The Ingredients

Oleic Acid: An organic acid comprised from vegetable fats. Essentially oil that is derived from olives, almonds, canola, and other organics. Oleic acid is actually the main component that makes Mediterranean diets so heart friendly, as well as a possible deterrent against certain cancers. If it's so good to eat, it can't hurt to make soap from it. It is natural, gentle, and promotes soft skin.

Water: Pure, clean, simple.

Soda Ash: (Sodium Carbonate) Among some of the oldest known commodities in the world, soda ash is produced from brine, or simple salt water. In traditional style soaps, like Long Life soaps, it is used to soften and produce a more alkaline ph balance.

Sodium Silicate: Used in Chinese preserved eggs, and used in soap making since the 1860s, sodium silicate increases lather. It also improves the soaps ability to remove oils, which is where dirt hides and sticks to your skin. Sodium silicate is from one of the world's most abundant resources, natural, plentiful, sand.

Salt: (Sodium Chloride) Essential to life on earth, salt is a naturally occurring mineral. It has been used in soap production since the craft's earliest evolution. It allows the moisturizing glycerin to float to the top of the mixture and separate out byproducts.

Glycerin: This is the good stuff. Glycerin is the element that softens and moisturizes skin. Without glycerin your soap is really just a detergent, and that can be harsh on your skin. Most major soap brands actually remove the glycerin during manufacturing to be used in more expensive lotions and creams. A natural soap retains the original glycerin, and won't leave your skin with that "dried out" feeling.

Lye: (Sodium Hydroxide) Lye is an essential ingredient in soap. Lye comes from wood ash, but can also be made from burning scrapes like dried palm branches and banana peals. It is actually the chemical reaction of lye and fats (oleic acid) that creates soap. Without lye, it's not soap.