Handmade natural soap has become more and more popular in recent years with society's shift to environmental awareness. Although, soap has been around for thousands and thousands of years, people do not really know that modern commercial soap is not really soap. It is detergent. Natural soap is the result of mixing caustic soda (lye), fats / oils and water. Soap cannot be made otherwise, and although lye can be dangerous alone, there is no lye left in the soap after the curing period. What's left behind is only saponified fats / oils.

Another difference is that commercial soap is also stripped of glycerin, whereas glycerin is naturally occurring in handmade soap. Glycerin attracts moisture from the air and traps it into your skin leaving your skin soft and supple. Commercial soap is less expensive and easier to manufacture whereas handmade natural soap is made in smaller batches with personal attention. Most natural soap makers do not add chemical additives to their soaps; in fact most handmade soaps contain less than 10 ingredients, all of which are very well known. Commercial soap tends to strip skin of moisture causing dry, itchy, flaky skin and in some cases even rashes.

Remember that our largest organ is our skin and whatever we put on it gets absorbed into our bodies. Natural soap is a much healthier alternative than commercial soap not only for our bodies but also for our environment. Natural soaps do not clog or damage pipes or septic systems as do store bought soaps.