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FAQ

How is Eclore soap made?

 

All bar soap soap is made by blending oils (fatty acids) with old fashioned soda lye (alkali) and water.

 

When the temperatures and measurements are exact, we stir and stir with large wooden spoons until "saponification" begins to take place and then add our more delicate butters, herbs, flowers, clays and other botanicals.


After this, we pour into molds and wrap in wool blankets where the soap quietly sits to complete the "saponification" process over the next 24 hours.

 

This is called the "cold cure" kettle process because we don't "cook" our soap with additional heat to speed up the saponification process. We let the natural process take place on it's own within the blankets with the heat naturally created. It takes more time, but allows the goodness of the more delicate ingredients to remain in tact.

 

By the time the soap comes out of the mold, there is no soda lye left!


Through the wonderful exothermic process, all that is left is soap, water and skin loving glycerin – a natural byproduct of soaps made of plant oils.

 

We cut our bars and allow them to cure on wooden racks under French flour sacks for three weeks. During this time, the water evaporates allowing for a firm mild bar.

 

Is all soap made with soda lye?

 

Yes. No lye, no soap.


Made correctly, there is no trace of lye left in the final bar.

 

You may see something called "glycerin" or "melt and pour soap" which is a fabricated transparent soap base that a hobbiest can melt and remold without having to use lye, but it was made with lye when it was originally created.


Unfortunately, most generic bases are full of detergents and unnatural ingredients.

Is Éclore eco-friendly?

 

Yes. We grow many of our own herbs and flowers in our organic onsite garden, use organic & wildcrafted botanicals, purchase supplies locally where available for the smallest footprint and always recycle and reuse all materials possible.

 

Our recyclable paper bags, natural fiber pouches 
and natural wood boxes are perfect to re-use for other things in your home once your soap is in the bath.

 

 

What is the best way to care for handmade soap?

 

We make our soap free of preservatives and chemical hardening agents, so keep your soap in a dish that drains, out of the direct spray of water, and allow your bar to air dry between uses for the longest lasting bar.

 

Do you ever donate soap for a good cause?

 

Yes, we often donate our soap for fundraisers and silent auctions to lend support in our community.

 

A few of our past friends:

 

  • Serra Co-Op Pre-School Fundraiser

  • Teatro de Facto Fundraiser

  • Fundraiser for Sheryl Schafer

  • The Edward Ban Cancer Fundraising Event

  • The Feel Good Film Festival

  • The Do Lab's Simpler Times Fundraiser

  • Lineage Dance Fundraiser

  • Mystical Misfits Camp Fundraiser

  • The Serpentine Project

  • The Trevor Project

  • The Fundraiser for Agent Red

  • The Catalina Island Film Festival – hosted by the Catalina Conservancy

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