How we take care of our skin can have a significant impact on our overall well-being. The body’s largest organ, our skin is incredibly absorbent and porous. A lot of research shows that poisonous chemicals can be drawn through the skin and transmitted into the bloodstream, causing long-term damage.

Launching our Handmade Soap for men was a huge deal for us at Buck Ridge Soap Company. A primary reason why we chose cold-processed, handmade soap was to provide our consumers with safer, more nourishing body care and cleansing options. Each handmade bar is artisan handmade and takes weeks to cure which keeps the integrity of the vitamins, nutrients, and essential oils in our soap.

Most of the conventional, over-the-counter “soaps” are truly compacted detergents stripped of any natural benefits. As per the Food and Drug Administration, to be regulated as “soap,” the “alkali salts of fatty acids” must be the solitary material that results in the soap’s cleaning action.

If the final product contains chemical detergents, it’s a cosmetic, not a soap. Now more than ever, it’s vital to educate ourselves on the goods we use. In the spirit of transparency, here are a few reasons why you should make the switch to handmade soap.

1. Don’t Use Detergent: Why on earth would someone use a cosmetic to cleanse over soap? Not just do detergent soaps mask odor more than clean, they frequently dehydrate and irritate the skin.

2. Just 100% Pure Essential Oils: Packed with anti-microbial, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and other health-promoting properties, 100% pure essential oils clean the skin whereas adding valuable nutrients and vitamins.

3. Think pH Levels: Essential for keeping the skin’s natural barrier, the pH is around 9-10 for Handmade Soap. That level is indeed alkaline, making the handmade soap a gentler and a more beneficial cleanser. The addition of Coconut Oil in our handmade soap moisturizes and nourishes to preserve the skin’s natural pH levels.

4. Our Little Planet: The very same deadly chemicals in OTC “soap” that harms our skins is similarly causing severe damage to the planet Earth. Because of massive use in conventional body care, toxic chemicals are usually found in oceans, rivers, and lakes.

5. Just Say “No” To Chemicals: Antibacterial “soap” usually contains triclosan, along with many other harmful chemicals (including petrochemicals, parabens, and sodium laureth sulphate). The Environmental Working Group discovered that triclosan may disturb human hormones and damage the generative system. Similarly, it doesn’t actually kill more germs as compared to natural soap!

6. Animal Friends: Instead of drawing required animal testing because of the chemicals used in mass-produced “soap,” our handmade soap is completely cruelty-free. At Buck Ridge, we never produce soaps that we haven’t personally tested.

7. Silkier Skin: The cold process handmade soap method maintains all of the nourishing ingredients which help prevent itchy, dry skin while vigorously moisturizing the skin.

8. Rich Lather: Silkening and creamy, nature’s ingredients make for much richer lathers as compared to synthetics used in mass-produced “ soap.”

9. Glycerin Goodness: Even though it might look like a scary word, Glycerin can have an ideally transformative effect on the skin. Our cold-process technique ensures that the Glycerin binds with the molecules of the soap to keep the skin supple and without residue. Plant fats contain about 8-13% Glycerin, which helps to maintain the moisture of the skin hours after you wash.

10. Aroma Everywhere: A person experienced with essential oils can tell you the great benefits of aromatherapy and the quality of synthetic fragrances vs. EO aroma. Not only will you smell amazing, but your shower will similarly feel like a relaxing spa.

11. Attention to health and safety: Some of the ingredients, such as Methylisothiazolinone, are known to be injurious to people, but they are still found in numerous products. While researching and hunting down our collection of fragrances we similarly found an alarming amount of fragrances with the cautions “may cause cancer”, “possible risk of impaired fertility,” and “potential risk of harm to the unborn child.” These are fragrances sold to soap manufacturers as well, so ensure that your supplier of skin products are well-aware of their ingredients (and that they care about the wellbeing information that’s given by their suppliers).

12. Overall attention to ingredients: Handmade soaps contain glycerin and oils (plus the occasional scent, colorant, or additive such as flower petals), while mass-produced soaps are detergents with a higher level of fragrance levels and little to no useful ingredients. Palm oil is usually used in OTC soap, even though this oil is known to be harmful to wildlife. It is also inexpensive, like animal fats, which are similarly often used. Animal’s fats and palm oil do make great soap (when not combined with detergents); however, we choose to use neither.