soapworx

Soap is used to clean. To clean your skin of dirt and grime, excess oil and odours.

Soap is a surfactant -- when rubbed onto your skin it attracts the dirty and unwanted particels and is then washed away with clean water. And that is how you come clean.

There are diffent types of cleansers and not all is soap. Many are detergents which contains many chemicals, some harmful to the body. Some detergent cleansers come in liquid form, some in bar form that may appear to be "soap" because it resembles the familiar shape of soap. But detergent bars is not soap.

True soap is made by mixing oils with an alkaline solution. The oils can be a combination of plant oils such as coconut, palm, olive, sunflower, rapeseed and many other. Or animal fat such as lard or beef fat (tallow) may be used. Various types of milk can also be used to give a lovely creamy soap. 

The alkaline solution is caustic soda mixed with water (lye) to make it soluble. This scare many people but the caustic soda is the catalist used to turn the oil into soap. When the process is completed, the alkali had done it's work and there is no caustic soda left in the final soap bar. There is also no free flowing oil left -- everything has turned into a hard little block now called "soap". 

Soap can be made in mainly 2 different ways: a cold process or a hot process.

Cold process soap is made by combining melted oil with a lye solution. This means that it is not cooked for hours on end (which destroys the valuable properties of the oils) but only a small amount of heat is used, enough to melt the oils. The alkaline solution generates it's own heat. The mixture is stirred until all the oil has been incorporated and turned into soap and it has a thick instant pudding-like consistency. Then it is poured into molds and left to harden. The hard soap block can now be cut into soap bars which is left to dry and become milder for up to 4 weeks. It is then ready for use.

The hot process is an extension of the cold process where the soap is cooked for longer until it has gone through all the stages of soap forming, then molded and left to cool down before use. This type of soap is almost instantly ready to use.

During the saponification process, natural glycerine is formed. All the natural glycerine that has formed during the soapmaking process is retained in the final product to moisturise the skin. This is a valuable, natural component only found in handmade soap. Mass produced commercial soap is deprived of this glycerine because it is extracted and sold seperately! 

Then there is transparent soap, also called glycerine soap. In this process the soap is usually made using the hot process method and the soap is dissolved using alcohol and a sugar solution. Extra glycerine is added and by breaking the fatty chains which normally gives the soap an opaque appearance & the result is clear, transparent soap.

Many glycerine soap on the market is not made in this "real" way, but is a chemical mixture & produces beautiful crystal clear "soaps" in bright colours which often contain dangerous chemicals and is drying to skin.

soapworx soap can be used on sensitive, allergic & delicate skins and can also be used for washing your hair.

Please read the labels to see what you are buying to use on your body's largest organ ..... the skin