Organic Herbal Soap Bars

Green River Cottage

proudly presents

Organic Herbal Soap ~ 4 ounce Soap Bars

Cuts easily into thirds, with a kitchen knife,

for use as hand soaps.

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Truly an all-Natural experience …

Created with ingredients that are plant based, and further defined as an herbal soap, these soaps are truly 100% natural. The ingredients used in these bars DO NOT include synthetic fragrances, synthetic colorants, and/or synthetic preservatives. That’s right, there are no artificial substances and, where possible, only organically grown products are used. This line of purely herbal soap is scented strictly with Essential Oils, and colored only with organic herbs and plant extracts. This soap base recipe is made from 100% certified organic oils and absolutely contains no parabens. Your skin will certainly know the difference.

How organic is our soap?

Green River Cottage ensures our Organic Herbal Soap Bars contain ONLY organic base oils and the ingredients are a minimum of 85% organic. Due to the “chemistry” of soap making, it is almost impossible to go much higher than that. Within the “natural products” industry, there is a conversation brewing as to whether soap can be technically defined as "organic" (since soap is the result of a chemical reaction and most of the original organic materials have been transformed). Soap's raw ingredients are either organic or they're not, regardless of the definitions, and we our committed to using certified organic oils.

Organic Certification?

Certification is a rigorous professional standard that must be validated and re-issued annually. Many skin-care companies claim to sell organic products but are not officially certified. Without certification, they are actually in breach of national policy, and, technically, they are not allowed to make the organic claim. Official Organic Certification assures our procedures truly support our organic status.

What makes this soap so special?

A good bar of soap is one that contains a balance of three essential properties.

• Durability (bar hardness)
• Lather Quality (both fluffiness and stability)
• Moisturizing ability

These different properties, come from the different fatty acids, which make up molecules, of the organic vegetable oils used as the base of our herbal soap. Unfortunately, the fatty acids that are moisturizing are not those that contribute much to lather quality, and the ones that make great lather are drying to our skin. A perfect bar soap is the result of carefully balancing the fatty acids to maximize the bar's hardness, lather quality, and moisturizing ability.

Still confused? Try one bar of Organic Herbals soaps. Trust us, you’ll know exactly what we mean by a perfect bar of soap.

Is there any glycerin in our soap bars?

Yes. Glycerin is a natural part of the vegetable oils used to make our herbal soap, and it is a natural part of all Green River Cottage soaps. These soaps qualify as "glycerin soaps" because glycerin accounts for 9-10% of the final product. Unlike most commercial soap companies, these soaps retain all glycerin produced during the saponification process. Since glycerin is a sellable commodity, commercial soap makers remove it for sale, or they keep trace amounts for mention on their labels. Our soaps differ from the clear "glycerin soaps" because our bars are not transparent. To produce their transparency, "glycerin soaps" contain a sugar-alcohol compound that can dry your skin … yuck!

What is the difference between Essential Oils and Fragrance Oils?

Essential oils are pure plant extracts used for scenting or aromatherapy. Fragrance oils are synthetically made substitutes for essential oils. This is one of the most common misrepresentations among natural products, especially for natural soap. There are so many soaps on the market, even those labeled "natural", that contain Fragrance oils.

And the word “Handcrafted” is no indication it is a natural soap. Often, a soap label will say, "contains essential oils." However, such a label can be deceiving -- it is always important to check if it ALSO contains fragrance oils. Fragrance oils can be problematic because, as synthetic compounds, they can dry out your skin and will irritate sensitive skin.

This is why Green River Cottage has created this line of Organic Herbal Soap Bars.

Of course, we will continue to sell our line of Goats Milk Soaps for our customers who prefer a less expensive, yet great smelling soap. But for those who need (or want) a higher quality grade of soap, GRC Organic Herbal Soap Bars was created specifically with you in mind. As a purely herbal soap, these contain only true, plant-extract Essential Oils.

Always, always read a product's label. If the ingredients includes the word "fragrance," "perfume," or "parfum," then it's synthetic and not-natural, even though its packaging may say it is a natural soap.

I have sensitive skin and can't use soap. Can I use GRC Organic Herbal Soap Bars?

We cannot guarantee it, chances are, yes. The synthetic ingredients found in lotions, creams, make-up, and soaps are what aggravate most skin sensitivities. However, using products without these ingredients leaves nothing left to irritate your skin. Many people who have had trouble with dermatologist recommended soap or "sensitive skin" soap have found success with GRC Organic Herbal Soap Bars. This is because even doctor recommended sensitive skin soaps contain many unnecessary chemicals that can, and do, irritate your skin. Again, always read the list of ingredients in your soap. Although many people with sensitive skin enjoy using our scented herbal soap varieties, we recommend our Unscented Soap for people with extreme sensitivities.

Will GRC Organic Herbal Soap Bars help with my eczema?

Yes. Although our herbal soap does not heal eczema, it will minimize both the redness and the itching. As we said, remove the synthetic ingredients from soaps and there is nothing left to bother your skin. After using our soap, you'll be surprised to see just how bad your eczema was before.

We have many customers with eczema. One mom wrote to say "Thank you!" My son has suffered with horrible eczema from the age of 2 years old. He was repeatedly told to stay away from fragrance. However, most “unscented” products did not work and some exacerbated the eczema. We learned, most “unscented” products list the word “fragrance” in the ingredients and almost all contain petroleum (a big irritant for eczema sufferers).

Do GRC soaps contain lye?

All soap (including our soap lines) is made using lye (NaOH, "sodium hydroxide"). Even those transparent "glycerin" soap and the "melt and pour" soaps are made using lye. Transparent glycerin soaps are made from oil and lye, like opaque soaps, except that a sugar-alcohol compound is added to maintain transparency. In a properly produced soap, lye is a raw ingredient, but there is no lye that remains in the final product. All lye is consumed in the saponification process and presents no danger to you. Superfatting further assures that all lye is consumed. Any company that claims their soap is not made with lye is either promoting false information or doesn't understand the chemistry behind soap.

Hey, what is superfatting?

Superfatting is a process by which soap-makers maintain extra skin-nourishing oils in their soaps. All Green River Cottage soaps have superfatted recipes. Superfatting soap does not make your skin oily. Rather, it allows your skin to maintain natural moisture levels.

Do GRC herbal soaps contain SLS?

No, no … never, never. SLS (sodium laurel sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate) and other surfactants are often added to soaps to increase lather quality. They are commonly found in soaps, including many marketed as natural soaps, as well as glycerin soaps, liquid soaps, and shampoos. As synthetic compounds, SLS and other surfactants dry out your skin and, for many people, cause irritation. Beware eczema sufferers! Even 100% fragrance free products can irritate if they contain harsh ingredients. GRC Organic Herbal Soap Bars are never processed with SLS or any other surfactants.

Cost-cutting short cuts would defeat the purpose for this line of soap. Instead, we prefer to focus on making this high quality soap from organic oils that doesn't depend on surfactants for its lather. Carefully balanced oils in the base recipe provide the proper fatty acid mix for a wonderful, rich - and most importantly - completely 100% natural lather.

Fatty acids, aren’t they a chemical?

All oils (and fats) have a molecular form called a triglyceride, which means they are made up of three fatty acids, (just chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms), and a glycerin-like base. In saponification, the fatty acids participate in a chemical reaction that results in molecules of soap while leaving the glycerin behind. All our herbal soaps are made from organic vegetable oils and the natural fatty acids they contain.
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