Handcrafting soap is an art form and begins with the soap makers formula. We choose our oils and fats based on how their values will contribute to the soap as a finished product. These choices are what give the soap qualities such as fluffy lather, moisturizing, cleansing, etc.
A good soapmaker’s formula will always have a certain amount of excess oil left in the soap after the saponification process (the chemical reaction that make soap, well, soap). This is call superfat.
The first reason why we superfat is safety. We want to make sure there is no leftover lye in the soap. We give ourselves a safety percentage value that will ensure that all available lye is converted to soap
The second reason we superfat is to increase the mildness of the soap on the skin. Using a small superfat percentage will increase the moisturizing properties of a soap and make it milder on the skin.
Not all superfats are created equal.
There is a sweet spot in soap formulating that is important to note. If the percentage of superfat is too little then you can wind up with a bar of soap that strips the skin and dries it out. If your superfat percentage is too high then you will wind up with a slimy bar of soap that leave an icky residue on your skin.
Our soap recipes are essential to our soapmaking processes here at the Country Goods Farm. We take pride in our formulations and always makes sure that we are balancing moisture and cleansing qualities to produce the perfect bar. At the end of the soap making process we get a cleansing bar of soap that will offer tons of moisture and not strip the skin.
We want to provide the best of the simple life to all of our Country Girls and Guys, which is why we put a little extra time and love into each one of our soaps so you can enjoy a healthier more lush bathing experience.