Why Use Handcrafted Soap?



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- RESPONSIBLE PRODUCERS -
The Herbal Workshop uses only organic and responsibly-sourced olive, coconut, & palm oils. And Fair Trade Shea Butter in certain bars from a cooperative in Togo!
Did you know that orangutans are killed by the clear cuts in the South American rainforest for palm oil purposes? ... not to mention all of the other devastating effects that rainforest destruction causes.
Read more at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil


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- NATURALLY OCCURRING GLYCERIN -
- CHEMICAL FREE -
Glycerin, which naturally occurs in the soapmaking process (see chemical formula on 'What Is Soap?' page), is a humectant (attracts moisture), which means it promotes skin moisture and softness. In commercial soap, they remove the glycerin because it is a valuable commodity for other uses in products such as cosmetics, foods, syrups, ointments and medicines. The resulting product is a far less naturally moisturizing soap, instead using re-introduced glycerin from ethanol, palm oil production or various animal sources. 
Detergent soap bars can also use ingredients such as petroleum, phosphates, synthetic dyes & fragrances and sulfates which can be damaging to both our bodies and the environment. 
For example, the fragrance found in Caress beauty bars is rated as a high hazard by The Environmental Working Group, seen here, causing toxic ecological damage, allergies and immunotoxicity, skin irritation and organ toxicity.

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- SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY // SHOP @ SMALL and/or LOCAL BUSINESSES -

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- BIODEGRADABLE -
Soap produced without added chemicals is naturally biodegradable when it washes down the drain, where as detergent-based or soaps with chemicals such as triclosan, triclocarban and phosphates, are not.

"Biodegradable literally means that the ingredients used in the soap can be broken down naturally by bacteria, rather than remaining in the soil. A soap is generally considered to be biodegradable as long as at least 90% of it breaks down into water, carbon dioxide and biological material within six months of being discarded. Many non-biodegradable soaps, on the other hand, contain chemicals like triclosan and triclocarban, which are almost impossible to break down naturally and are also impossible to filter out during water treatment. The result is that lakes and rivers become polluted with these chemicals which upset the natural balance of the water. Phosphates are another group of chemicals that are frequently found in regular soaps and that cannot be broken down or processed out of waste water. When phosphates find their way into lakes they can cause an overgrowth of algae, known as an algal bloom, which can use up all of the oxygen in the water causing the other animals and plants to die in large numbers. " -Cascada Expediciones

How to use Biodegradable Soap

Even if you have the best of intentions and make sure to buy entirely biodegradable hygiene products, you may be doing more harm than good if you assume that you can just toss your waste water away into a stream. Biodegradable soap (and shampoos and dish soap) will degrade within about six months if you bury it in the ground at least 60 metres (200 ft) from a water source, but it will still be harmful if you dispose of it directly into a natural lake or river. Digging a hole to bury the waste water ensures that it won’t be lapped up by some unsuspecting guanaco and puts the soap in direct contact with bacteria in the soil that will break it down.  -Cascada Expediciones

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Melted organic, sustainable olive, coconut, palm & castor oils being heated to make soap