Ingredient Glossary

INCI: Aqua

What It Is:
Pure, distilled water — the simplest ingredient we use, and the one everything else depends on. Distillation removes minerals, metals, and other impurities, giving us a clean slate for consistent, reliable soapmaking.

What It Does:
Acts as the quiet workhorse that brings all the other ingredients together. Without water, saponification wouldn’t happen… and we’d just be staring at a bowl of oils, wondering why nothing is turning into soap. Distilled water helps the oils blend smoothly, supports an even cook, and ensures the finished soap rinses clean without any mineral interference.

How It’s Derived:
Regular water is heated into steam, then condensed back into liquid leaving impurities behind. What’s left is nothing but pure H₂O, ready to do its steady, dependable job in every batch.

INCI: Potassium Olivate, Potassium Cocoate, Potassium Castorate

What It Is:
A blend of plant oils that have been fully transformed into true soap through saponification — the natural chemical reaction between oils and an alkali (potassium or sodium hydroxide, AKA lye). Once the reaction is complete, no lye remains; only finished soap and naturally formed glycerin.

What It Does:
Creates the cleansing base of our soap. Our proprietary oil blend combines Olive, Coconut, and Castor oils to achieve a balanced product. Olive oil lends its familiar softness, coconut oil provides a rich, lifting clean, and castor oil contributes a silky, stable lather. Together, they create a gentle, effective wash that’s kind to skin and rinses clean.

How It’s Derived:
Cold‑pressed olive, coconut, and castor oils are combined with a natural alkali. As the fatty acids bond with the alkali, they convert into soap and glycerin — a traditional, time‑honored process used for generations.

INCI: Glycerin

What It Is:
A clear, slightly sweet, plant‑derived humectant that naturally attracts and holds moisture. It’s a byproduct of the saponification process itself, but we also add a touch more to ensure our liquid soap stays gentle, balanced, and kind to skin.

What It Does:
Draws moisture to the skin, helping each wash feel soft rather than stripping. It also contributes to the smooth glide of the lather and supports the overall mildness of the soap. In soapmaking, glycerin is one of the quiet heroes that makes handcrafted soap feel noticeably different from commercial detergent bars.

How It’s Derived:
Produced from plant oils through a natural process that separates glycerin from the fatty acids in the oil. The result is a pure, biodegradable ingredient that blends seamlessly into traditional soap.

INCI: Sodium Chloride

What It Is:
Good old table salt — the same simple mineral you’d find in any kitchen, used here in a small amount to slightly thicken the soap and improve its feel. Nothing fancy, nothing mysterious.

What It Does:
Helps to thicken the liquid slightly by competing for water in the finished liquid soap to reduce the ‘watery’ nature of castile soap. It also tightens the lather just enough to keep it creamy rather than bubbly. A tiny pinch goes a long way, which feels very on‑brand for us.

How It’s Derived:
Harvested from natural salt deposits or evaporated seawater, then purified. We use it in its plain, familiar form — no additives, no surprises.

INCI: Sucrose

What It Is:
A touch of simple cane sugar — the same kind you’d stir into your coffee. In soapmaking, sugar isn’t for sweetness; it’s for lather.

What It Does:
Boosts the bubbles, giving the soap a lighter, more luxurious foam. It helps the lather lift and bloom without using artificial detergents or surfactants. Think of it as a tiny nudge that makes the wash just a little more satisfying.

How It’s Derived:
Pressed from sugarcane or sugar beets, then refined into pure sucrose. We use only a small amount, added directly to the water phase so it dissolves cleanly.

INCI: Citrus Sinensis (Sweet Orange) Peel Oil

What It Is:
A certified‑organic essential oil cold‑pressed from the peels of ripe sweet oranges. Naturally bright and cheerful, it’s the heart of our Orange Blossom soap.

What It Does:
Provides a soft, sunny citrus note that feels clean and familiar. Sweet orange adds warmth and brightness without being overpowering, giving the bar a gentle, uplifting aroma that suits everyday use.

How It’s Derived:
Orange peels are mechanically pressed to release their aromatic oils — a traditional, low‑heat method that preserves the fruit’s natural sweetness. We use only high‑quality, certified‑organic oil.

