Real Handmade Soap 101-The sordid truth of what you may be using!

*Longer video on Press page and About Page*

Handmade Soap 101

Saving a few $$ on handmade soap may not always be the wisest choice and here's why:

Sweet Harvest Farms has crafted a unique Cold-Processed soap recipe featuring organic, soothing, and luxurious ingredients, ensuring a handmade soap that not only cleanses thoroughly but also leaves your skin feeling soft, supple, and silky.

Unlike commercial brands that often strip away the glycerin produced in the cold process method, leaving their soaps potentially drying and irritating, our soap retains this beneficial glycerin. Commercial brands typically sell this glycerin to high-end cosmetic companies, leaving their own products lacking this vital component. In fact, the FDA doesn't even classify such products as "soap."

Recent FDA regulations impose significant fines on products claiming to be "soap" when they are actually beauty bars or melt-and-pour products. Consequently, many well-known commercial brands now label their products as "beauty bars." Despite claims of being natural, these products often contain various chemicals including petroleum, esters (linked to cancer risks), alcohols (known to dry the skin), lower quality oils and waxes, detergents (for increased lather), and preservatives. It's important to remember that your skin absorbs everything applied to it, potentially entering your bloodstream, making the choice of skincare products crucial to your health and well-being.

*OPEN NOTE: You cannot wrap true soaps in cellophane or put them in a box. TRUE soap needs air to continue to cure and every soap needs to be marked with a cure date on the back label! It has been brought to my attention that some so called "soap makers" are putting cure dates on their soap to outwardly deceive. That is unfortunate.

True soaps cannot be kept in "logs" and cut to sell (a gimmick). Soap becomes almost too hard to cut within a day or two of being made. If logs were true cold processed soap, the curing time of 4-5 weeks were render them almost impossible to cut at all.

So how can you tell it it’s a true bar of soap? Well some that claim to be soap can be a little shiny and feel a little oily, moist or tacky to the touch. It may not be as heavy or dense as a true bar of soap. You also cannot see through a real bar of soap. The real proof is in the pudding. If the bar melts quickly, becomes slimy when wet or "gooshy" throw it away. If it leaves a film on your skin or your tub, or if you feel itchy after a shower or bath stop using it at once.

Are there other true soap makers besides Sweet Harvest Farms out there? Of course there are, with recipes all our own. We are few, but we are out there! The best way to spot fraudulent products of any kind is to do research -research and more research! It might be a pain in your derrière but if you want the best quality for your family and friends I would take the time.

NOTE

debjwood1- No research needed since we found @sweetharvestfarms many years ago. I, my husband, children, grandchildren, and our dog only use SHF. We even take it on trips/vacation with us.
We put cure dates on our bars now but had no idea shops selling melt and pour and soap made of a base were doing the same :( As a shop owner it is very frustrating to hear this...even more disappointing to hear as a shopper. I love your soaps and when it's time to splurge or treat myself @sweetharvestfarms and one other local soaper are all I trust. Keep up the fantastic work!
T.F.- Thank you so much. I just don't know how some people sleep at night. I could not in good conscience sell an inferior and possibly harmful product just to put a few bucks in my pocket

*CLOSE NOTE.

"Glycerin Soap" typically refers to a melt-and-pour product sourced from factories, which consumers can remelt at home or in-store, customize with color, scent, and additional glycerin. Glycerin may originate from vegetable oils or, less desirably, from biodiesel fuel derivatives, lacking the usual odor and posing concerns due to its origin and lower cost.

At Sweet Harvest Farms, our Cold Processed Soap method preserves 100% of the naturally occurring glycerin, a valuable by-product known to hydrate the skin as recommended by medical professionals. Our Handmade Soaps are entirely free from synthetic or laboratory-based preservatives and chemicals, ensuring they maintain their integrity without becoming tacky, slimy, or melting quickly—eliminating worries about storage in your shower. (Regrettably, truly natural preservatives do not exist.)

In contrast to commercial bars that rely on harsh detergents for lather, our soaps achieve a luxurious, creamy lather through a thoughtfully blended combination of nourishing organic oils.

Our soap is made in small batches- entirely from scratch - NOT A BASE! Each bar is individually cut and hand-wrapped to insure quality control.

Natural colorants are used in our wonderful soaps to bring out the beauty of each bar and organic and natural herbs are added to some of the recipes. Shea Butter, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Palm Oil (sustainable) and Coconut oil are just a few of the rich oils used to create this luxurious line of soap.

Rosemary extract and Vitamin E is used in every batch. Because it is an organic antioxidant, it is used as a preservative to prevent oxidation and can extend the color and scent of the soap for up to 2 yrs! There is no added scent with Rosemary Extract. Rosemary is known for its preservative qualities and has been used as natural "preservatives" for centuries, even in meat and other food products. Most importantly, it is also widely used as a protecting element in all-natural body care products.

Antioxidants are useful not only as preserving elements in all-natural products, they have been known to keep your body healthy. When topically applied, Rosemary's anti-oxidizing capabilities is said to aid in keeping your skin, hair and body looking and feeling youthful. Although the aging process is inevitable, there are ways in which antioxidants maintain and protect your body from harmful external elements.

There are very few true soap makers left that stay true to the old fashion method of soap making used literally thousands of years ago. Excavations of ancient Babylon uncovered cylinders with inscriptions for making soap around 2800 B.C.E. Later records from ancient Egypt (c. 1500 B.C.E.) describe how oils were combined with alkaline salts to make soap. C.J. has taken this ancient recipe and added rich organic oils and vitamins. Many customers refer to our soap as medicinal because of how it makes their skin feel.

The pure properties of Sweet Harvest Farms Soap make it ideal for the most sensitive of skins (including tiny-tots!) and are handmade right here in America! Fragrances added are made with essential or skin safe fragrance oils. Our large bars weigh approximately 7 oz. or more and each bar WILL LAST 8 - 10 WEEKS!! You will be more than pleased with the condition of your skin after just one use of a Sweet Harvest Farms bar! Take a peek at our Testimonial page to see why our customers will use nothing else!

Note: Sweet Harvest Farms, original and copy-written, luxurious soap recipe is not sold under any other name. This recipe is exclusive to Sweet Harvest Farms and we take our intellectual rights seriously protecting them to the fullest extent available to us.

It's not just soap....It's an experience!