Handmade soap vs industrial soap

Something I found online which is easy to understand and know more about handmade soaps.

Handmade Soap vs Industrial Soap

Skin health problems make people who concern start to seek for alternative for their skin treatment. The chemical substances contained in so many skin care products, including soaps, make people start to use handmade soap that is safer than the industrial soap. However, it doesn't mean that industrial soap is not healthy for your skin. In fact, there are several differences that make handmade soaps is better than the industrial soap.

Before we discuss about the differences between handmade soap and industrial soap, we need to define the term of industrial and handmade soap first. The term handmade soap refers to the soaps that can be made at home and mostly are made of natural ingredients like olive or jojoba oil. The making process is also simpler because the supporting tools are unadorned. On the other hand, the term industrial soap refers to the soap that is made by soap companies in large quantities. It usually contains little amount of oil and limited amount of vitamin since it is made mainly for commercial purpose.

Those two kinds of soap are also different in the making process. Handmade soap is made in cold process soap while industrial soap is in hot process soap. Cold soap making process is implemented in cold room temperature. So, it makes the oil nutrients useful for the skin is still intact. The hot soap making process needs 80-100°C until the saponification phase occurs. Saponification is the process of mixing the water, lye and fat or oil(note from me: Yuan soap uses no sodium peroxide, something similar but costlier and natural). One thing that cannot be denied is that both kinds of soap are using lye or sodium hydroxide in the making process; it is the substance that can turn oil into soap. But when the making process is done, there is no lye left in handmade soap because in the first moment of saponifying reaction, nearly 90% of the lye is eliminated and in the next process the lye is totally gone.

The significant difference between industrial and handmade soap is the glycerin content. Glycerin is the clear liquid that absorbs water from the air. It can soften the skin and keep its health. In handmade soap, the glycerin is kept and formed naturally during the saponification process. As in industrial soap, soap companies usually reduce the glycerin and put it into lotion products. Handmade soap is more skin-friendly than the industrial soap. Therefore, handmade soap is more effective for skin treatment.

by Ricardo Lubis (taken from http://www.purehandmadesoap.com/)

The difference between other handmade soaps and Yuan soaps is we incorporated herbal recipes and wisdom from our ancestors who had used them (and found them effective) from generations. Pleasing no one with synthetic fragrances, colours and shapes.