// Barb’s Divine Soap
Inspired by Nature
Barb is fascinated with the whole transformation/alchemy of the creation of soap. Once she discovered she could purchase many excellent ingredients locally, to support the local economy in the process, she dove in and tried it. Now she is hooked into the creativity of and joy in creating soap.
Barb makes most of her soaps using the cold process method. All soaps are created from using lye, either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, as well as a combination of fats, to create soap and glycerin. She is very ethically minded, so is very careful about her ingredients.
She uses organic ingredients and even the palm oil she gets is ordered from places that are ethical and sustainable. It is part of her philosophy of providing a good product made with caring and consciousness that will be passed on to you, the customer.
I am aware that there are many people avoiding animal products these days.
I reflected deeply whether or not to use animal products. Since most of my soaps don’t use animal products, I decided over time that those animals were already butchered and as long as I was only supporting the industry that does things in a good way, I could live with that.
In fact, it honours the lives of those relatives who are no longer alive. It also respects the history of the soaps. I get my lard at Lost Savanna Farm, which is 100% organic and I know that they treat their four legged relatives very well. For the tallow, I get it from Guenther Brothers locally, avoiding the cost of shipping. I know that this tallow is non-GMO and grass fed; and while it cannot be guaranteed to be “organic” I know that many of the farmers locally are.
I do find that the soaps are hard and long-lasting, and because they are made from animals, they resemble our own skin more. As such they can be very nourishing and moisturizing for our skin. Hopefully this can allay any concerns regarding using animal products for soap making.
Homemade
