What makes Stella Marie soaps different from commercial soaps?
No detergent. I use very simple ingredients: distilled water, olive oil, coconut oil, lye (you can’t make soap without it), cosmetic dyes, and fragrance and essential oils. I sometimes add ground oats, poppy seeds, turmeric or shredded coconut, depending on the kind of soap I’m making. I have several customers who use my soaps to manage their pre-existing skin conditions. Commercial soaps are cheap, but you get what you pay for, and those of us who live through bitter cold winters need to retain the moisture in our skin. Grocery store detergent bars (they aren’t allowed to call themselves “soap”) strip our skin of its natural oils and lead to flaking and itching. They exacerbate conditions like eczema and psoriasis.
