|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ Soap Questions
| Why is this soap so soft? | |
 |
Most people notice this as the defining difference between hard "milled" soap and hand crafted soap. The glycerin content of hand crafted soap is many times that of a "milled" soap, and therefore full of moisture for your skin and hair. Glycerin is soft. If you can dent in the edge of a handcrafted soap, you know it is rich in glycerin. |
| What should I do to make my soap last longer? | |
|
Any soap will benefit from being in a
dry environment, however hand crafted soap will definitely require
this. Avoid letting the water from the shower head stream onto the
soap. A soap dish with an elevated inner tray works best. If you want to store your soap before you use it, store it in a dark dry area, away from excess air currents. A linen closet or drawer are perfect. We have had some customers store their soap in the freezer, but be sure to isolate it [a holiday cookie tin works well for this] as the scent will permeate your foods, and likewise the food odors may permeate your soap! |
| What is the difference between handmade soap and milled soap? | |
|
They are created in very different
ways. In milling, a process developed in Italy and correctly called
"plodded", soap starts not with whole vegetable and animal
fats and oils, but with substances withdrawn from these fats and
oils. These substances are called isolated fatty acids. The fatty
acids are used to make milled soaps because they produce a harder
soap that can withstand the process of milling and forming that is
required to hold the designs and logo’s of modern soap. When the
fatty acids are removed, most of the glycerin is left behind, in
fact it is considered a separate product. Many soap manufacturers
use the glycerin in the making of lotions that put back the moisture
that their milled soaps have removed. Even though some of the
glycerin floats to the top of our batches, we carefully stir it back
into the suspension, so that it can remain in our soaps. The
softness in Woodspirits soaps indicates its naturally high glycerin
content. Glycerin is a humectant. A humectant pulls moisture from
the air. If the soap is stored in a humid environment you may notice
a "sweating" that occurs, no matter the age of the soap.
This is a humectant in action! Some handcrafted soapmakers rely on Palm oil to harden their soaps. At Woodspirits, we have always used the more expensive but also more skin friendly Olive oil to add hardness to our soaps. We believe the creaminess in our soaps would be lost if we did not use Olive oil, so to sacrifice its benefits for price concerns alone would only cost us our loyal customers. |
| What does E.O. stand for? | |
|
Essential oils. Essential oils are special aroma chemicals manufactured by certain plants that are stored within special cells. Ancient cultures discovered how to distill or use other methods to extract these oils for use as flavoring, cosmetics, and medicine. Today they remain useful to us in many ways. With increased methods of extraction, advanced agricultural practices, and better shipping procedures we have greatly increased the selection, production and availability of essential oils worldwide. The production and use of these oils can help protect small farms and keep people employed locally. They are also much healthier for use on our skin. |
| What does super fatted mean? | |
|
When soap is super fatted it simply means that more oil has been added than the normal amount of fats and oils in the formula. Most handcrafted soaps already contain enough oil to be designated super fatted. In addition to the coconut and olive oil in our formulas we add castor oil to Frankincense and Myrrh [Magi] and Lamb Cakes. We add sweet Almond oil to our baby soap, Cygnet. If you have very dry skin, you may want to experience these three soaps. |
| Is this soap safe for babies and people with sensitive skin? | |
|
As mentioned under the question about ‘Super fatted’ soaps, all of our soaps have more oils than a commercial bar of soap, which is technically probably not soap at all, but synthetic detergent in bar form. We suggest you choose a soap that is uncolored and has no scent if you are worried about reactions. Comments from our customers suggest they find our soaps very mild and even though some have scent and color, they do not have negative reactions to them. Natural pigments and essential oils can be milder than synthetic colors and scents. If you have sensitive skin please, as with all products, do a "patch" test to determine sensitivity. |
| How can you tell if a soap has artificial scent and coloring? | |
|
If a manufacturer is using the more
expensive essential oils and natural pigments, they will be proud of
the ingredients they use and fully disclose them. Woodspirits Ltd.,
Inc. was founded by an herbalist, who believed then as she does now,
that natural essential oils and plant and mineral pigments are
generally safer than synthetic ones. We believe in full product disclosure on each and every one of our labels. If you see the word "fragrance" on another manufacturers’ label, you can suspect the fragrance is synthetic. Call the manufacturer and ask them if they are using the word fragrance to mean synthetic. |
| How can I store my soap before I use it? | |
|
If you want to store your soap before you use it, store it in a dark, dry area, away from excess air currents. A linen closet or drawer is perfect. We have had some customers place it in the freezer, but be sure to isolate it as the scent will permeate your foods, and likewise the food odors may permeate your soap! |
| Is there lye in Woodspirits soaps? | |
|
All soap is manufactured using some sort of alkaline as a catalyst for the reaction of soap making [saponification] to occur. Hard bar soaps use sodium hydroxide, and liquid soap uses potassium hydroxide. When the process begins the new soap molecules begin to form and actually produce heat. When the process is complete there are no longer any molecules of oils or sodium hydroxide, but only molecules of soap. It is an irreversible process. So, even though lye is used in the process, the result is lye [alkaline] free. |
| What is the "white stuff" on top of the soap? | |
|
You may see a white powder on top of our soaps. This is soda ash and is a harmless substance that forms when air reaches the curing soap. This will mean that your bar of soap was cut from the top layer of the curing mold of soap where it was exposed to air. This layer will rinse off the first time the bar is used. |
| Are Woodspirits products "cruelty free"? | |
|
This issue remains politically charged
and is also used to sell products that may or may not be free of
cruelty. As an herbalist Barbara Bobo believes that plants are
living things and that to take their lives for any purpose would be
construed as cruel if you feel that animals are harvested cruelly as
well. We do not use animal products that result in the death of that animal for the primary use in the product, we do not however use this in our advertising. The lanolin in the Lamb Cakes is a product of wool processing and is washed out of the wool fibers before weaving. The beeswax in our candles is produced by bees but does not incur their death. Our powder puffs are made from the pelts of sheep that have been slaughtered for human consumption. If you are philosophically opposed to these products we understand your concern and list them here for clarity. |
| FAQ Soap | FAQ Scrubs | FAQ Powder Puffs | FAQ Candles | FAQ Colognes | |