Natural soaps are soap preparations made without using any synthetic ingredients or chemicals. Some all natural soaps have been in existence for thousands of years. They provide an excellent alternative to commercial skin care products and are better for your overall skin health. Natural soaps have the added benefit of containing no dyes, colors, or preservatives. All-Natural soap is produced using all natural ingredients and all natural base soaps.
Synthetic soap usually contains lye, sodium hydroxide, or some combination of both. Most lye is a by-product of crude oil production. When lye is used in soap making, it often produces harsh soapy residue that is difficult to remove from fabrics. In addition, lye itself can cause a variety of allergic reactions, including redness, burning, and swelling. In order to avoid this type of reaction, all natural soap incorporates an alternative cleansing base such as organic extra virgin olive oil, or shea butter. Olive oil is a good all natural moisturizer that can replace soap, detergent, and shampoo without stripping away moisture and leaving behind a residue.
Shea butter is one of the world’s most advanced moisturizers. It has healing properties which makes it an ideal choice for soothing irritated or damaged skin. Many people who have sensitive skin will find great benefit from adding shea butter to their natural soap. Some even use shea butter in place of petroleum jelly and coconut oil in moisturizing facial masks. There are many uses for Shea butter that make it worth its weight in gold for those who are interested in trying a soap with no allergens or irritants.
Natural Soap can be prepared in a variety of ways, depending on the ingredients available. Common ingredients include glycerin, witch hazel, essential oils, and palm oil. These ingredients provide the soaps with lauric acid, which helps to create the bar soaps we are all familiar with. Lactic acid is the main ingredient in milk, and it is responsible for the tender, smooth texture that milk provides. Similarly, glycerin produces soap that has a creamy texture.
Other natural ingredients include palm wax, which makes the bars melt at body temperature, coconut oil, a moisturizer, and essential oils such as rosewater. These ingredients can help you get a looser more supple feeling when using natural soap. The ingredients in the soap also help to remove dirt and excess oil from your skin. Without the addition of these natural products, commercial soaps can leave your skin dry and itchy. For example, soap manufacturers often add lye to their soap because it produces a more intense cleansing experience. However, lye can cause serious burns if it is not handled properly.
A good rule of thumb is that natural bar soap is less likely to strip your skin of moisture than commercial products. You may notice that some commercial products do use sodium hydroxide, which is a hard chemical that strips the oil away from your skin. However, sodium hydroxide does not strip the oils away, only hardens them. Commercial soaps that use sodium hydroxide are likely to strip your skin of its natural oils, leaving it dry and flaky.
