INGREDIENTS IN OUR HANDMADE SOAPS
 

We make our soap completely from scratch, using raw ingredients and recipes we created in a process known as "cold process". This allows us to make small batches that are easier to control and produce a high quality soap.

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The ingredients we use to make our handmade soaps vary, depending on the type of soap made. All soaps are made with some kind of fat or oil, some kind of liquid (mostly water) used as a carrier for our lye, and of course sodium hydroxide or 'lye' (potassium hydroxide for liquid soaps). Before you go screaming off into the sunset about lye and it's caustic nature.. let's take a closer look at the soap making process.

There is a saying that states "you cant have soap without lye!" This is completely true. When a liquid (like water), fats and lye (a strong alkali) are all mixed properly, there is a chemical process called saponification. Hence, the word "soap." This is the only way to get true soap. Once this process is complete, you end up with two main products; soap and glycerin. There is also some amount of water left over, but this tends to leave the soap as it cures and hardens. Also, if the soaper chooses, he (or she) can decide to "superfat" the soap to help create a more conditioning bar for either skin or hair by leaving some extra oil in the recipe at differing proportions. So.. repeat after me.. "there is no lye in finished soap".

 

I mentioned earlier that I use the "Cold Process" method of soap making. This method probably takes the most time to produce a "finished" product and there are other faster methods of producing soap, but they each have their advantages and disadvantages! I will list the other methods here:

• Hot Process

• Melt And Pour Process

• Re-Batching (or handmilling) Process

• Warm Process

• Transparent Method Process

• Full Boiled Process

 

The "Full Boiled" process is a really popular and very common method that is used by the big commercial soap companies that you typically find on the shelves in many grocery stores. Using this method creates glycerin as a separate byproduct. Since glycerin is so lucrative, the big commercial soap makers generally remove it and sell it as a separate product in order to make more profit.

 

Another interesting fact is that almost all of those bar soaps and liquid soaps (bady wash) that you find in stores are not even classified as soaps. Those mass produced products are actually referred to as "Synthetic detergents" because of the harsh, man-made preservatives and chemicals that are put into them.
 

4 Directions Natural Soap is made in small batches with all natural ingredients and retains the naturally produced glycerin from the fats, oils and plants! Back in the old days, there used to be a lot of guess work in making soap and something to do with a raw egg (or small apple) when grandma used to make soap and figure out the correct lye proportions. In today's times, we work with specialized charts and a good digital scale to determine the correct proportions of ingredients to use in our soap making process.  This allows for a gentle, all natural soap that ends up just the way it was intended... good for the skin and no guesswork!

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We put in a lot of effort to make everything with the least negative impact to the environment. Again, all of our products are made in small batches and by hand... NOT mass produced using big machines or harsh, man-made chemicals. Check out our store, for all of these great (and great for you) items!  In the spirit of keeping things natural by using ingredients created by Nature, I use the traditional cold process method in the creation of all of my soaps. I like to think that my soaps are "guided by human hand, but made by nature."