Every Sensible bar is made by hand in Calgary using the cold process method. It's the slow, old-fashioned way to make soap, and we think it makes a better bar.
How it works
- Mix oils and lye. We blend olive, palm and coconut oils with a lye solution (sodium hydroxide and water).
- Saponification. The lye reacts with the oils and turns them into soap. This chemical reaction is called saponification.
- Add scent and botanicals. Essential oils, natural fragrance, clays or dried flowers go in while the batch is still soft.
- Pour, cut and cure. The soap is poured into a block, cut into loaves and then bars, and left to cure.
Why bars cure for weeks
A fresh bar is still soft and full of water. Over several weeks of curing, the water slowly evaporates and the bar becomes harder, milder and longer lasting. Rushing this step makes a bar that melts away quickly, so we don't.
Is there lye in my soap?
No. You can't make real soap without lye, but none of it is left in the finished bar. During saponification the lye is used up as it reacts with the oils. We use slightly less lye than the oils could use, so it's the lye that runs out, not the oil.
That's why our labels say: "Sodium hydroxide used in manufacturing process but is not in final product."
Natural glycerin stays in
Saponification makes two things: soap and glycerin. Glycerin is a moisturizing ingredient that draws water to your skin. Many mass-produced bars have it removed. In cold process soap, the glycerin that forms naturally stays right in the bar.
Why it's different from most store-bought bars
- Made in small batches, by hand
- Naturally occurring glycerin kept in the bar
- Simple plant oils: olive, palm and coconut
- Scented with essential oils or natural fragrance, or not scented at all
Want your bar to last? See Caring for your bar.