and readily available to find but as Crisco but it does make for a great eco friendly bar of soap!
