In a world of free two-day delivery and rapidly-evolving technology, “handmade” isn’t a word that has the cachet it used to. After all, what can humans produce that machines can’t make better, faster, more cutting-edge?
If you think about it, quite a bit. Off the top of our heads, we’d say art. Life-enriching creativity is best left to the living. And making soap is an art (and a science) that huge, automated companies get wrong all of the time.
Here are a few major areas where big business just can’t match handmade soap makers:
Scent
The most nefarious item on an ingredient list is usually one familiar, not-that-science-y word: fragrance. Companies are not required to provide a list of ingredients they use to create a fragrance. Therefore, any ingredient they don’t want you to know about can be added to your soap and protected under the guise of “fragrance”.
Have you ever used an app to measure the toxicity of a product, or looked a product up on a search engine like the Environmental Working Group has? If so, you know that “fragrance” can take a seemingly simple cream or soap from “relatively harmless” to “DANGER”.
Very few handmade soaps use fragrance. They rely instead on citrus peels, herbs, and essential oils. Nothing is hidden because they have nothing to hide!
Moisture
We love fresh air. Who doesn’t - we all need to breathe! The air also contains moisture that can be drawn in and used to hydrate your skin. All you need to make this process happen is glycerin. Unfortunately, most mass-produced soaps strip out their glycerin. Because glycerin is such an effective humectant, companies want to save it, set it aside, and use it to sell you lotion.
Handmade soaps will retain glycerin. This way, you get a really good bar of soap that doesn’t rob your skin of moisture, which means you’ll use fewer other products. It’s cost-effective for the consumer, but it also means that makers of handmade soap get a loyal, valued customer base without compromising their integrity. It is honest business done right.
Testing
If you use plant-based, time-tested ingredients humanity has relied on for ages, you don’t need to test on animals. Animal testing on the whole isn’t more reliable than other methods. This is why many countries have banned animal testing on products like soap.
Yet still many companies can legally turn you and the animals into their own personal science experiment. They cram a ton of synthetic ingredients into a product and test it on animals to mixed results. In the end, it’s not always completely safe for you to use, either. Was it really worth it?
Handmade soap is “tested” on humans. We make sure it gets you clean, is pleasant to use, takes care of your skin, and doesn’t contain anything toxic.
It just makes sense
You buy soap to enhance, cleanse, and beautify your skin. Handmade soap contains only ingredients that were selected for this purpose. On top of that, the soap making process has endured for thousands of years. Each maker adds a bit of their own inspiration and intuition to each batch.
Why do people still use handmade soap? It’s less irritating, more moisturizing, kinder, and practical. Do yourself - and your skin - a favor by sticking to handmade soap.
0 comments:
Post a Comment