Mother Jai’s Coconut Oil Soap
Home made and hand blended soap made of only Organic Coconut Oil, Distilled Water, and Sodium Hydroxide (yes, Lye). Mother Jai uses only silicon molds for this soap to prevent metal and releasing agent contamination. Silicon is inert and does not release any chemicals into products.
This is a ‘superfat’ blend. That means when the soap is made Mother Jai includes extra Coconut Oil to ensure all of the Lye reacts and to make the soap super moisturizing. This soap produces a wonderful fluffy foam that nourishes the skin and hair. Rub soap bar onto a loofa or wash cloth and scrub face and body.
As a shampoo bar it leaves hair clean and soft without over drying. It also works great to preserve hair dye as it is not a ‘detergent’ like many commercial shampoos. Hair with bright colored hair dye do extremely well with this coconut oil soap. Simply rub the bar on wet hair until foam forms then massage through hair with fingertips. Don’t forget to massage your scalp to improve hair growth by stimulating follicles.
As a hand soap it leaves hands soft and sanitized without ‘antibacterial’ chemicals. You can use the bar whole or dissolve it for sanitary purposes. Simply break up the soap bar into smaller pieces and dissolve in distilled water. One 4oz bar to 20oz of Water in a jar. Allow it to dissolve completely and pour into soap pump. It is more ‘liquidy’ than commercial soaps because it lacks artificial fillers and stabilizers. This liquid soap works great on surfaces, dishes and clothes as well.
Coconut Oil Soap
All natural 3 ingredient soap perfect for body, face and hair.
Organic Coconut Oil
Coconut oil soap is an excellent moisturizer for both the skin and the hair. The properties of the coconut oil also help remove dead skin cells and dirt away from the body. The oils also help prevent or reduce acne. It also helps firm up your skin helps you look younger as the soap is rich in antioxidants.
Lauric, Capric, and Caprylic Acid – These fatty acids from the coconut are antimicrobial agents. They help fight against nasty things like viruses, bacteria, fungi, and yeast. Who needs anti-bacterial soap when you can just use coconut oil!
Micronutrients – Including calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, iron, selenium, and vitamins C and E. These micronutrients can pack a world of benefits from lowering blood pressure (manganese) to dandruff alleviation and prevention of skin aging (selenium).
Antioxidants – Many of these micronutrients also act as anti-oxidants meaning that they block potentially harmful free radicals which can prevent disease and improve skin condition.
Distilled Water
Water that has been boiled into vapor and condensed back into liquid in a separate container. Impurities in the original water that do not boil below or near the boiling point of water remain in the original container. Thus, distilled water is one type of purified water. This means that distilled water is only H2O and all of the minerals, chemicals, bacteria and molds have been removed. This leaves a clean base for making clean soap.
Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)
Is an inorganic compound with the formula NaOH. It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations Na+ and hydroxide anions OH−. Sodium hydroxide is a highly caustic base and alkali that decomposes proteins at ordinary ambient temperatures and may cause severe chemical burns. It is highly soluble in water, and readily absorbs moisture and carbon dioxide from the air.
This chemical is used to manufacture soaps, rayon, paper, explosives, dyestuffs, and petroleum products. It is also used in processing cotton fabric, laundering and bleaching, metal cleaning and processing, oxide coating, electroplating, and electrolytic extracting. It is commonly found in commercial drain/ oven cleaners. According to the the FDA, sodium hydroxide is considered a direct food recognized as safe, where it serves as a pH control agent and follows good manufacturing guidelines. Interestingly, sodium hydroxide has been studied for its use in the treatment of prion disease (as occurs in mad cow disease and kuru). The use of this compound has been shown to effectively reduce prion levels in an in vitro inactivation assay.
Sodium hydroxide is used in several food processing applications, such as curing foods like olives or helping to brown Bavarian-style pretzels, giving them their characteristic crunch. Sodium hydroxide is used to remove skins from tomatoes, potatoes and other fruits and vegetables for canning and also as an ingredient in food preservatives that help prevent mold and bacteria from growing in food.
Get your home made superfat lye soap here.
Soap
Soap is the result of a chemical reaction called saponification that occurs between lye and a type of molecule called a triglyceride (a fat or oil), where both substances are chemically transformed, creating soap and natural glycerin. Neither of the original ingredients exists anymore. All the lye – either sodium hydroxide for bar soap or potassium hydroxide for liquid soap – is consumed in the reaction.
So, while soap is made with lye, it doesn’t contain lye. Modern methods and measuring scales – as opposed to what was available to frontier women – allow soap-makers to use the proper mixture of oils and lye, ensuring that all lye is consumed. In addition, many soap-makers, including Mother Jai’s, add more oil than is required for the chemical reaction, further ensuring the neutralization of lye and adding to the soap’s moisturizing qualities. Including extra fats in the mixture is known as superfatting.
