Simple soaps

We love simple and uncomplicated recipes. It means each ingredient can shine and do what it does well without being overshadowed or competing with other things in a formula. I have been guilty of throwing everything at a test product, thinking more was better, but it makes the properties of the individual ingredients dull, and in some cases, could cancel each other out or duplicate effects when one would be sufficient. This is why our products (except for the bug repellent) have short lists with understandable/recognizable additions. Did you know the oldest soap from the Mediterranean was only lye and olive oil? The heritage and home country of Castile soap are fought over, but the age remains pretty old. It is still made today because it is effective in its simplicity. We offer a variation of this with the addition of coconut oil to increase bubbles, and hardness and influence the feel of the bar, but that's where we draw the line. Most soaps on the store shelf today are not soap in the truest sense; they are detergents. Most have added sulfates, colors, and artificial fragrances. We love the fun smells of the bath and body offerings, but since we have used simple products that only smell clean or use pure scents from plant essential oils, the fragrances offend the nose after a while and show up as headaches and respiratory irritation. You'll find these reactions more common when the body is detoxed and an offending chemical is present. It's the body's way of warning to keep away. Be a student of the ingredient lists of things you welcome into your home.