Soapmakers also use palm oil which is expressed from the fruit of the palm tree.  Palm kernel oil has many properties like coconut oil such as  a nice hard bar of soap with great lathering properties giving the soap a smooth feeling.

Most palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia but also can come from Thailand, Columbia and Nigeria. As a very versatile oil  it can be found in many familiar items such as cereal, margarine, cosmetics and baked goods.  You may be unaware of it as it may be labeled vegetable oil.

At Nyah you will be able to easily identify which oils are used to create our soaps on the back of each label.  Our website also provides a detailed ingredients list.  Though legally we are not bound to include the ingredients on soaps marketed as soap at Nyah we include our ingredients so that our customers have full disclosure on what they are using.

Nutrient Rich Olive Oil

Olive oil has been getting a lot of fame over the recent years.  It is one of the healthiest oils to cook with, drizzle over your salad and even dip your focaccia bread into.  But when it comes to natural beauty olive oil is par none.

So where does olive oil come from? It comes from tree-ripened olives.  The olives are pressed several times to extract the olive oil.  The first pressing results in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the next pressing will be 100% Olive Oil and the final pressing will be Pomace Olive Oil.

Olive oil soap is the first soap to be made with 100% vegetable oil dating back to the 1500′s.  These soaps are sold on the market as Castile Soaps.  They are extremely mild to use especially those who may be dealing with skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema.  If 100% olive oil soap has no fragrance added it can be used on sensitive skin such as babies.  Don’t expect a rich lather with castile soaps as they will render a low stingy lather.  But don’t let that fool you and think that it doesn’t cleanse well.

What makes olive oil so great is that it has antioxidant properties because of it is rich in vitamin E and Hydroxytyrosol.  It also contains other nutrients such as beta carotene. These nutrients provide healing to damaged skin.

Olive oil when applied to the skin absorbs easily and doesn’t block the skin from performing it’s natural functions of shedding, sweating and releasing sebum.  It provides a moisturizing layer on the skin that protects the internal moisture of the skin.

Isn’t olive oil a great ingredient to make soap with.  Be sure to read your labels when purchasing handcrafted soaps and look for this great skin loving ingredient.

For this week we will learn a little about coconut oil and what the properties and benefits are in soap.

Coconut oil is made when the coconut meat or flesh is pressed.  It has great cleansing qualities and is mild on the skin providing emollient hydration conditioning and protection while remaining light and non greasy.

Soapmakers like to use coconut oil mainly because of two of the fatty acids it contains high percentages of; lauric and myristic.  Both of these fatty acids contribute to the soaps hardness as well as the nice fluffy lather we all love.  Esthetically it gives the soap bar a whiter appearance.

So as you can see coconut oil is a nice ingredient to look for in your natural soap ingredient listing on the label.  As you can see it is gentle and have great qualities not only for cleansing but also as it conditions your skin leaving it feeling hydrated.