Soap is a mixture of fats and lye. This chemical process, called saponification, turns fat into soap by adding an alkaline substance such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. This creates a solid product at room temperature while still maintaining its cleansing power. Natural soap bars contain no petroleum products and retain glycerin naturally found in the fats used to make them. Glycerin attracts moisture to your skin and aids in maintaining this moisture for your body’s natural use. The most commonly used natural soaps are made from animal fats, such as tallow, with olive oil being trendy because of its mildness and ability to leave even the most sensitive skin soft and smooth, but there are many other choices to choose from.
Benefits of using a natural soap
Soap made with animal fats creates a stable lather that is gentle on sensitive skin yet still penetrates the pores and cleanses the skin well. These soaps are typically not as hard, so they take longer to last through an entire shower or bath. Natural soap Australia containing animal fats makes the product harder than vegetable-based soaps but does not contain harsh chemicals or any artificial fragrances which can irritate the skin.
The most popular type of natural soap sold today contains vegetable oils combined with sodium hydroxide for saponification. Olive oil is the most common fat used for natural soaps because of its mildness. Other vegetable oils such as coconut and palm are also popular choices in creating a gentle product that produces a stable lather with a high cleansing action. Plant-based soaps often contain additional ingredients such as herbal extracts, natural coloring agents, or essential oils to add fragrance and extra benefits to the soap.
Natural soap made from only saponified fats and oils typically has a shorter shelf life than other types of soap due to the lack of chemicals used in processing the mixture into bars. This type of soap contains no artificial fragrances or harsh chemicals which can break down your skin’s moisture barrier when combined with water, leaving it itchy and dry yet still clean.
Soap made with only saponified fats and oils typically has a shorter shelf life than other types of soap due to the lack of chemicals used in processing the mixture into bars. This type of soap contains no artificial fragrances or harsh chemicals which can break down your skin’s moisture barrier when combined with water, leaving it itchy and dry yet still clean. Natural soaps are not as hard as other types, but they are gentle on sensitive skin while still being able to penetrate pores for cleansing purposes. These soaps are usually not as long-lasting through an entire shower or bath because less lather is created from general use. They do contain glycerin naturally found in the fats used to make them which makes the soap softer, and this provides a benefit in retaining moisture for your body.