FAQ
Information on Hours and Vacation Closings
What is the difference between a Body Butter and a Body Frosting?
What ingredients do you use to make your soap and moisturizers?
Whats the difference between your soap and the stuff I buy at the store?
Why does handmade soap have to cure? Does it ever go "bad"?
Have a shipping / returns question?
Have a wholesale/bulk pricing question?
Have a Gift Certificate question?
Our business hours Monday through Thursday 9am-4pm. We do not work any legal holidays, and reserve the right to post vacation dates and times. Orders received after 12pm Thursday will not ship until the following Tuesday.
True Soap is a mixture of oil, alkali (lye), and water. The oil and the alkali mix together in a process called saponification to create a salt. This salt is what we call soap.
Soap has been made for hundreds of years using pretty much the same method we use today. We no longer have to guess at the strength of our lye mixture, however. This means that our soap will never clean by taking your skin off like grandma's might have.
Using a mixture of vegetable oils, butters , lye and water we create a mild, cleansing soap that will leave your skin soft and clean.
What is the difference between a Body Butter and a Body Frosting?
A Body Butter is a rich thick cream. It is made with Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil as well as water and emulsifyers. It also contains a mild paraben free preservative to keep the creepy crawlies from growing the the water. This is the more traditional body butter you might find at one of those stores in the mall.
A Body Frosting is simply whipped Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil, and Vitamin E. This product actually looks and feels like buttercream frosting. It is light airy and melts on contact with your skin. The melted oil almost immediatley will absorb into your skin.
Body Frosting is definitely the more moisturizing of the two. Most people use it on elbows, knees , and feet. Others swear by it on their faces. It just depends on what type of skin you have.
What ingredients do you use to make your soaps and moisturizers?
We use only the best vegetable oils and butters. Whenever possible we get organic and non-gmo ingredients. Some of our products contain herbs or herb infused oils. We scent our products with either essential oils or pthalate free fragrance oils. Some of our products contain beeswax.
Products containing artificial fragrance or beeswax are clearly labeled.
Whats the difference between your soap and the stuff I buy at the store?
It is very likely that your "soap" is not soap at all. Most "soap" that is sold in stores is actually detergent. If it doasn't actually say soap on the label and is instead called a "beauty bar", "cleasing bar", or a "deoderizing bar" then it is not a soap it is a detergent. Detergent cleans by removing oil. Removing the oil from your skin leaves it dry.
DoveÒ
sodium cocoyl isethionate (synthetic detergent)
stearic acid (hardner)
sodium tallowate (sodium salt of cow fat)
water
sodium isethionate (detergent/emulsifying agent)
coconut acid (the sodium salt of coconut oil)
sodium stearate (emulsifier, also used as a cheap stabilizer in plastics)
sodium dodecylbenzonesulfonate (synthetic detergent, skin irritant)
sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernalate (sodium salts of coconut or palm kernel oils)
fragrance (synthetic scent, potential allergen, common skin irritant)
sodium chloride (table salt used as a thickener)
titanium dioxide (whitener, also used in house paint)
trisodium EDTA (stabilizer, used in industrial cleaning products to decrease hard water, skin irritant)
trisodium etidronate (preservative, a chemical that is used in soaps to prevent soap scum)
BHT (preservative, common skin irritant)
Our Soap
Shea Butter, soybean oil, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, castor oil, sodium hydroxide (lye), water, essential oil, or pthalate free fragrance.
which one sounds better to you?
Remember that your skin is your biggest organ. Everything you put on it goes into your body.
Why does handmade soap have to cure? Does it ever go "bad"?
Soap is made with a chemical process called saponification. When you mix the oils , lye , and water this process begins. The process of saponification that turns the oils and lye into the salt that we call soap takes several weeks to complete. After the soap cures for several weeks it is free of the original lye and has lost some of the water . This means it is now a hard mild soap that will clean your skin without stripping it of natural oils.
The shelf life of soap will vary depending on how it is cared for. In a cool dry place it can last for at least a year. Some people say they have a problem with the excess oils in the soap turning rancid. We have not had any of our soap go rancid even after longer than a year. With time the soap gets harder and will lather even better, but may lose some of its fragrance.