Still, some soap-makers make a point of positioning themselves as lye “alternatives,” insisting – for example – they use glycerin instead, or make their soap without the involvement of lye. In both these cases, misinformation seems to be a factor. Glycerin is a natural result of saponification. And the first step in creating bases for melt-and-pour soap-making – the most convenient home-based process? Saponification.
Understanding chemistry can go a long way toward informing public perceptions, including those of your customers. As negative as some perceptions of lye can be, all soap is made with lye – whether it’s bar or liquid – and soap made well can be great for your skin. The distinction between soap and commercial cleansers is especially clear with liquid soaps. Since most weren’t made with lye, what you’re buying isn’t soap, but a factory-made detergent for the skin. These are chemical emulsifiers usually derived from petroleum.
The truth about lye in soap-making is simple: there is no true soap, as defined by the FDA, without lye. There’s also a huge difference between “made with lye” and “containing lye.”
Lye isn’t a villain, nor is soap made with lye something to avoid. In fact, in the hands of good soap-makers, it’s a product made with your skin and health in mind, and is far superior in overall quality and gentleness to commercial, non-soap cleansers. Lye is what you should be using.
Get your home made superfat lye soap here.
Benefits Using of Lye Soap
Despite popular belief, lye soap is not harsh and it doesn’t burn skin. When farmers and homesteaders in the past made soap, they did not use correct proportions of lye and fats. They produced soap with residual lye in it. That soap burned skin. Unfortunately, the oldies ruined reputation of lye soap for us. Fortunately, modern homesteaders and soap makers have great resources available to them to make lye soap that is cleansing, soothing, conditioning, and pampering.
General Skin Care : Daily pampering with lye soap cleanses and conditions skin, gets rid of dry and itchy skin, rashes and irritations.
Acne Cure: Lye soap unclogs pores, reduces inflammation, and balances skin pH. Washing face with lye soap daily reduces acne and blackheads. It leaves skin silky and radiant.
Balancing Dry or Oily Skin: Lye soap fends both dry skin and oily skin. The way it works is very simple and ingenious.
- Dry skin: Glycerin in the soap moisturizes dry skin. There is very little need or no need at all to use lotions any more.
- Oily skin: This is the type of skin that has overactive oil (sebaceous) glands. When harsh soaps are used on oily skin, they make skin overly dry, but just for a short period of time. Oily skin reacts to dryness by producing extra lubricants by the oil glands. Such skin becomes oily almost immediately after washing.
Using lye soap on oily skin leaves the skin mildly moisturized by glycerin. Under these conditions, the oily skin doesn’t have to work overtime to produce oils any more. You must be patient though. This doesn’t happen overnight. You have to “train” your oily skin to slow down oil production by the hyperactive glands. It may take weeks to achieve noticeable results.
Seborrheic Dermatitis & Dandruff Treatment: Lye soap is used in the treatment of seborrhea and dandruff. Simply washing your hair and affected areas with lye soap reduces the flaky skin and irritation. Some lye soaps prescribed by dermatologists are medicated with aspirin, coal tar, zinc, or other additives.
Eczema, Psoriasis Relief: Because of the emollient qualities of lye soap, it is used by people with eczema and psoriasis to relief itching, irritation, and minimize the symptoms.
Sun Burn Treatment and Prevention: Using lye soap on the bare skin before going out in the sun minimizes sunburns. Lye soap helps cure inflamed skin if the sunburns already happened. Lather lye soap on the sunburned area and leave it overnight. Repeat until sunburn is gone. Lye soap speeds up the healing process.
Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, Poison Sumac Treatment: Washing the affected skin area with lye soap immediately after contact with the poisonous plants may help avoid the reaction altogether. If some time is passed after the contact, the reaction is very likely to happen. To minimize the reaction, wash the area with lye soap as soon as possible, and rinse with water. Repeat washing a few times. Lather lye soap on the affected skin and leave it on until the next wash. Skin reaction will disappear soon.
Insect Bites Cure and Insect Repellent: Washing the bites with lye soap reliefs itching and swelling almost immediately. Lather lye soap on your bare skin to repel mosquitoes. A bar of lye soap in your kitchen cabinets will keep ants in check.
Lye Soap Slows Down Skin Aging: Soothing, moisturizing and antioxidant qualities of lye soap slows down formation of wrinkles and age spots when used daily.
Hunters’ Trick (can be a health benefit at times): Wash with unscented lye soap to become “invisible” when you go hunting. Lye soap removes human scent and animals become unaware of your presence. Happy hunting!
