For all of our most frequently ask questions please read on. If we have not answered your question in this page then please don’t hesitate to contact us.


I'm not happy about using Palm Oil - do you still use it?
Despite assurances by RSPO we cannot be absolutely certain that all the Palm Oil we order comes from sustainable farms we have decided not to use it in any of our products until the situation is clearer. (Also our customers are increasingly expressing concern over the fate of the Orang Utan.and we seek to reassure them that we listen to their worries.)

While we remain committed to our Fair Trade policies and to helping ensure the livlihood and wellbeing of the group of Communities in the poorer countries of our World with which we work, we are also totally committed to helping those working to preserve the habitat of the indigeneous animal population which form the eco-system in these countries.

In our small way we hope that by making a stand with others we will impress upon farmers the need to harvest sustainably and to preserve the whole of the eco-culture of an area. We would like them to realise that our customers have genuine concerns which will hinder the economic future of their countries although we are pledged to offer a fair price for a quality and sustainably produced ingredient.

The last time I bought Lavender soap from you it was a slightly different colour to this one (just as yummy though) - why is that?
We only use natural oxides and plants to colour our products - at different times of the year the plant composition of starches and sugars is different - so even though we use the same amount in every batch sometimes the end result is a slightly different hue. We’ve even had grey soap – not a good look!!!


Why do you not offer samples of your products - I like to try before I buy.
We are very proud of our products, believing them to be amongst the best of the natural skincare products available and we want everyone who is interested to be able to try them out. We offer testers of all our products at the various markets and events we attend throughout the year where we are also on hand to discuss individual needs and talk about our ingredients and processes. There is nothing like the personal touch to demonstrate just how evangelical we are about natural skincare and we love meeting you all and sharing our passion with you. Unfortunately many of our customers are not able to come and see us and we are very aware of that. We thought long and hard before deciding to limit our web based samples to our Cold Processed Soap sliver and the reasons for our decision are these:

We offer the sample as a touch test for you to try our natural, creamy honest-to-goodness bar alongside your regular commercial bar so that you can compare the texture and feel the difference on your skin. Its the nearest we can get to meeting you face to face (sort of like a virtual Daz Doorstep Challenge). We feel sure that you will feel the gentle quality of our soap for yourself and understand where we are coming from.

We are determined not to compromise on the quality of our raw ingredients and do not make a profit from our p&p charges, preferring you to pay for a product not the packaging. In order to keep our prices as they are, mindful of the high standards we have set ourselves, we need to minimise our other costs. If we sent out samples of our other products we would need to buy in a range of pots etc. which would be of no commercial use to us otherwise as well as buying in padded postal sacks which would be too small to hold our normal range- there is also postage and packaging to consider as well.

We hope that you will be inspired enough to try our products for yourselves safe in the knowledge that any chemical-free, pure and natural handmade skincare product will not be harmful to either your environment or to the most sensitive skin.


What is Glycerine?
Vegetable glycerine is a sugar alcohol (glycerol), a natural by-product of saponification during the soap making process - where the fruit acids in the various oils used reacts with the alkali in the sodium to produce both salts and glycerine.

Glycerine is highly hygroscopic which means that it absorbs water from the air - if you leave a freshly made bar of our glycerine soap exposed to the air (until it has had time to dry) it will become moist and sticky - this will wash off but it just means that the soap has attracted moisture from the atmosphere.

This makes glycerine a brilliant and effective humectant - holding moisture against the skin - softening and hydrating as well as having antiseptic properties.

During commercial soap making processes (not ours, we hasten to add) salt is added to the mix which makes glycerine rise to the surface where it is skimmed off to be used in other ways as glycerine is a valuable commodity in its own right. Soap companies then add chemicals such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (which is an industrial degreaser and extremely harsh commercial detergent) to their mix to reintroduce the lather:- see www.healthreport.co.uk/sodium_lauryl_sulphate.html

Because of our traditional methods of soap-making we stir all this beneficial glycerine back into all our soaps to give you a luxurious, natural, chemical free soap full of Nature’s goodness.
www.pioneerthinking.com/glycerin.html - www.channel4.com/health/microsites/T/toxic/toxic-chemicals_2.html


Do you use preservatives?
If you are just making creams etc. for yourselves to use at home you can use plant based natural preservatives such as Grapefruit Seed Extract which will allow the product to stay ‘fresh’ in your fridge for a week or so. If you want to sell to the public however, Cosmetic Regulations insist you must have a preservative added, especially when you mix water and oils together. You need to preserve your products against deteriation and fungal growth etc.

Different products require different types of preservative dependent on their ingredients but we source our preservatives from the food industry and they are mostly plant-based esthers - or permitted inorganic types.