Handcrafted artisan soap. What comes to mind when you hear those three words? Do you think it’s just handmade soap? Well, if you answered yes, you would be partly right but also partly wrong. It’s more than just handmade soap. Handcrafted artisan soap is soap made through a combination of both art and science by an artisan. Artisans take the time to create a soap that is original, high quality and created in small batches. I consider myself to be one of those artisans and through trial and error, have created what I believe to be high quality handcrafted artisan soaps. People have lots of questions when it comes to handcrafted artisan soap. Below, I’ve picked and answered the top four questions most commonly asked so you can have a better idea on what exactly handcrafted artisan soap is.
The Top Four Questions People are Asking About Handcrafted Artisan Soap
1. What are the benefits of handcrafted artisan soap?
The benefits of handcrafted artisan soap are numerous, but here are some that top the list.- It is made without chemicals and synthetics and uses more natural ingredients like oils and butters. At Serendipity Bath & Body, we use only high quality, ethically sourced ingredients. I am open and transparent about the ingredients I use and there is nothing to hide. You can see my ingredients here at Serendipity Bath & Body Ingredients (serendipitybb.com).
- It moisturizes your skin due to a number of factors, but mainly because it retains its natural glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant that draws moisture from the air and creates a protective layer of moisturization on your skin.
- It helps you maintain healthy skin. Did you know your skin is your largest organ and also very porous? What you put on your skin matters. Handcrafted artisan soaps use natural ingredients, designed to be soothing on the skin. Commercial soaps use more chemicals, which can be very irritating to your skin.
- It has a smaller environmental impact. The ingredients in these soaps have less of an impact on the environment than soaps made with chemicals which find their way into the water systems and accumulate as they do not naturally break down.
- It supports a local business. Buying handcrafted artisan soaps supports artisans, who truly care about creating an exceptional and safe product for you.
- It is actually soap. I’ll explain more about that below.
2. What is handcrafted artisan soap?
As I stated in the beginning, handcrafted artisan soap is soap made through a combination of both art and science by an artisan. To explain further, soap is a salt of a fatty acid. It is the result of mixing fats and oils with a base (lye), which then goes through a process called saponification. Once saponified, you have soap. During this saponification, glycerin is created, which provides a natural moisturizing element to these soaps. Commercial “soaps,” remove this glycerin from their product and therefore cannot actually be labeled as soap. In fact the FDA says there are very few soaps on the market that are actually soap. Frequently Asked Questions on Soap | FDA
Not all handcrafted artisan soaps are the same and how they are made vary from soap maker to soap maker. I went behind the scenes of how I make my handcrafted artisan soap in the blog Behind the Scenes: The Art of Making Handmade Soap.
3. Why is handcrafted artisan soap “expensive”?
Sure, at first glance, the price of handcrafted artisan soap is more than what you are used to seeing at the local store. I believe it is not necessarily about it being more “expensive,” but more about who you are buying from and what is in the soaps you are buying. When you buy handcrafted artisan soap, you are supporting local small businesses. The artisans who craft these soaps make them in small batches, with better, more natural ingredients. Because they are made in small batches and not mass produced, they take a little longer to make.
If you want to know if handcrafted artisan soap is for you, ask yourself the questions below. If you answer yes to any of them, then handcrafted artisan soap is for you and you will see their full value and not just the price.
- Do you care about what ingredients you put on your skin?
- Do you want to use products that are better for the environment?
- Do you want to support a local artisan?
4. What is the difference between handcrafted artisan soap and store bought soap?
To put it mildly, as I noted in my answer on what handcrafted artisan soap is, the difference between it and store bought soap is that store bought soap is not actually soap. If you look at Dove, it is not labeled as soap but a beauty bar. They cannot label it soap because it doesn’t go through the saponification process. One of the biggest differences between handmade soap and store bought soap is most commercial soaps remove the glycerin and then sell the glycerin to often be used in lotions and other products. Handcrafted artisan soaps maintain their natural glycerin that is created by the saponification process. In addition, most store bought soaps are synthetic, which means they use ingredients not from nature but created in a lab somewhere and are detergent based. Most people don’t know that a lot of commercial soaps you find at your local store are not really soap.
As I mentioned above, your skin is your largest organ and actually accounts for 15% of your body weight. Wow! I believe that really puts things into perspective. You want to treat your skin with the love and attention it deserves, which is why what you put on your skin matters. It’s why I put so much of myself into creating my handcrafted artisan soaps so you can feel good about what you are putting on your skin. I would love for you to look over my handcrafted artisan soaps here at Serendipity Bath & Body Artisan Soap (serendipitybb.com). If you’re having trouble picking just one, don’t worry, I created a sample set so you can try more than one. Check out the sample set here on Amazon. Go ahead and pamper yourself - your skin will thank you.