Bath bars are usually made from gentler ingredients than traditional soap to provide deep moisturization without irritating the skin. These soaps don’t strip your skin of its natural oils, and some include therapeutic benefits. Bulk Apothecary offers a wide range of high-quality ingredients, allowing you to customize soap to meet your skin’s specific needs. Here are some tips for choosing the right soap making supplies when making bath bars:
Select Nourishing Ingredients
Soaps that nourish the skin are often made with ingredients like olive oil, coconut oil, and shea butter. These ingredients possess high moisturizing properties and help prevent the skin from drying out. Saturated fats, like coconut oil, also help make soap harder and last longer. This is beneficial for bath bars as they are frequently exposed to moisture. Other nourishing soap making supplies include:
- Glycerin: Glycerin is a humectant, which helps the skin retain moisture. Our glycerin melt and pour soap bases are available in clear and white, making it easy to customize your bath bars with dyes and additives. Some glycerin bases are available with hemp oil, honey, oatmeal, and other ingredients to enhance the soap’s performance.
- Exfoliants: An exfoliant helps remove dead skin cells from the skin’s surface, revealing smooth skin underneath. Gentle abrasives, such as strawberry seeds, pumice, and walnut hulls, can be mixed into soap to exfoliate skin during scrubbing.
- Clays: Adding clay to soap may help improve lather and remove impurities from the skin. Sea clay contains magnesium, potassium, and calcium, which help control acne and revitalize the skin. Kaolin clay gently cleanses and exfoliates both normal and dry skin, while also helping to improve circulation.
- Vitamins: Vitamins play a key role in maintaining healthy skin. Adding vitamin E oil to bath bars may help reduce inflammation and brighten the skin. Incorporating vitamin B3 can improve skin texture and reduce blemishes.
Incorporate Therapeutic Benefits
Some ingredients, including essential oils, dried botanicals, and ground spices, offer therapeutic benefits. Therapeutic-grade essential oils are 100% pure and free from additives. This preserves the oil’s natural properties, so it can provide the full range of benefits associated with the plant. Lavender oil is a common choice for bath bars, as it helps reduce acne and dry skin. Tea tree oil is sometimes selected for its antimicrobial properties.
Botanicals include the flowers, stems, leaves, and buds of plants. Dried herbs and flowers provide therapeutic benefits while reducing the amount of excess moisture added to soap bars. They can also be infused with a soap’s oil before mixing to impart benefits without impacting the bar’s coloration. Dried peppermint leaves may help soothe the skin and protect against bacteria, while rose buds brighten the complexion.
Ground spices are often used to naturally color soap, and some also offer benefits for the skin. Turmeric and ginger offer anti-inflammatory properties, which might be beneficial for topical skin concerns like acne and psoriasis. Black pepper and cinnamon can provide antibacterial properties, making them ideal for soaps that treat skin blemishes.
Balance the pH
Many bath bars have a pH level similar to that of the skin’s natural pH, making them ideal for sensitive skin. Skin is slightly acidic, so soaps that are too alkaline disrupt the skin’s protective barrier. This can lead to dryness and irritation. Bath bars should be formulated with ingredients that help reduce excess alkalinity, such as citric acid and borax. For cold or hot process soaps, allowing them to cure helps balance the bar’s pH as the amount of lye decreases.
Order Soap Making Supplies Today
High-quality soap making supplies allow you to create bath bars that provide gentle exfoliation and nourish the skin. Bulk Apothecary offers melt and pour soap bases made from a variety of ingredients, including goat milk, shea butter, and olive oil. This makes it easy to customize bars to meet skin care needs. Contact us today to learn more or to place an order.
