Herbal Soap
"Natural is best"
Natural herbal soap combines the benefits of beautiful moisturising vegetable oils with traditional herbs which bring along their own therapeutic benefits.
At The Celtic Herbal Company we offer 12 herbal soaps all of which are available from our website.
There are so many natural herbal soaps on the market it is very difficult to choose the right one for you and your family. You may be interested in some background information to help you to decide the kind of soap you need.
The History of Soap
The story told in 1000 B.C. Rome, about the discovery of soap on Mount Sapo has been repeated so often as to become legend. Animals were sacrificed on Mount Sapo and it is said that rain would wash the animal fat and a mixture of wood ash down into the clay soil on the banks of the river Tiber. The women rinsing clothes in the river noticed the clothes coming clean as they came in contact with the soapy clay.
The earliest evidence of soapmaking was in ancient Babylon, where clay cylinders dating back from 2800 BC were found to contain soap like material. A formula for soap was inscribed on the cylinders, which was to mix ashes with boiled fat to create a cleansing substance that we now refer to as soap.
Soapmaking
In modern times soap is now made by blending a base (caustic soda), acids (a blend of oils/fats) and water, these react with one another and neutralise (saponify) to make the soap. There are
three methods of manufacture:
- Commercial soap is a blend of tallow (animal fat) and other fats and a variety of other synthetic ingredients with caustic soda. These are heated to a high temperature to blend and finally set. This is then grated (milled) and reformed into a hard bar.
- ‘Melt and pour’ soap which is where a commercial glycerine base is bought as a solid or small pellets which are then melted down, producers then add colours and fragrances and mould as required.
- Cold-processed is the traditional soap making method using easily accessible materials, without complex chemical additives and using only the heat of the reaction. As all the glycerine is retained in the soap this method provides a very creamy, moisturising product.
The traditional recipes called for animal fat or tallow, but many consumers now prefer all vegetable soaps such as ours.
At The Celtic Herbal Company we make natural soap by hand using the traditional cold process method. We do not add any parabens or sulphates to our soaps.
Watch out for Sulphates and Parabens in any of your soap products, they are not required and experts believe that they may cause medical side effects. They are usually found in branded high street products and many other 'natural' products.
Our ingredients
We use pure natural oils in our blend, sweet almond oil known to soften, soothe and condition the skin; olive oil a superb moisturiser as it holds moisture to the skin while also allowing the skin to breathe, coconut oil moisturizes, lathers beautifully and helps make a hard long lasting bar and beeswax which is everything and more, it softens the skin, it is an anti inflammatory and in our recipe it helps to harden the bar. To this we add organic herbs, honey, cinnamon etc as required by the recipe, add a fragrance high in essential oils possibly a colourant and hey presto there is the luxurious bar of creamy soap which is long lasting and will leave your skin beautifully soft and thoroughly cleansed.
Our Herb Recipes
To this soap base we add organic herbs, such as chamomile, marigold, rosemary, fennel and dill to name a few. The herbs are carefully chosen for their therapeutic benefits for each of the bars. Lemon Balm soap, for example has a fabulous fresh fragrance which is super for an energising morning shower or Marigold which is a beautifully mild pure soap base with marigold essential oils and petals known to assist in dry skin conditions.
Our range
Our problem is probably we have too many to chose from, 16 herb varieties (23 varieties in all!), in two sizes 140g, 80g and 20g these cost £4.95, £2.95 and 99p (but watch out for our promotions they are often cheaper!).
The choice is yours................
To buy now, click here
About Us
The Celtic Herbal Magazine is produced by The Celtic Herbal Company Ltd, makers of high quality natural herbal soaps and skin care. If you'd like to see our range of handmade herbal products, including soaps high in essential oils, bath oils, sea salts for bathing, balms and facials plus gorgeous gift boxes for special occasions, you can visit us here at www.celtic-herbal.co.uk. We're looking forward to seeing you!