soapsandscents

Why Soap Is the Best Holiday Gift

It’s hard to believe we finally made it, but 2020 is rapidly coming to an end. Many retailers swapped out their Halloween decorations for Christmas décor on November 1. The merriment and festivity of Christmas and the winter holiday season is nearly upon us, which means it’s time to consider what you’re getting for everyone on your gift list. Before making any present purchases, consider these reasons why soap makes such a good gift during the holiday season.

Give the gift of soap this year

Most people rack their brains trying to think up gifts to give neighbors, acquaintances and coworkers. Instead of driving yourself crazy coming up with something creative, read through these reasons to gift soap for Christmas, Hanukkah and other holidays:

  • People always need soap: This year, we learned how quickly soap products can become unavailable when demand is high. Big soap manufacturers couldn’t produce their products fast enough to keep them on the shelves at grocery stores and big box retailers. Shoppers in need of liquid, foaming or bar soap turned to small soap businesses because they continued to hand-make high-quality products packed with nourishing and natural ingredients.
  • Soap is personal: Perhaps your neighbor grows a garden full of gardenias every summer. A bar of handmade gardenia-scented soap shows that you appreciate their beautiful flowers and notice how much they love them. Personal touches like that set your gifts apart from the rest.
  • Everyone uses soap: Everyone needs soap multiple times throughout the day, regardless of their age, gender, nationality, political affiliation or race. All too often, gift recipients never use the items they get. That’s not likely to be the case with high-quality soaps. Maybe they save the soap you gave them to use when guests visit, or perhaps they indulge in long baths and reserve the special soap you gave them for those occasions.
  • The gift of luxury: You expect to find vats of unscented hand soaps in convenience store restrooms. Richly-scented moisturizing soaps are more often associated with boutiques, high-end hotels and luxury spas. Most people won’t treat themselves to the luxury of high-quality soap. Luckily for you, that means you can give it as a gift!
  • Support small businesses: Large soap manufacturers often prioritize quantity over quality. Soap makers with their own small businesses believe in creating luxurious soap products, unlike what you’ll find at a drug store or supermarket. Handcrafted, all-natural soaps make thoughtful gifts, and buying these products from local businesses supports the enterprises that need it most.

Now that you know all of the reasons soap makes a good gift during the holidays, it’s time to find a soap shop that hand-makes a variety of products to accommodate everyone on your list. The soap maker you buy from should use the highest quality ingredients to create their various products.

That’s why so many people shop at Soaps & Scents. Our 20 years of experience has taught us how to craft the most luxurious bar, foaming and liquid soaps. We also make soaps in the shape of cupcakes, perfect for the person on your list who loves to bake. Contact us now if you have questions about ordering online or want to visit our soap store in El Cajon, CA.

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soapsandscents

The Basics of Making Hand Soap

If there’s one substance that can be found in every home in the country, it’s soap. This magical substance is used every day for various purposes, from washing your hair to washing your dishes. Of course, the most common purpose of soap is to clean the hands. Now more than ever, it’s critical for every family to promote regular, extensive hand washing before meals and before and after leaving the house.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with focusing more on hygiene. That said, washing your hands over and over can have some pretty damaging effects on your skin. Repeated hand washing can cause your hands to dry out. Painful cracks form. Itchiness becomes prevalent. Of course, there are hand soap options that will preserve your delicate skin, but they tend to be pricy. When you’re washing your hands 10 or 15 times a day, you can hardly afford to break the bank on hand soap.

Perhaps it’s time to think about making your own soap. If you’d like to know how to make hand soap, we’ve got you covered.

Gathering the ingredients

Making your own soap can take as little as a few minutes or as long as six weeks. It all depends on the soap you use. You can start with a pre-made fragrance-free soap, like Castile soap, or you can make your soap from scratch. Traditionally, handmade soap was made from a combination of water, lye and animal lard. If you are concerned about using animal lard, it can be swapped for a blend of natural oils like avocado oil, almond oil, shea butter, coconut oil and others.

Be careful

If you’re going full DIY with your hand soap, be aware that, when mixed with water, lye can be very caustic. When working with lye, be sure to wear gloves and exercise caution during the mixing process. It’s also important to use the correct amount of lye in your recipe. To help with that, there are several free lye calculators online.

The mixing process

Once you’ve collected the correct amount of water, lye and natural ingredients, it’s time to mix the soap. Carefully pour the lye into your water solution (NEVER pour the water into the lye). Stir until the lye is dissolved. Remember, do not touch this liquid. Allow your lye to cool down under a vent while you melt your oils in a slow cooker on low heat. Once they’re adequately melted, add the lye-water mixture to your slow cooker and stir.

Blend the mixture until it resembles a pudding. Then, add your fragrance ingredients (whatever you want!) and let the mixture cook on low heat for an hour. Finally, pour the mixture into a mold and let it sit for 24 hours to harden.

The finest quality soap

Even though you now know how to make hand soap, you just might not have the time to wait several weeks for your new, nourishing soap to take effect. Or perhaps all of this sounds like an awful lot of work. That’s when it’s time to visit Soaps & Scents. For more than 25 years, we have provided high-quality bar and liquid soaps in a variety of fragrances that you’re bound to love. Stop by and see us today!

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soapsandscents

Benefits of Foaming Soap

Foaming soap is more than just a cool trick—it actually has some additional benefits over liquid or bar soaps. In the age of COVID-19, any handwashing is better than none, but washing with foaming soap might be the best option of all. Here’s why foam soap is a smart choice for your bathroom, kitchen and other settings.

How foaming soap works

Foaming soap is slightly diluted liquid soap in a special pressurized dispenser. When you pump the dispenser, the soap is infused with air, which creates a pleasant foam. Some foaming dispensers are refillable, while others are disposable—attempting to refill the latter type of dispenser will not create the same foaming effect.

The dispenser has two chambers: one delivers soap, while the other combines the soap with air to create the foam. Depending on what kind of dispenser you have, you may need to replace refillable containers with special pressurized soap pods.

Here’s a closer look at the advantages of using foaming soap:

  • Always get the right amount: Foam soap dispensers are designed to dispense the exact amount of soap you need, pre-foamed, for maximum efficacy. It’s deposited straight into your hands so that all you have to do is add water and scrub. This enables you to cover your hands in lather rather than working to create it, potentially washing soap down the drain instead of using it to kill the germs on your hands. In the pandemic era, this benefit cannot be overstated.
  • Easier on the environment: Foaming soap is environmentally friendly, thanks to the minimal amount you’ll need. It washes less soap down the drain—and since you’re only getting the soap you need, you need less water to fully rinse it away. Plus, it’s far less likely to clog your drains, which often requires harsh chemicals and drain cleaners to resolve. Since conservation is on everyone’s minds these days, foaming soap is a responsible and safe choice for many consumers.
  • Cost effective: When it comes to handwashing, the more soap, the better, right? Sure—unless you’re the person paying for it. Since foam soap distributes a pre-determined amount, you’ll go through less soap in a longer period of time. This type of dispenser doesn’t need to be filled as often, which lessens your impact on the environment while saving you some cash. This is particularly useful in work environments where frequent handwashing is necessary.
  • Kids love them: Got some reluctant hand-washers in your household? Kids love foaming soap. Many parents find it’s easier to get their kids to follow proper handwashing techniques when the process is “fun.”

Foaming soap is an easy and smart choice when you want to keep your hands clean, save money and reduce your impact on the environment—and when you buy from a small, independent company like Soaps & Scents, you’ll also get superior quality and hypoallergenic products. Shop our foaming soap collection or stop by our store during business hours. We’d be glad to help you find your new favorite products.

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