so what's all the fuss about?
soap is just soap isn't it?

Your skin is the first line of defense against attack from infection and disease, so why choose to smother it with chemicals that break down the very oils that form the body's own natural defenses?
Commercial soap manufacturers use artificial chemicals in order to enhance colour, act as preservatives and emulsifiers, and to artificially create lather. Many commercial soap bars can't even legally call themselves soap, often describing themselves as 'Nurturing', 'Beauty', 'Cleansing' or 'Deodorizing' Bars, in order to disguise the fact that they are really petroleum based detergents. Little wonder then that many people find that they cannot use commercial soaps because of adverse skin reactions and irritations.

In contrast our handmade soaps contain only pure, natural products. No artificial chemicals, preservatives, animal fats or animal derivatives whatsoever. We use finest quality butters and oils to produce a soap that not only cleans but leaves your skin feeling refreshed, moisturised and invigorated.

A natural by-product of the soap making process is Vegetable Glycerin, a highly effective and very efficient skin moisturiser. Commercial soap companies extract the Glycerin from their soaps because it is a very valuable commodity that can be sold on to the cosmetics industry where it is used in moisturising creams etc. The result is a soap that dries out and stretches your skin, stripping it of it's natural beneficial oils, and leaving you running to the cosmetics store to buy expensive moisturisers containing the very Glycerin that was removed from your soap in the first place! By using traditional soap making methods to create our handmade soap all of the naturally created Glycerin is retained, producing a soft, mild soap that is both fabulously moisturising and incredibly gentle.

palm oil friendly

Palm Oil is one of the world's most popular vegetable oils, used in thousands of everyday products - including soap. Unfortunately the demand for Palm Oil is leading to the destruction of the rainforests as huge areas are torn up to make way for vast Oil Palm Plantations. The cost to the environment and the global climate is truly devastating. In Indonesia alone, home to the last remaining Orangutans, almost three million hectares of forest are lost each year, (equivalent to over ten football pitches every minute), and this loss of natural habitat is driving the Orangutan to the brink of extinction. We support the call for a boycott on the irresponsible use of Palm Oil and we actively source sustainable Palm Oil and other environmentally friendly alternatives.

a bit about us

Our workshop is located in a converted boathouse situated on the River Thames in the medieval market town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. A quiet, idylic retreat from the pressures of modern living and a wonderfully relaxed environment in which we can make and decorate our soaps.

Inspired by our surroundings we use the traditional method of soap making known as cold kettle, or cold process, to make our natural handmade soaps. We cure our soap in small, handmade wooden frames, not because modern synthetic moulds wouldn't work but because they just feel right, and they produce soap loaves that have character and personality rather than sterile conformity. We are very proud of the fact that our soaps are all individual, that no two are alike, and that they look and feel handmade - because that's exactly what they are!

And, of course, our soap is made from entirely natural products. No artificial additives, preservatives, or colourings of any kind. Nor do we use animal fats or any animal derivatives. We only put into our soaps what we feel good about putting onto our own bodies. That is why we use only 'food grade' plant oils & extracts, organics, botanicals, and essential oils.