Victoria's Soaps & Scents handcrafted castile type soap contains approximately 70% pure olive oil making it a true complexion soap that is moisturizing to your skin. Many soaps containing a higher ratio of coconut or palm oils require a higher content of lye in making the soap, thus making the bar more drying. Because less lye is needed to saponify olive oil, our bars are more moisturizing and luxurious and the lather is so rich it makes you look forward to using it! It's also a truly nurturing alternative to other soaps for dry or sensitive skin.
We make our own base in creating these wonderful bars. We maintain high quality standards in ingredients, processing and handcrafting. Each bar is cut, handtrimmed, carefully examined for consistent color and ph level. Our soaps maintain a ph level between 7 and 8. Safe levels are between 7 and 10 for the skin. (Water has a ph level of 7 so you know it's mild.) Anything over 10 would be too harsh and possibly cause irritation.
Moisturizing glycerin is a natural by product of the curing process. When the oils and lye combine, natural glycerin is produced during the curing time. Glycerin is great because it attracts moisture and softens. Commercial soap manufacturers typically extract some of the glycerin from their soap to be used in more porfitable products. We maintain the glycerin that naturally occurs in our soaps leaving the bar rich with this wonderful by product that makes the skin so soft. Commercial soaps also contain chemicals as a hardening agent making the bars more harsh and drying to the skin than our natural soaps.
Because our soaps do not contain these chemical hardening agents and due to the nature of glycerin, our soap is softer and may dissolve more readily than commercial soaps if left in standing water. The best results are achieved by keeping the soap in a soap tray or wire shelf where water does not stand. This care will prolong the life of your soap. Another way to prolong the life of your soap is to use it with a plastic bath sponge available at most supermarkets or drug stores. This uses very little of the soap and enhances the lathering effect.
As soap ages, natural "ashing" may occur. This is a white powdery substance on the surface of the bar. Not to be alarmed, it will dissappear after use. Another natural occurance may be that the white soaps may have yellow spots. This is a natural occurring effect of the use of olive oil, but does not detour from the effectiveness or quality of the soap itself. Tinted or filled soaps made with olive oil generally will not show this "yellowing" due to the darker color.
Product Ingredients
Our soaps are made with saponified vegetable oils, purified water, castor oil, grapefruit seed extract and essential or fragrance oils. Some soaps may also contain natural herbal exfoliating ingredients including oatmeal, honey, citrus peel, almonds or botanicals such as spearmint or flower petals. Other added ingredients may include spices, glycerin and iron oxides for tinting. Castor oil is added to provide a richer lather. Grapefruit seed extract is used as a natural germicidal and antibacterial agent.
We use a cold-process or cold-process oven method for making our soap. Most of our soaps are created in wooden molds and then cut. Others may be processed or hand-milled. It is the process of remelting the soap and adding superfats for emolliency or fragrances. This method will typically create a harder longer lasting bar. Handmilling usually renders a marbling effect and can be identified by a slightly darker color than the refined olive oil soaps. Certain herb or spiced enhanced soaps may be made from pomace olive oil. The emollient factors remain in the soap, but will appear darker in color. The refined olive oil produces a "white" bar of soap whereas the pomace olive oil produces a darker appearance--either type produces the same quality soap. For those persons allergic to dyes, it is recommended to use only the refined olive oil soaps. These are identified as "non-tinted, fabric-covered" soaps.
We endeavor to bring you, our customer, soap with only the finest ingredients. We strive to maintain quality in our products and because we craft in small quantities, we are better able to control product quality. We may introduce a special fragrance while keeping traditional favorites. The ingredients in our soap products will only change to enhance or improve product quality. |