INCI: Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Leaf Oil

What It Is:
A pure, certified‑organic essential oil steam‑distilled from spearmint leaves. Clean, bright, and naturally uplifting, it’s the backbone of our Sweet Mint scent.

What It Does:
Gives the soap its cool, refreshing aroma — the kind that wakes you up a little without trying too hard. Spearmint brings a soft, green mintiness that feels fresh but never sharp, making the bar feel lively and crisp.

How It’s Derived:
Fresh spearmint leaves are steam‑distilled to capture their aromatic compounds. We source only high‑quality, certified‑organic oil from Essential Depot for clarity, consistency, and a true‑to‑plant scent.

INCI: Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil

What It Is:
A certified‑organic essential oil steam‑distilled from the leaves of the tea tree plant. Clean, herbal, and unmistakably botanical, it stands on its own as the sole scent in our Tea Tree liquid castile soap.

What It Does:
Provides a crisp, green, naturally clarifying aroma that feels fresh without being overpowering. Tea tree has a character all its own — bright, earthy, and quietly invigorating — making it a perfect single‑note scent for customers who prefer something simple, pure, and plant‑forward.

How It’s Derived:
Tea tree leaves are steam‑distilled to extract their aromatic compounds. We source only high‑purity, certified‑organic oil from Essential Depot to ensure a clean, consistent, true‑to‑plant profile.

INCI: Benzyl Alcohol, Ethylhexlglycerin, Tocopherol

Euxyl K900 is a gentle, broad‑spectrum preservative used at very low levels (less than 1%) to keep water‑based products safe over time. Each component has a specific role, and all are considered naturally derived or nature‑identical.

Here is a breakdown of the ingredients in plain language:

INCI: Benzyl Alcohol

What It Is:
A naturally occurring aromatic alcohol present in apricots, cranberries, honey, and botanicals like jasmine and ylang‑ylang. The version used in cosmetic and cleaning formulations is typically “nature‑identical,” meaning it matches the same structure found in plants.

What It Does:
• Provides gentle antimicrobial protection
• Acts as a solvent
• Supports broad‑spectrum preservation systems
• Helps maintain product freshness

How It’s Derived:
While Benzyl Alcohol exists in many plants, extracting it directly from botanicals isn’t practical at scale. Instead, it’s produced through a clean, controlled process that creates the same molecule found in nature — a nature‑identical ingredient that remains biodegradable and widely accepted in natural‑leaning formulations.

Why We Use It:
Benzyl Alcohol allows us to keep our formulas simple and safe without harsh preservatives.

INCI: Ethylhexylglycerin

What It Is:
A plant‑derived glycerin ether. Its backbone comes from glycerin, which is naturally found in vegetable oils.

What It Does:
• Enhances the effectiveness of other preservatives
• Helps keep formulas fresh and protected
• Adds a light skin‑conditioning benefit

How It’s Derived:
Made by reacting glycerin (from plant oils) with 2‑ethylhexanol, creating a nature‑identical, biodegradable ingredient.

Why We Use It:
It supports the preservation system so we can keep our formulas simple, gentle, and effective.

INCI: Tocopherol

What It Is:
A family of fat‑soluble compounds collectively known as Vitamin E. We use a plant‑derived form that’s gentle, biodegradable, and widely accepted in natural formulations.

What It Does:
• Acts as an antioxidant
• Supports formula stability
• Offers mild skin‑conditioning benefits
• Helps extend shelf life of plant oils

How It’s Derived:
Extracted from vegetable oils such as sunflower, soybean, or wheat germ, then gently purified.

Why We Use It:
It protects plant oils from oxidation naturally and simply.

Our Liquid Castile Soap is made mostly of water and plant oils. That simplicity is part of what makes it special — but it also means we have to think carefully about safety. Even though true Castile soap has a naturally high pH, once it leaves our hands we can’t control how it’s stored, diluted, or used. Bottles get left open, mixed with other products, or topped off with tap water, and over time that can introduce bacteria.

To keep our customers safe, we use less than 1% of a gentle, naturally‑derived preservative called Euxyl K900. It’s one of the few preservatives that works in high‑pH soap and doesn’t rely on harsh synthetics. Using this tiny amount allows us to keep our formula simple, clean, and stable — without compromising the natural integrity of the product.

We use it because safety matters, and because a truly natural product should also be a trustworthy one.