Why cold-process soap? And how it stacks up against alternatives.

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Cold-process soap has been hot-topic for the last few years, with new brands popping up all over the place as people have slowly been moving to more natural alternatives.

With so many options out there, we wanted to clarify:

1 - What cold-press soap is and when to consider adding it into your routine
2 - Why cold-process soap isn’t necessarily always the best option
3 - Other options and why people are moving away from your standard supermarket shower gel
4 - What makes our range stand out from the rest
5 - Our stance on palm oil

Before we get going though, here’s some soap history to give you a helping hand for your next pub quiz.

They think the name ‘soap’ derives from Rome, around 1,000 BC in a small village called Sapo Hill. The ladies of the village were washing clothes in a small tributary of the river Tiber, below a religious site where animal sacrifice took place.

They noticed that the clothes became clean upon contact with the soapy clay which was dripping down the hill and into the water. They then noticed that this cleanser was formed by the animal fat soaking through the wood ashes and into the clay soil.

Soap has certainly evolved since the early days and has become much kinder to your skin, we've switched the animal fats for things like cocoa butter and added lot's of lovely skin nourishing ingredients. 

What cold-press soap is and when to consider adding it into your routine

Cold process soap is made by combining oils (cocoa, shea, olive etc…) and sodium hydroxide (lye or caustic soda), which causes a chemical reaction called saponification. In the process, you get to choose the oils, scents, colorants, and any other ingredients. It’s our preferred method at WiDEYE as we get to ensure every ingredient we use is as natural, sustainable and ethically sourced as possible.

Cold-process soap is great for both hands & body, so you can either store your bar on your bath room sink, or save it for the shower. Moisturising butters like cocoa or shea combined with nourishing oils will leave your skin feeling well moisturised and soft, plus you get the mood-enhancing benefits of the essential oils. You can also rest-assured that there are no nasty chemicals like SLS’s, synthetic scents or Parabens. It's also a great option if you want to reduce the amount of packaging you use. 

Why cold-process soap isn’t necessarily always the best option.

Depending on how a bar of soap is formulated and the ingredients that have been added, for some people they can be drying, which is why it can be the case that shower gel is a better option. Like with anything, it’s always best to try things out first and then see how you get on.

On the plus side, if you’re the type of person who doesn’t agree with cold-process soap for showering, you can always use the bars for the tougher skin on your hands! 🙌

Alternatives and why people are moving away from standard soap

Melt & Pour -> You may get easily confused between melt & pour and cold-process, the main thing to remember is that melt & pour can often contain synthetic ingredients since the base is pre-made. This often makes it quite harsh on the skin.

Shower Gel -> Whilst you can certainly buy natural shower gel, most of what you see on supermarket shelves contains synthetic ingredients you generally want to be avoiding. For the most part, these also come in non-recyclable plastic containers. On the other side, they are the cheapest option available, so if you do opt for this it's always good to check the ingredients. 

Our stance on palm oil

We think it’s important to keep an open-mind when it comes to product sourcing and follow the direction of organisations we trust.

When we first formulated our soap, we did lots of research and found that opting for alternatives to responsibly sourced palm oil isn’t necessarily the best option for our surroundings. The WWF actually recommends avoiding products which boycott palm oil all-together, since these can lead to more deforestation. 

In short, palm oil is the most efficient crop available, shifting to alternatives like soy bean, would just result in more land being destroyed. What’s important, is that we use RSPO certified palm oil, which makes sure the palm oil is not contributing to unsustainable practices. If you'd like more information on this or if you have any questions feel free to drop us an email or pop a comment below. You can also find more information on the WWF website here.

What makes our range stand out from the rest

Our mission from the start has always been to open as many peoples eyes to the power of nature. With our soap we’re doing this by strictly using high quality ingredients like pure essential oils and nourishing extracts that genuinely improve the health of your skin. And of course, we only use RSPO certified palm oil across the range. 

For example, in our cucumber and aloe soap, we blend up fresh cucumbers and add it to the saponification process so you’re getting the benefits of a fresh cucumber. Across the range we also use loads of different enriching oils like Avocado, Rosehip & Argan to really nourish your skin.

Starting from £4.50, we have over 20 bars in the range to choose from, so if you’d like to take a look, you can explore them all here.