About Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
by eva stuglovics on 07/03/11
About Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
Many people ask about lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
in soap and how safe it is for the skin. The truth is you cannot make soap
without lye, but there is nothing to worry about.
If you remember your
high school chemistry class (or maybe you missed that one), when you
mix a base with an acid, you form a neutral. This is exactly what happens when making soap. When making soap, the lye is the base and mixes with the acid, which in Soapistication products is the organic vegetable oils of olive, coconut, and palm. This natural reaction forms a neutral soap.
Before the soap making process was perfected, soap was often
extremely irritating to the skin due to an overestimation of the amount of lye needed to react with the
oil. This caused lye pockets to form within the soap
that burned the skin that prompted other sensitivities and health issues.
Although lye soap making today avoids this negative trait, some
people are still haunted by the memories of
"grandma's lye soap."
Fortunately, the reality is quite the contrary. The main benefit of
homemade, lye soap and the reason people love it so much is actually due to its soothing properties courtesy of the glycerin that forms naturally
during the oil and lye reaction. Glycerin is removed from most commercial soap
and is often sold as a byproduct. Most homemade soap makers myself included are more
concerned about
producing a superior product, thus keeping the glycerin in the soap.
Lastly, Soapistication's handmade soap is dried (cured) for 3-4 weeks before being packaged, resulting in a product that is even
milder for your skin, to lather better, and to last longer. Enjoy!
Welcome to Soapistication!
by eva stuglovics on 07/03/11
Welcome to Soapistication!
Soapistication is a holistic, eco-conscious skin care company, inspired by shamanic healing traditions and yogic principles. My
handmade soaps are made from entirely skin-friendly, organic, and raw materials which produce a moisturizing delicate lather. All Soapistication ingredients are chosen very carefully and specifically to be mild and gentle, while cleansing thoroughly and providing optimal health benefits to one's skin.
Soapistication products are scented with pure essential oils, giving each soap a specific and unique action and characteristic scent. Soapistication soaps and products are safe for all skin types providing an added benefit to sensitive and dry skin.
The base
ingredients are derived from organic vegetable oils, such as coconut,
olive oil, and sustainable palm oil. Sustainable means Soapistication's supplier
guarantees that the Palm Oil is coming from a plantation where the plant is
grown specifically for cosmetic purposes and is reseeded once harvested. No
animal, people, or forest land are harmed through this process.
Organic herbs, clays, butters, and spices from all over the world are added to Soapistication products for healing benefits and an exfoliating texture.
Soapstication products are handmade and created in small batches in Astoria, New York! Our packaging is 100% biodegradable and compostable.
Both water and olive oil infusions are used; thus, just like when making tea, the ingredients combination an infusion of hot water and an herb
or a combination of several herbs. Olive oil infusions are also used for it's extra healing, soothing, and calming properties in our soaps.
Because all of the ingredients and herbs are free of preservatives and chemicals, some changes occur to the coloring, a completely natural process. Rather than use synthetic dyes to make each soap the same, Soapistication allows nature to determine the final color of the product, knowing that the ingredients are in their most natural and unaltered state. We assure you that should there be some variation in color from soap to soap, all products are made with the high quality and
healing ingredients that Soapistication is known to use and that no synthetic chemicals, preservatives, artificial dyes, parabens, or and fragrance oils are used, ever.
We
learn a lot about what we feed our bodies, but people often overlook the importance of our daily skincare rituals and the impact these substances have on our internal and external health. The skin is the body's biggest organ and essentially eats anything that
we put on it's surface. So many of the beauty products today are loaded with
chemicals, which is like feeding one's skin highly processed and artificial junk
food. Everything and anything thing applied to your skin ends up inside your body, going through the bloodstream, just as if it was ingested. Before using a beauty product, ask yourself, "would I really want to eat this?"
A
truly, natural beauty product should be safe enough to eat. Follow my
future blogs that will address various topics including harmful ingredients to avoid, the healing properties of Soapistication
ingredients and many more fun and extremely crucial and informative topics related to skin, health and Soapistication!
