A bar of handmade soap is mostly oils, water and lye. What makes one bar different from the next is everything added after that — the botanicals, clays and colourants that give a bar its scent, its texture and its look. Here is what we use at Pure Wash, and what each one actually does in the bar.
Essential oils
Essential oils are concentrated aromatic extracts pressed or distilled from plants. In soap they do one job: they give the bar its scent. Unlike synthetic fragrance, the scent shifts a little from batch to batch, because the plant material does.
- Lavender — soft, floral and herbaceous. The scent most people reach for at the end of the day.
- Tea tree — sharp, green and medicinal. Distinctive, and not for everyone.
- Peppermint — bright and cooling on the skin, which makes it a morning bar rather than an evening one.
Essential oils are volatile, which is why scent fades over the life of a bar. A cold-process bar smells strongest in its first few months.
Herbs, oats and botanicals
These add texture and visual interest, and in some cases a gentle physical exfoliation.
- Oatmeal — finely ground oats give a soft, mild scrub and a creamy lather. The gentlest exfoliant we use.
- Turmeric — a warm golden colour, and a faint earthy note. Used sparingly, since it will stain a washcloth.
- Cinnamon — warm and sweet in aroma, and it speckles the bar attractively.
- Dried flowers — calendula petals hold their colour in soap; most other petals turn brown.
Worth knowing: botanicals are ground fine before they go in. Large pieces feel scratchy and can go soft on the surface of a wet bar.
Natural colourants
Colour in a handmade bar comes from clays, plants and minerals rather than synthetic dye, which is why the shades are muted rather than bright.
- Spirulina — a soft green that fades in sunlight, so these bars are best stored out of a window.
- Paprika — a warm orange.
- Activated charcoal — deep grey through to near-black.
- Clays — pink, green and cream, depending on the clay.
Natural colour shifts over the cure. A bar can look noticeably different at six weeks than it did on the day it was cut.
Clays
Clays give a bar slip and a silky feel in the hand, and they carry colour without dye.
- Bentonite — very fine and absorbent, and it makes a bar feel slick rather than squeaky.
- Kaolin — the mildest of the clays, soft and creamy.
- Dead Sea mud — mineral-rich and dark, with a smooth feel in the lather.
Worth knowing: a little clay goes a long way. Too much and the bar turns brittle.
What this means for choosing a bar
Choose by scent first, then by texture. If you want something to use on your face, pick a bar without added grit. If you want a scrub for hands after the garden, a bar with oats or ground botanicals will do more work.
Every Pure Wash bar lists its full INCI ingredients on its product page, so you can see exactly what went in before you buy.
Browse the full soap collection to see which additives went into each bar.
Soap is a cosmetic cleanser. Our bars are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any skin condition. If you are managing a skin condition, speak with your doctor or a dermatologist about what suits you.