Choose Natural Handmade Soaps (with no palm oil)

Good bar soaps are not just made from natural ingredients, but also free from palm oil (unsustainable use is harming habitats of orangutans and other endangered creatures in Indonesia). It’s easy to make bar soap (if you’re an expert!) with superior and more local ingredients.

Alter/native by Suma is a brand of soaps from a wholefood collective set up in the 70s, owned by its 200-strong workforce (there are no bosses or shareholders) in Yorkshire. It’s also widely involved in tree-planting projects in Upper Calder Valley.

Choose unscented for pregnancy/nursing. We don’t recommend soaps that contain palm oil or fragrance oils. If using cocoa butter soaps, wash off before letting pets kiss you!

Sustainable palm oil is just a ‘chocolate teapot’ according to Greenpeace, used because it’s cheap (and shipped from thousands of miles away, which means more climate emissions). Palm-derived names to watch for include:

• Sodium palmate (palm oil soap)
• Sodium palm kernelate (palm kernel oil soap)
• Palm kernel oil
• Palm oil
• Palmitate (worth checking, as it can be palm-derived)

These are mostly based on coconut and olive oil (to avoid palm oil) and sold in paper packaging. Inspired by the natural power of plants, everything is vegan and not tested on animals. Made in Yorkshire, the range includes the following (allow bars to dry between uses):

To use, just shake off excess water and place on the draining shelf inside the tin. Drain any excess water, then pop the lid on to keep the bar dry.

Earthbound all-in-one bar is ideal for face and body, and can also be used as a shampoo. It’s scented with lime, lemongrass and tea tree oil.

We do not recommend the ‘far and away’ body bar, as it contains artificial fragrance oil.

Cleansing Bars (pink clay or charcoal)

The cleansing bars are zero-waste alternatives to plastic pots of cleansing lotions. The pink clay bar has a light floral scent.

The charcoal version is more for oily or clogged skin, and is slightly exfoliating, and scented with lime, lemongrass and tea tree oils.

Coffee Cedarwood Shaving Bar – ideal for a creamy lather, if you use a reusable shaving brush. It’s scented with essential oils of orange and black pepper, so not too feminine!

The soap bars are for all-over body-use and sold in a range of scents:

• Aloe Vera (fragrance-free)
• Cinnamon Orange
• Lemongrass Chamomile
• Rosemary Lavender
• Rose Geranium

But Don’t Bar Soaps Dry Your Skin Out?

You’ve been reading silly beauty magazines! Real soap (made with caustic soda – don’t try this at home!) is then ‘cured’ for weeks. Which results in ‘proper soap’ to clean your skin, but retains the moisturising glycerine.

Most commercial soaps (which nearly all contain palm oil, contributing to deforestation of habitats for endangered orangutans) takes out the moisturising glycerine, and sells it to industry.

Or uses it to make fruity ‘transparent glycerine’ soaps for extra profits. Which don’t dry skin out, but won’t clean it either (because they are not soaps!

So seek out proper handmade soaps to find pure bars that both clean and moisturise your skin. Try using one on your face and nothing else for a month. And notice the difference!

Soap Saver Pads (to stop bar soaps going mushy)

The only caveat is that due to being more moisturising, they can go squishy, so store bars away from water or on a slatted soap dish, to help them last longer. You can also buy shower soaps with integrated ropes, so gravity drains away the water, to keep them dry.

This soap saver pad only costs a few pounds. In four colours, they can be cut to size. They let air circulate, and if they get clogged with soap, you can just give them a wash (even pop them in the dishwasher) to use again.

Suma’s travel soap tin is ideal for when you’re on the go.

This Reborn soap dish is made in Wiltshire, from recycled plastic. It also has air ridges, to let the soap bar dry out faster.

Friendly Bar Soaps (made in Hebden Bridge

Friendly Soaps are all vegan and free from palm oil, and widely sold at markets and in health shops. Or buy online in packs of 12, to save on postage. You can even buy bags of ‘soap scraps’ from leftovers, to save money.

This company also offers specialty soaps like minty foot soaps, chef soap (to remove garlic smells) and even an exfoliating soap for mucky mechanics!  Plus unscented versions for babies/pregnancy/nursing/allergies.

Coraline Soaps (for very dry sensitive skin)

Coraline Soaps (also sold at Blomma Beauty (use code englandnaturally for 10% discount) was created by the parents of a baby with Down Syndrome, who could not tolerate ‘sensitive skin’ soaps. The chamomile soap has anti-inflammatory ingredients to relieve dry itchy skin.

For 3 months and up only. Check for nut allergies.

Skin experts often recommend Coraline Soaps for people with sensitive skin. Their formulas are tested to make sure they’re safe and kind. Learn how to help people with eczema.

One woman went to a dermatologist for her ‘incurable itchy skin’ even though she was using the brand leading soap. After he couldn’t help, she popped to the health shop and bought a cheap bar of Oliva soap (just olive oil, salt and water). Her skin began to heal in an hour.

But Don’t Bar Soaps Dry Your Skin Out?

You’ve been reading silly beauty magazines! Real soap (made with caustic soda – don’t try this at home!) is then ‘cured’ for weeks. Which results in ‘proper soap’ to clean your skin, but retains the moisturising glycerine.

Most commercial soaps (which nearly all contain palm oil, contributing to deforestation of habitats for endangered orangutans) takes out the moisturising glycerine, and sells it to industry.

Or uses it to make fruity ‘transparent glycerine’ soaps for extra profits. Which don’t dry skin out, but won’t clean it either (because they are not soaps!

So seek out proper handmade soaps to find pure bars that both clean and moisturise your skin. Try using one on your face and nothing else for a month. And notice the difference!

Coraline Skincare (soothing balms and serums)

SOS Recovery Oil is good for dry and mature skin, or itchy skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis or rosacea. Unfragranced (with a natural nutty seedy grassy quinoa aroma). Just apply 1 to 2 pumps to damp skin, and massage in morning and night.

You Must Be Sisters Facial Oil contains collagen-boosting ingredients like oils of rosehip fruit, açai seed, passion seed oil (rich in fatty acids) and blackcurrant skin (helps eczema and psoriasis).

The Everlasting Facial Balm is richer (contains immortelle facial oil, so check for allergies, some people may be sensitive). As with all essential oils, avoid during pregnancy/nursing.