Soap is one of the most often used products in our lives. It can be easily called an essential item in any household. You can see soap in all kinds of varieties. And all of those varieties serve different but the same purpose - soap is there to clean. Doesn't matter what it is - your hands, your body, your dishes, your car. We think of all those cleaning agents that help us remove dirt as basically soap.

The truth is of course that all that soap is not the same. It’s not the same on a surface, has different smells, different shapes, comes in liquid, powder and hard form. But the main difference of course is inside. All those “soaps” have different chemical formula and different properties. They are manufactured differently and different ingredients are used. You wouldn't be surprised to find out that detergent to wash your clothes is different than your hand soap bar. So the question is how natural soap bar is different from a regular commercially made bar of soap.

The truth is that soap we buy now in supermarkets is closer to powdered detergent than to traditional soap. With technological advances modern cleaning agents surpassed traditional soap in ability to remove oil and dirt. They are also less expensive to produce in large amounts. It may sound like new commercial soap being better, less expensive, more colorful and smelling better is just an improvement overall compared to traditional soap that your grandmother used to use. But it is not true. Driven by profits in mass markets commercial soap industry reduces the cost of soap disregarding some of the essential aspects and effects of using soap on your skin everyday.

Have you noticed lately how many commercials are on TV about soap that won’t dry your skin? And how they add lotions and creme to soap to keep your skin moist. Doesn't it sound like their own admission that soap dries your skin? They don’t tell you that in modern soap making glycerin that acts as moisturizer in soap is removed from soap and sold separately to be included in more expensive beauty products to increase profits.

Natural handmade soap bars keep all the good stuff including glycerin and nonsaponified oils to moisturize your skin naturally. There are also no other harsh chemicals or chemical preservatives added to create colors, smell and longevity. You wouldn't find such things as parabens (linked to Breast cancer), sodium lauryl sulfate (skin irritant) in natural soap. But you would find them in almost all soap bars commercially produced.

Credit must given to soap industry with coming up so many ways to make their soap attractive and market it to people as effectively as they did. But as we can see lately big industries come up with creative ways to offer inferior product and make it seem like a wonderful thing (fast food companies come to mind).

Our Soaps are 100% Natural. Try our soap and find out what a real bar of soap should be!

Most people take soap for granted. They think that as long as soap keeps you clean from dirt and bacterias it’s fine and there is not much to it. But there is so much more going on in one of the most often repeated ritual we all do every day - using soap and cleansing products. Think about it. How many times a day you use soap. How much soap do you use in a month? Now think about this. Human skin is the largest organ in the body and although many people think that skin is absorption proof, skin is virtually a breathing barrier that protects your body from environment, but it also absorbs and releases things from outside of the body. One example is nicotine patch. It’s a patch that through person’s skin slowly inject nicotine in bloodstream. There are many other well-known examples of using skin’s ability to absorb elements from outside. But we normally don’t think about how careful we should be about applying various chemicals to our skin especially considering that we could be doing it everyday or several times daily.

Of course one might say that when using soap it is almost immediately washed away. And it is true, normally we don’t have soap on our skin for such long periods as a person would be caring a nicotine patch. But we don’t apply nicotine patch to the whole body either. And of course, doesn’t matter how well you rinse, not 100% of the soap is always washed away. There are still small amounts of soap left on our skin even after we leave a shower.

So next time when you go to your shower think about the diet that you have your skin on. Is it all healthy, or is it more like junk-food full of chemicals, preservatives and potentially dangerous things that can accumulate with years of use?

Obviously natural soap will “feed” your skin natural ingredients and if it will leave any traces behind, they will be very mild and natural. Natural soap doesn’t just leave you with a great feeling skin, it is also a great peace of mind.

Fortunately, you don't have to take coconut oil internally to get some of its most visible -- and best documented -- benefits. Coconut oil can be a great natural remedy for all sorts of skin problems.

Coconut oil is a common ingredient in lotions and moisturizers. You can rub coconut oil into dry skin to combat itchiness and flaking [source: Peterson]. But don't stop there: Coconut oil can help soothe athlete's foot, ringworm, diaper rash and eczema. The same component that makes it antiviral -- lauric acid -- makes it antifungal as well. (The lauric acid dissolves the fatty outer membranes of microbes) [source: Gordon].

Speaking of itches, coconut oil is the main ingredient in chick-chack, a natural remedy against pediculosis, the skin irritation that comes from an infestation of lice. It's more than 90 percent effective at getting rid of lice -- better than many chemical alternatives [source: Guenther].

Many people claim that coconut oil helps alleviate acne. One supplier recommends applying a paste of turmeric (the main spice in curry powder) and coconut oil, which -- even if it doesn't work -- will at least smell really good [source: Acne Resource Center]. Since coconut oil soothes itches and kills microbes, it could at least offer some relief, but there aren't any clinical studies to support this use.

