Photography by Alex Shute
Browsing the shelves at the supermarket, you may have noticed that soap can vary greatly in price.
From as little as approx. $2 for a pack of 8 soaps, you may be wondering why you would pay more, after all, you only wash yourself with it? It all goes down the drain anyway?
and that is exactly the point
You Matter.
The Environment Matters!
Here are our 6 main reasons that we think Handmade Natural Soap is worth more!
1. Your skin is your largest organ!
Without sounding like all the other blog posts out there, I'm going to say it once. There, it's been said! But unless you haven't been inundated with the info, here are the cliff notes.
Your skin functions as the largest organ of the body.
It's roles vary from being a barrier to the outside world, aiding the immune system to fight off bugs, regulating temperature, protecting us from UV damage, wound healing, giving us the sense of touch, and enabling the production of vitamin D.
Because of it's function to both remove, and absorb through the skin, the skin has the potential to draw in toxins such as Phthalates and Parabens, known to be Endocrine disruptors. Many commercial soaps contain Phthalates and Parabens
According to the CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention)
"Dermal application of lotions and cleansers may result in small amounts of parabens being absorbed through the skin and reaching the blood stream"
For this reason, it is better to just avoid them altogether and include cleansers that contain only natural, beneficial ingredients that promote skin health and detoxification!
2. It All Goes Down The Drain!
If you are looking for ways to reduce your environmental impact, changing your soap is a good start.
One of the biggest problems facing our environment in the current times are microplastics. These are tiny beads that are so small that they cannot be filtered out during normal sewage treatment works. These microbeads do not biodegrade and are almost impossible to remove from the environment due to their size.
According to the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE), microplastics are found in a range of rinse-off cosmetic products like facial and body scrubs, toothpastes and washing powders. The are known to have a damaging effect on marine life, the environment and human health. This is due to their composition (they cannot easily be removed from the environment), their ability to hold onto toxins, and their ability to transfer up the marine food chain (causing issue to the marine life and also to humans who subsequently consume marine life).
The good news is there is something we can do about it!
All we need to do is:
Stop supporting companies that produce these products!
And one of the best ways to do this is by purchasing from local, natural producers who do not use these ingredients.
Unfortunately, microplastics are one of the reasons that commercial cleansers are so cheap. They are used as inexpensive bulking agents, as a cheap alternative to natural exfoliators and also to prolong shelf life and control the release of active ingredients.
If you are concerned about the microbeads in commercial products, they are commonly found under these names
- Polyethylene (PE)
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
- Nylon (PA)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)
Photography by Sophia Muller
3. Ethical Ingredients
This is one of the reasons that many people, like yourself, have begun seeking alternatives to commercial soaps.
Our environment, and people's lives, are worth paying for
Commercial soaps are renowned for containing unethical ingredients such as Palm Oil, and although some claim that Palm Oil can be sustainable, Cygnet Studio soaps do not contain it.
Because we have already written about this, we won't bore you with the same topic, but if you would like to read our opinions on this topic, click here.
Some natural soap companies still use Palm Oil in their soaps, and it is a personal preference. It does, after all, produce a nice hard bar of soap which helps it last longer, and makes it more comparable to commercial soap. It is also very cheap compared to other oils used for soap making. This is why bars that do not contain Palm Oil are generally more expensive than those that do.
4. Skin Nourishing Ingredients
Most handmade soaps, and in particular Cygnet Studio's soaps, are formulated with high quality oils and butters, along with ingredients plucked straight from nature, such as clays and Activated Charcoal. None of the ingredients are formulated with cheap petroleum by products, unlike a lot of the commercial soaps.
Photography by Towfiqu Barbhuiya
5. Natural Scents
Essential oils are the only fragrances used in Cygnet Studios handmade soaps.
Commercial soaps are usually scented with fragrances, a group of compounds usually originating from petrochemicals, and containing diethyl phthalate which, although not a perfume compound as such, is used to enhance fragrances and make them linger.
Used widely due to their cost effectiveness, aka cheapness, phthalates are known to be harmful to human health.
Even though handmade soaps are generally more natural, they may still contain fragrance oils, so be sure to check the ingredients prior to purchase.
Photography by Priscilla-Du-Preez
6. Long lead in time
Handmade soap undergoes a lengthy curing time. From their creation to the point at which they can be sold, natural handmade cold processed soap cures for at least 6 weeks.
During this time period, the soap creates glycerine, a naturally occurring by-product of the saponification process. Glycerine acts as a humectant, attracting water and aiding the moisturisation of the skin.
This, is in comparison with commercial soaps which are comprised of chemical constituents and formulated to be cheap and quick to produce.
These are the main reasons that commercial soaps can cost a fraction of the price of handmade.
But is the cost of the environment or our skin's largest organ worth mere cents???
What do you think? Do you agree? Leave a comment below.