It has been a year since our last post on this subject and we have come a long way. It's good to remind ourselves why we do this. So, without further ado:-
THEY ARE KIND TO YOUR SKIN. Q. What is the biggest organ in your body? I'm ignoring a lot of those answers 🤣 A. The skin, so it makes perfect sense to keep it in the peak of condition. Handmade soap bars contain GLYCERIN a humectant with wonderful hygroscopic qualities - sorry, ...which is great at helping your skin retain moisture. If you find your skin is dry, check out your soap and see if it contains glycerin. Many people find that they don't need any hand creams at all after making the switch from mass-produced products. Besides the glycerin, other oils and ingredients maintain or enhance the natural oils produced by your skin rather than stripping them clean, forcing the body to try and recover. This means the bars can be good for dry skin, oily skin and all sorts of 'problem' skin.
THEY DON'T COST THE EARTH. Many 'soapers' care about the environment and love providing an alternative to plastic bottled liquid soap, or film-wrapped bars, as a contribution to saving our oceans. (Do try shampoo bars for the same reason). Each bar generally comes in easily recyclable, biodegradable or compostable packaging, if it is required at all. Lots of soapmakers have chosen to go palm-oil free, finding the destruction of the rainforest and the arguments against 'responsibly sourced' overwhelming. ZeezBeez is proud to be the first UK soapmaker to be certified palm-oil free and would love to be joined by many more. The initiative is spreading fast. ZeezBeez spends a lot of its income improving the environment for our bees and other pollinators. The return of these creatures to Bouchland Farm has given us a buzz.
VALUE FOR MONEY. Besides the cost of dealing with waste, if the bars are good for your skin you may be able to cut out expensive creams etc. Again, we have switched to shampoo bars and no longer need conditioners. Please don't be put off and do consider the long-term view.
QUALITY INGREDIENTS. We soapmakers put a lot of thought, fun and kindness into our recipes. They are generally great for all skin types by working with their natural balance. ZeezBeez has recently added a range of all-natural soap bars using natural ingredients for colour and fragrance.
TESTED ON HUMANS. We use our products on ourselves before making them available to you and would be really upset if any animal was harmed in the process. Our main ingredient supplier is accredited as 'cruelty-free'. (By the way, each product that touches your skin has to be independently assessed as safe to use by law. Feel free to enquire. Soapmakers invest a lot of time and money in obtaining safety assessments and it is unfair and risky when others don't. Check out the 'Guild of Soap & Toiletry Makers' as each member has to demonstrate their compliance).
SUPPORTS SMALL BUSINESSES. You wouldn't believe the joy we get when someone buys something from our market stall or the phone 'bings' to alert us to another order. We may even break out into an unseemly jig or a random bit of juggling. (What do you do to express joy?). It means a lot to us and all our fellow soapmakers, who may have different means of expressing their happiness.
CHOICES, CHOICES. We'd love you all to clean your hands using ZeezBeez products of course. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our range. However, there are other charming soapmakers out there to tempt you to ditch the plastic. When you investigate the choice, isn't it wonderful compared to the banality of most of the supermarket shelves? The important thing is to choose something that is kind to you and the planet. Stick with us folks!
FEEL THE LOVE.😍❤ It's getting a bit spiritual now, but we soapmakers love what we do in a way production lines in mega-factories surely don't. That's got to come through from us to you in every bar, hasn't it?
There is a more you-friendly and eco-friendly choice out there beyond the supermarket shelves, so please do give our products a try and search out other wonderful crafters making soap by hand.
Comments