What Makes a Great Hand Soap? The Ingredient Science Behind Ours

Most Liquid Hand Soaps Aren't Really Soap

Here's something most people don't know: the majority of liquid hand soaps on store shelves aren't technically soap at all. They're detergents — synthetic surfactant blends designed to mimic soap's cleaning action, but made from petroleum-derived chemicals rather than natural oils.

Our Hand Soap is different. It's made the traditional way — through a process called saponification — and the difference shows up on your skin.

What Is Saponification?

Saponification is the chemical reaction that creates real soap. When you combine a plant-based oil with an alkali — in our case, potassium hydroxide — the two react and transform into soap molecules and glycerin.

The potassium hydroxide is fully consumed in the reaction. What's left isn't a harsh chemical — it's genuine soap, plus naturally occurring glycerin that conditions your skin as you wash.

This is how soap has been made for thousands of years. We just do it with better oils.

The Oils We Use — and Why Each One Matters

The oils you choose determine how the finished soap performs. We use a blend of three:

Coconut Oil — the primary cleansing oil. Coconut oil saponifies into soap molecules with excellent lather and strong cleansing ability. It's what lifts dirt and bacteria off your hands effectively.

Olive Oil — the conditioning oil. Olive oil produces a soap that's exceptionally gentle and moisturizing. It's been used in skin care for centuries for good reason — it's rich in oleic acid, which closely mirrors the skin's natural lipid structure.

Sunflower Oil — the skin-softening oil. High in linoleic acid, sunflower oil helps maintain the skin barrier and adds a silky feel to the finished soap. It's particularly good for dry or sensitive skin.

Thickened with HEC and Glycerin

We use hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) — a plant-derived thickener — to give the soap its satisfying consistency. No synthetic polymers, no silicones.

Vegetable glycerin is added as a humectant, drawing moisture to the skin and leaving hands feeling soft rather than stripped after washing.

Two Scent Profiles, All Essential Oils

Like our dish soap, our hand soap comes in two signature blends — both scented exclusively with pure essential oils:

Mint Blend: Rosemary, peppermint, eucalyptus, and spearmint. Clean, crisp, and invigorating.

Citrus Blend: Lemon, sweet orange, bergamot, lemongrass, lime, and litsea. Bright, complex, and uplifting.

What's Not in It

• No synthetic surfactants or detergents
• No petroleum-derived ingredients
• No synthetic fragrance or dyes
• No parabens or preservatives linked to hormone disruption

How to Get It

Our Hand Soap is available for local delivery and pickup in the St. Albert area (jar exchange — we deliver filled glass jars, collect the empties, clean and reuse them), at our farmer's market pop-ups where you can bring your own container for a true refill, or shipped anywhere across Canada.