Our soaps are all handmade using the cold process method. There are several ways of making soap but cold process is the traditional method of mixing various oils and butters with lye. Lye is a mixture of sodium hydroxide mixed with water. This lye mixture is what starts the saponification process (the liquid oils and butters turning in to a nice solid bar that we all recognise as soap). Nothing remains of the lye after this saponification process. This takes on average 4-6 weeks, depending on the oils and butters used. Glycerine is created during this saponification process naturally (we don't add it). In many commercially bought soaps, glycerine is often extracted from the soap and then used in face creams and other cosmetics for its moisturising properties. They then usually add a synthetically created glycerine to replace it. But in our (and other handmade cold process soap makers), the natural glycerine that is left results in a much more moisture rich bar of soap than in a synthetically created one. It usually produces less lather, but instead it has a decadently rich, creamy texture. Rest assured, there is still lather in our soap, albeit less than in a commercially produced one, and it cleans just as well only without that harshness. All of our soaps are entirely natural with the exception of some added aromas in some, but where possible we use essential oils. There can be slight colour differences from one bar to the next as we make small batches at a time. That means that each and every bar is unique, and who cannot do with a little bit of luxury in todays busy lifestyle?