Mike and Erin as squeaky clean kids

The ever-increasing popularity of natural products is overwhelming. It seems that we're finally understanding that what we put in, as well as on our bodies can have long term effects. That's where Erin's infatuation with handmade soap comes in.

We think of natural soap ingredients as a virtual playground for creating new handmade natural soap varieties. Discovering which herbs and botanicals will create the desired effect in a bar of handmade soap is half the fun. Using and sharing our incredibly bubbly, wonderful smelling, handmade natural soaps with others completes the experience.

What began as an experiment in acid/base reactions has become Erin's passion. Inspired by a professor at Michigan State University, she tried to make a batch of simple soap using ingredients readily available at the local grocery store. Her first batch of natural soap wasn't anything too fancy. But those bars of gentle, rich-with- glycerin soap started an addiction to handmade natural soaps and soap making that continues to this day.

Having experienced itchy reactions to some soaps, not being thrilled with the drying effects of many commercial soaps, and hearing that it could be due to the fragrances in them, she chooses to scent her olive oil soap batches with natural essential oils and certified 100% Pure Natural Fragrance oils. Selecting which scents to put into a new soap-bound blend is practically incapacitating! There are so many scents to choose from, and nearly all of them smell good! We laugh that what was once a wine cabinet has been taken over by bottles of essential oils, plastic pipettes and sampling cups! Her handmade soaps are slowly consuming what was once a normal, single family home!

Handcrafted soap begins with the selection of oils. We prefer handmade bar soap that is heavy on olive oil. It is rich in oleic acid, which lends a great, creamy feel to a bar of all natural soap. Olive oil alone can make a soft, difficult to lather soap, so we blend it with other oils that create hardness, cleaning ability, bubbles and stable lather. It isn't hard to find recipes for soap making, but being artisan soap crafters, we are proud to offer you our own custom formulated, proprietary recipes.

Handcrafted Soap should not only look nice, and clean well, but it is imperative that it be formulated properly to leave your skin feeling happy.

Isn't happy skin what it's all about?

To all of you, from all of us at Bar Soap Natural - Thank you for your interest in our handmade, natural soap!

Michael Brown & Erin Lee
Soap King and Queen