Pure-n-Simple Soap

The average price for handcrafted soap bars such as goat milk soaps, range between one – two dollars an once, depending on the quality of ingredients.  Many shoppers find it difficult spending over four dollars for a single bar of soap when they can spend much less and get much more.  This leaves many consumers asking the question why handcrafted soap bars are so much more expensive than commercial soaps.  There are several reasons commercial soaps are much cheaper then handcrafted soaps, and here are just a few.

1. The ingredients used in commercial soaps are cheaper, and more available then natural ingredients.  Synthetic fragrances can be made in a lab, while essential oils need to be taken from a plant, which can be much more time consuming and more costly.  Even if a commercial product is advertising organic and natural, you should investigate the amount of that natural ingredient is actually in that particular product.  It is my understanding that labeling laws only require very small percentages of a natural ingredient to be labeled as natural.
2. Commercial soaps use harsh ingredients like alcohol, petroleum, esters, low grade oils, fillers, and detergents and so forth to make products quicker and cheaper.  Many of these ingredients are the main cause for skin irritation.  Yes they will decrease the cost of production but most often increase the probability of many health issues.
3. Commercial soap companies take the most expensive ingredient Glycerin that naturally occurs during the soap making process, and sells it to pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies to make expensive moisturizers.  So if you think you are saving lots of money using a synthetic soap bar, you’re most likely taking that savings, and using it on an expensive lotion or cream to relieve the dry itchy skin from that cheaper soap bar.

It is very interesting to me how we determine what something is worth.  Many consumers will spend lots of money on nutritional supplements, organic foods, and pay expensive membership fees to gyms, but find it difficult to spend four dollars on a bar of soap that actually has just as much influence on your overall well being as diet and exercise.  Our skin is permeable and what we put on it will absorb into our body.  You may be spending a little bit more when buying natural skin care products, but most likely you will be buying less, and treating you, and your family to a much safer and healthier product.