Handmade soap benefits: 6 reasons why artisanal soap is better
Picture this: you're at a farmer's market, and there's a table full of handmade soap at one of the stands. You look at them for a minute, and you realize they cost considerably more than that bar of Irish Spring you mooched off your partner in the shower this morning.
It's natural to ask why handmade soap is better. After all, if you're going to invest more money in it, you deserve to know why.
Over the past 7 years, I've made more soap than I can even measure, so let me explain 6 benefits of handmade soap that I've discovered along the way.
1. Handmade soap benefits the skin
Let's talk science! (I'll keep it simple, promise!) When you make soap, it takes two main things: lye and oils. And when you combine these ingredients, they reliably make two types of molecules: soap and glycerin.
Soap molecules clean (obviously). Glycerin molecules have the ability to draw moisture to them, so they can help keep your skin hydrated. But a while ago, larger soap companies figured out that glycerin can be pretty lucrative for other uses. That's why they started separating out the glycerin from the soap and selling pure soap with none of the glycerin left in it.
So if you're following along: commercial soap usually has only the cleaning agent (soap) without the moisture-attracting properties (glycerin). It means their soap is super drying. If you're lucky, they've added a little something as a conditioner and marketed it as a "lotion" additive, but mostly you're just using super cleansing soap. That's why it makes your skin dry.
You know what small, handmade soap makers don't have? Fancy equipment to separate soap and glycerin molecules. That means that handmade soap retains its natural glycerin. While the soap is cleaning, the glycerin is helping it be gentler on your skin because that's what it does best! This is why many customers report that handmade soap doesn't dry their skin out the way commercial soap does.
So handmade soap is nicer on the skin, which is a big benefit of handmade soap over store-bought soap!
2. Handmade soap is more eco-friendly
Let me present you with two scenarios:
- A factory churning out thousands of bars of soap in a day
- A person hand-making soap by the dozen or a few dozen at a time
Which do you think is better for the environment?
Definitely option 2. Not only is handmade soapmaking mostly powered, well...by hand, it often has a focus on sustainability built in. For example, a lot of smaller producers are wrapping their soap in plastic-free wrappers, purchasing locally or ethically-sourced ingredients and focusing on quality so that their soap doesn't just call for an extra product or three afterwards (see above about drying). They're designing thoughtful products that are gentle on your skin so that you don't have to then apply a lotion after just to not have dry, irritated skin. (Goodbye, over-consumption!) They're using the goat's milk or honey from their own farm, or the farm down the road. They're making cardboard or paper wrappers for their soap. And that's just talking about the companies that aren't prioritizing vegan and organic ingredients (of which there are also lots).
Being human-powered means that handmade soapers don't have to use fossil fuels to run their enormous factories, which is a huge way to avoid carbon emissions. And because so many soapers sell their products locally, that really cuts down on the carbon cost of transporting that product. Compare that to a large company that's shipping huge amounts of product all over the country and even worldwide.
Handmade soap is better for the environment because it's small, local and higher-quality.
3. Handmade soap lasts longer
Well, usually, anyway. The makers who are good at making soap cure their bars for at least a month, and that makes them last much longer and even creates a better, more gentle lather.
Commercial soap made by large companies is often what's called milled soap. This means the soap is ground up into a powder—usually once the glycerin is removed—and pressed back into a bar shape. So it's just little bits of soap forced together, rather than really having any structure built in anymore. That's why those bars of soap melt away so quickly.
On the other hand, well-cured handmade soap has formed a strong bond structure between the soap molecules because they haven't been broken up. This means that handmade soap usually doesn't easily break apart or melt quickly. I've been told a single bar of our soap can last 6 months to a year as a handwashing bar. Eat your heart out, Dove!
Handmade soap is better than store-bought because it lasts way longer. You get more bang for your buck!
4. There are more options with handmade soap
Big companies are interested in one thing: profit. They look for something they think will appeal to a lot of people, and they try it. If it works, they rinse and repeat forever. The scent of Ivory soap hasn't changed in a very long time, for example, and it's because it appeals to a broad range of people and they don't want to mess with that.
The problem with that is that not everyone has the same taste in scents. If you've been to a soap booth at a market, you know the pleasure of smelling all the incredible scents! You can get everything from herbal scents to fruity scents and even scents that emulate a campfire. The possibilities are truly endless!
Handmade soap comes in so many scents, designs, colours and even formulas. Some soaps are super nourishing with milk and honey, some are totally plain for extra sensitive skin, and some have clays in them to help with oilier skin.
If you want a cocoa butter soap with a bubblegum fragrance and neon swirls in it, you're not going to get that at the pharmacy. But you can get it from a handmade soaper! (I just described Unicorn Poop.)
Handmade soaps offer more variety than store-bought, so that means they keep it interesting!
5. Handmade soap is more natural
Because it's less processed, handmade soap is more natural than store-bought. If that's something that appeals to you, it's a major benefit of handmade soap!
Now, full disclosure: I've written at length about how natural doesn't always mean better. But even with that being said, adding extra synthetics when the same benefits can be accomplished with simpler, natural ingredients seems like a fool's errand. Even though we trust well-vetted synthetics, we don't use them if we can achieve the same thing with something from nature.
Large soap companies do just that. They take the glycerin out of their soap to sell it, then they add synthetics to make their soap moisturizing. Make it make sense!
Most handmade soapers use nothing but oils, lye, colour and scent in their products, so the ingredient list is pretty easy to understand. There aren't usually a ton of weird things on the label because a simple, handmade soap is already really lovely. If they add extras, it's normally some botanical ingredient like kelp or seeds for exfoliation.
Because handmade soap is more natural, it's a better option than store-bought for a lot of folks.
6. Buying handmade soap supports small & local
While this doesn't necessarily relate to the quality of the soap itself, buying handmade helps local makers and small businesses! That's a definite win, as small businesses stimulate the local economy and employment in positive ways.
It turns out that when we spend a dollar, small businesses circulate 6 times as much of that dollar back into the local provincial community than a large corporation does. As of 2022, Stats Can tells us that the biggest chunk of Canada's labour force works for small and medium businesses. It's not to surprising—how many pals do you have who have worked for a small business?
So if you want a robust local economy, buying handmade soap will do that better than buying from the big brands.
The takeaway
With all of these benefits of handmade soap over their more commercial counterparts, why not make the switch (if you haven't already)? It's great for your skin, your local economy and even your wallet in the long run!
Besides, how else were you planning to smell like bubblegum? :)
What's your favourite thing about handmade soap?