Ingredients
Everything that goes into a bar.
Here’s what we use and why. Each bar’s page lists its own ingredients in full, so you always know exactly what you’re buying.
A word about lye
All true soap is made with lye (sodium hydroxide). It reacts with the oils and turns them into soap and glycerin, and by the time a bar has cured there is none left in it.
A soap sold as “lye-free” was either made with lye by someone else first, or isn’t really soap.
Oils and butters
Where every bar starts. The mix of oils decides how hard a bar is, and how it lathers.
- Olive oil
- The base of every bar. Gentle and conditioning, and the reason the lather feels creamy rather than squeaky.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Neem, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
- Coconut oil
- Gives the big, bubbly lather.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Neem, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
- Castor oil
- A small amount makes the lather denser and longer-lasting.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Neem, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
- Shea butter
- Adds hardness and a soft, moisturising feel.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Neem, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
What makes it soap
The few things that turn oils into a bar, and keep it fresh.
- Lye
- Sodium hydroxide. It reacts with the oils and becomes soap and glycerin, and none is left once the bar has cured.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Neem, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
- Water
- Carries the lye, then evaporates during the cure.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Neem, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
- Vitamin E
- An antioxidant that helps keep the oils fresh.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Neem, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
- Sodium lactate
- A salt made from lactic acid. It gives a harder bar that comes out of the mould cleanly.
- In Neem
Colour
All the swirls, stripes and hearts are poured by hand.
- Mica
- Fine mineral powder in skin-safe colours. Each shade is named on the label, like fruit green or lemon yellow.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
- Titanium dioxide
- A white mineral pigment, for the brightest white parts of a bar.
- In Sweet Tobacco and Morning Rain
Scent
Every scent is named on the label. Neem has none at all.
- Fragrance
- A skin-safe fragrance oil, added at the end of the pour. The name on the box, like Ocean Breeze or Sweet Tobacco, is the scent.
- In Rose, Ocean Breeze, Sweet Tobacco, Lavender, Morning Rain, Rose, Lilac, Apricot Melon and Lilac
What we leave out.
Just as important as what goes in.
- Palm oil
- Not in any bar, in any form.
- Sulfates and detergents
- Real soap cleans on its own. There’s nothing to add.
- Parabens
- A cured bar of soap doesn’t need them.
Sensitive skin or allergies?
Natural isn’t the same as gentle for everyone. Fragrance can irritate skin that reacts easily. Neem has no added scent or colour, so it’s the gentlest place to start. Try a little on your inner arm first, and ask us if you’re unsure. Our soaps are for external use only.