About Vanessa's Soap
My Story
HI everyone I'm Vanessa, I live in the beautiful Mornington Peninsula, which is located in Victoria, Australia.
I originally started making Cold Process Soap as I wanted to make myself the beautiful and creative handmade soap I had seen at the local markets. I am obsessed with Pure Essentials Oils; therefore, I wanted to incorporate my love of oils with handmade soap. It was then my partner, Andre, surprised me with a soap making course with a local soap making company. Well, that was it, I was now obsessed with making soap.
I create my one-of-a-kind handmade soap with care and love using the finest ingredients available. I begin the process of natural soap making by using beautiful and natural oils, butters, essential oils, botanicals and clays that will leave your skin feeling fresh and nourished. The natural exfoliates include oats, ground coffee, clays and more. I always source wholesome natural ingredients you can trust.
All products are presented to you in beautiful, yet minimalistic packaging, caring for our environment.
What is cold process soap?
My definition is, Soap made 100% from scratch, the more 'technical term' is as follows.
All soap is the result of a chemical reaction called saponification that occurs between lye and a fat or oil (such as Olive Oil or Coconut Oil etc). Cold-process soap, in particular, allows the lye to be neutralized without any outside sources of heat, called "curing". This is a time-consuming process that takes 4-6 weeks for the soap to be ready for use. The lack of heat keeps the essential oils intact and in perfect condition to lather you in therapeutic goodness. It takes patience, but I think it's worth it!
Cold-processed soap is made by mixing sodium hydroxide (lye) with water, blending it with fatty oils, and adding essential oils, and natural colorants like clays and mica powders. The soap batter is poured into moulds and takes 24 hours to become soap (saponify). Once removed from the mould, I allow the soap to dry for an additional 24 hours then cut into individual bars of soap. It's at this point I feel excited, to unveil what I have created. Over the next 4-6 weeks, the soap "cures" as all of the lye is used up to break down the oils into their cleansing properties, and water is slowly evaporated, leaving a gentle, firm and nourishing bar of soap.