Kath's
Vitamin Enriched SoapLast Updated:
10/22/2007
I became interested in making soap because I had very dry, aging skin due to a medical condition. I had tried many expensive beauty products and lotions with few results. Research suggested that pure, natural vegetable soap might be the answer. However, the more research that I did, the more I realized that you cannot easily purchase this soap, even in beauty, body or most health food stores. I decided to try making it and, once I started experimenting, I didn't stop till I had the perfect soap for the skin. Friends and family loved it, so I decided to start making it available to the public.
Soap has a bad reputation as being drying, whereas specially formulated "beauty bars" are supposed to be moisturizing and good for the skin. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Real soap is made from fatty acids from natural fats and oils and contains a large quantity of natural glycerin. Naturally occurring glycerin is a natural humectant (moisturizer), which attracts natural moisture into the skin. Sadly, the natural glycerin is removed from the components of virtually ALL marketed "soaps" and beauty bars.
Additionally, most "soaps" purchased in stores are mislabeled. If the ingredient list contains lists of chemicals such as "sodium palmitate" or "sodium laurelate" (and most do), it is a formulated beauty bar or detergent bar, NOT real soap. The fact that oils are listed chemically indicates that the oils are either petroleum based or have had their glycerides removed. Detergent bars are usually labeled as soap but really contain "fractionated" oils and/or petroleum products instead of natural fats and oils.
Even when a bar is labeled "Glycerin" soap, there is a proportionately tiny amount of non-natural glycerin added back into the soap to supposedly reduce its drying effect. More often, it refers merely to the translucent nature of the soap. Real soap, with naturally occurring glycerin intact, is normally not translucent, whereas chemical glycerin is often added to novelty bars to achieve translucency, NOT for moisturizing.
To compound the drying effect, most store-bought soaps are formulated with petroleum based and/or large molecule oils and fats. These large molecule fats dissolve and combine with your natural skin oils. When they are washed or wiped away, they take all the natural oils with it. The skin is unable to absorb any of these oils. Tallow, often used in older (and cheaper) soap formulas, has the same effect, as well as clogging your pores.
Good soap should contain small molecule oils, which are very close in molecular structure to natural skin oils. These oils are absorbed into the skin, drawing in with it added vitamins, beneficial oils and glycerin. Small molecule oils also "normalize" your skin and allow the free flow of natural oils to and from the surface. This cuts down on clogged pores and blemishes, which often occur with store-bought AND tallow based soaps, despite dry skin.
Kath's Vitamin Enriched Soap is formulated with only the finest exotic vegetable oils and loaded with vitamins A, D, E (for skin health and healing), K and F (essential fatty acids - for collagen production). I have used the following high-quality food grade oils in making it:
- Coconut Oil (moisturizing, promotes lathering and hardness)
- Palm Oil (mild, promotes soap hardness)
- Olive Oil (cleans well, attracts and holds external moisture and forms a breathable film without blocking natural skin functions)
- Wheat Germ Oil (high in Vitamin E, also provides carotene and vegetable lecithin which nourish skin cells and prevent moisture loss)
- Carrot Seed Oil (high in vitamin A and beta-carotene, stimulates sweat and sebaceous glands which work to balance skin's moisture content)
- Carrot Root Oil (high in vitamins A, E and provitamin A, stimulates sweat and sebaceous glands which work to balance skin's moisture content)
- Vitamin E Oil (provides Vitamin E, antioxidant)
- Sweet Almond Oil (excellent emollient, known to soften, soothe and condition skin)
- Apricot Kernel Oil (high in oleic and linoleic acids, especially good for mature skin, sensitive skin and skin that is inflamed or dry)
- Kukui Nut Oil (high in linoleic and linolenic essential fatty acids critical for healthy skin, easily absorbed, used to treat sunburn, acne, eczema, psoriasis, and chapped skin)
- Jojoba Oil (moisturizer and humectant, contains waxy esters which help skin maintain normal functions while allowing skin to repair and rebalance itself)
- Shea Butter (soothes and softens dry, chapped skin while nourishing all skin types, good for sensitive skin)
- Avocado Oil (high in vitamins A, E and D, protein, carbohydrates, amino acids, chlorophyll and glycerides, easily absorbed, heals and regenerates skins cells and tissues)
- Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Oil and/or Rosa Mosqueta Rosehip seed Oil (high in lenoleic acid, gamma-linolenic acid and essential fatty acids known as vitamin F, easily absorbed, promotes collagen regeneration)
- Cold pressed pure lavender essential oil for scent (aromatherapy - promotes relaxation, is a natural deodorant and insect/flea repellant <G>)
- Grapefruit Seed Extract (natural antioxidant and preservative)
This hand cut soap is not pretty, but is packed full of vitamins, oils and moisturizers yet leaves your skin squeaky clean - never slimy, oily or greasy. Minutes after using it, your skin will feel like you have used lotion on it - soft and smooth with an attractive glow. After trials on my own skin, I have found that my fine lines and wrinkles have disappeared, as well as blemishes, scratches and rashes, WITHOUT USING LOTION! My skin is healthier and more attractive than it has ever been.
My soap is very lightly scented with natural lavender essential oil and has a natural gold color. One bar will last for a month of daily showers if you allow it to dry between uses.
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