You might have already seen coconut oil conditioners in the hair care aisle. Some people consider pure coconut oil the world's best conditioner [source: Peterson]. Others claim that rubbing it into your scalp can actually promote hair growth. (That's debatable, although the scalp massage itself might help, depending on whom you ask.) A coconut-oil scalp massage can help treat dandruff. But why stop at the scalp? Many aficionados claim that coconut oil is a fantastic massage oil [source: Minnesota Wellness Directory]. That claim might be worth testing yourself.

Some people think coconut oil could help treat a more serious skin problem, psoriasis. Although many individual users claim it has relieved their symptoms, only one scientific study has been conducted. It measured the effectiveness of coconut oil in conjunction with ultraviolet light therapy. Used this way, the coconut oil did not have a significant effect [source: George].

Friendly reminder.... when you are enjoying your handcrafted soap, remember to let the soap air dry after bathing. Leave the soap on a dish that elevates the soap out of water, or leave the soap on it's end to dry out.

Handcrafted soaps melt faster if left in water because they do not have the harsh chemicals that store soaps have in them.

Hi,

We have been receiving several queries regarding chemicals in our soap and specifically about our usage of Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) in our soaps.

To set the facts straight: 

We make our soap with various oils, lye (sodium hydroxide), and purified water. Lye, unlike chemicals used in commercial soaps, is only used in the making of soap, but is not present in the soap after the soap has cured. The lye undergoes a chemical process binding the lye molecules to the oil molecules resulting in new molecules that are soap (actually soap is a salt). That is why commercial soaps list as some of their ingredients sodium tallowate (soap made with tallow) or sodium palmate (soap made with palm oil). The gentlest mildest of all soaps are made with lye. Cold process soap is milder than even the so-called glycerin soaps bases used in making fancy clear soaps. These soaps are usually commercially made and are equal in quality to commercial soap with all the chemicals and are really detergents and not soap at all. Clear glycerin soap is made clear by boiling it with alcohol and adding sugar and glycerin at the end if homemade and contains many more ingredients if commercially made. The purpose in making the soap clear is for decoration not for improving the quality of the soap for skin. Cold process soap naturally contains glycerin as a by-product of the natural saponification of soap. It is not necessary to add it to the soap. In commercial soap making the natural glycerin is removed and used in other products like cosmetics, lotions, and creams that you will probably need because of the drying nature of commercial soap.

We make our soap using modern homemade soap procedures using accurate digital scales that weigh to the tenth of an ounce or gram. This allows us to calculate in a surplus of oils to ensure all the lye is consumed and allowing for additional unsaponified oils to leave skin clean but not dry feeling. We accurately weigh the oils, water, and lye according to the recipes we design with the precise amount calculated for that recipe. After the soap mixture reaches saponification we add the additional nutrient ingredients to the soap and pour it into the prepared mold. Then it is insulated and left until the chemical process is finished and the soap has cooled. Then the soap is removed from the mold and cut into bars by hand. We don’t trim the soaps unless they have some ash on them which is usually only a little in a corner. The soaps are a little rough looking and not perfectly shaped. By not trimming the soaps excessively we can give the customers more soap. The rough edges will come off the first time or two they are used anyway. We let our soaps cure at least 3 weeks or more before labeling or selling them.

I hope this clears up some of your questions regarding the use of Lye in soap. 

The bottom line is that there is no such thing as soap without lye.

Lave Affair's Lotion Bars are all natural, non-greasy and highly moisturizing for your skin.

A lotion bar is a solid moisturizer. It bears resemblance to a soap bar, but it functions as a lotion. We make ours out of natural ingredients, lotion bars stay solid as long as they are kept at room temperature or lower. They're activated by body heat and can be used anywhere on the body.

Our lotion bars are composed of all-natural ingredients. Shea butter, beeswax, Cocoa Butter, Almond oil and Coconut Oil. Lotion bars have a reputation for being a health-conscious choice because they are free from the potentially hazardous chemicals found in commercial lotion products, such as phthalates, parabens, formaldehyde, para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), ethanolamines and petroleum.

Using a lotion bar is easy; those who want to moisturize their bodies simply can take the lotion bar into their hands and warm it with them. The heat emanating from their hands will melt a small portion of the bar. From there, users can rub the lotion onto the body part that needs moisturizing. Some who use lotion bars apply lotion only to their hands. Others, however, might use the bar to moisturize their feet, ankles, knees, legs, arms, elbows or any other area that has dry skin.

Another way to use the lotion bar is to apply the bar directly to areas in need of moisturizing. The bar can be rubbed on these areas until it heats and softens and some lotion transfers to the skin. The friction from the rubbing, combined with the heat from the user's skin, can give good results. This method is popularly used on the heels or other especially dry or tough areas that could benefit from direct application.

Users are encouraged to apply only light layers of lotion to an area. This is because, upon application, the lotion can feel as though it is greasy. Layers need to be given a few moments to absorb into the skin. After the lotion has successfully penetrated the skin, users will know whether they need to use the lotion bar for a second application.

Highly convenient and easy to use, you really shouldn't leave your home without our Lotion Bars in your bag or purse!