FAQS

Fresha Soap Co. is a woman-owned handmade soap company based in Columbus, Ohio (Click here to learn more about the owner here.)
We are all about making small batches of really awesome products using crazy good ingredients.
We believe in small businesses, operating with integrity, helping neighbors, and never skimping on quality.
We hope you can tell the difference when you use our products because we want you to love them, too.

As always…peace, love, and soap ✌️❤️🧼

True handmade soap is amazing for it’s cleansing properties. Did you know that, very often, the big brand “soaps” aren’t soap at all, but rather they are cleansing bars made of a combination of synthetic detergents and surfactants. These are often referred to in the soap world as “syndet” bars.

Handmade soaps are very straight-forward and every good soap maker can tell you exactly what their soap is made from and the purpose of every one of those ingredients. There’s no crazy chemical by-products or even much waste. It’s just good, clean fun!

Melt & Pour – This processes is done by melting down a pre-made soap base, adding colorants and fragrances, and pouring it into a soap mold. Some cool soaps can be made this way but they don’t often last very long, as they are prone to turning into soap sludge once wet. If you buy a transparent soap, odds are it used a M&P base. They’re also easy cut and require no additional cutting time. They’re ready to use as soon as they’re cooled and cut.

Hot Process – This is an interesting way to make soap using heat to force saponification. This is the process often utilized to “rebatch” cold process soap that may have run into saponification issues. Soap is shredded up and remelted in a crock pot or pot over a double boiler. After it is completely melted, it’s then poured into a soap mold to cool before cutting. It is ready to use immediately, unlike the curing cold process soap requires. Two major distinctions of hot process soap is that the heat can nullify many of the beneficial properties of the ingredients and it also makes a rougher, more rustic soap bar.

Cold Process – This is the soap making method we use here at Fresha. Cold process soap making is the OG traditional method of making soap by combining a fat (animal or plant-based) with sodium hydroxide (aka lye) and water. Fragrances, additional oils, and colorants can also be added, depending on the type of soap you want to make. After the 4-6 week cure time to allow for evaporation, the result is a hard, long-lasting bar of soap. 

 

The cold process method of soap making is a blending together of lye, water, and fats which causes a chemical reaction called saponification. Saponification takes about 2 days, but it can take weeks for the water to evaporate and, thus, make a harder, longer-lasting bar of soap. Fun fact! Traditional castile soap (100% olive oil soap) can take 6 months to fully cure!

Remember saponification taking 48 hours? It can take weeks (or longer) for most of the water to evaporate and make a hard, longer-lasting bar of soap. We cure our handmade soaps for a minimum of 5 weeks to ensure you get a super solid product that won’t melt as soon as it gets wet.

To be honest, I don’t love calling things natural because it means something different to every person. It’s not a regulated phrase, either, so there is no set standard to follow to be all natural.

With that said, I don’t use random ingredients in my products. Everything I use has a valid purpose and makes a freaking great bar of soap (or scrub or lip balm…you get the idea.) Every product I make lists the ingredients I use to make it. If you have questions, reach out! I’m all about full transparency. 

So the fun thing about saponification is that it uses both science and mathematics. If you do the math to determine how much sodium hydroxide, water, and fats it will take to properly make soap, you can also figure out how to add fats/oils in excess of your base recipe to up the bubbles, or creaminess, or moisturizing qualities. The percentage of fats over your base is called superfatting.

Fresha Soaps are between 5-7% superfat depending on the soap. This makes for a moisturizing soap bar.

Yes, we use both. The majority of our soaps use fragrance oils that are rigorously tested and are skin-safe by IFRA standards. Our vegan handmade soaps use professional-grade essential oils for fragrance. 

No and it never will. 

This is a highly-contested ingredient in soap making (and in countless products around the world.) It’s cheaper than a lot of plant oils and makes a nice, hard bar of soap. But the ecological price of harvesting palm oil is not my jam.

Yes, there are sustainably-produced and ethically-sourced palm oils available. I would rather avoid it completely. It costs me a bit more to not use it in my soaps, but I think it’s worth it. The world needs people to make other choices, so I made that choice.

Not in the finished product! It is an ingredient that is used to make cold process soap, but after superfatting and saponification, no lye remains in the final soap.

You know your skin better than anyone and I never say never. Handmade soap, by and large, has a higher pH than most syndet (synthetic detergent) bars so it could possibly be drying on your more delicate bits. Countless people have told us we have incredibly gentle soap, FWIW. We haven’t had anyone inform us of sensitivities or reactions, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t (or won’t) happen. If you do, please discontinue use and let us know! We will make it right!

It goes against FDA regulations to make those kinds of claims, despite what you may hear.

So. Use Fresha Soap to gently clean your body. It’s super good at that!

We never test on animals. I haven’t even washed my dog’s stinky feet with my soap! Our ingredients are not tested on animals, either. Everything we use is responsibly sourced from reputable, professional companies. 

Our vegan products are labeled as such. Currently, we offer a limited selection of fully plant-based vegan soaps. The majority of our handmade soaps use lard as a primary fat (waste not, want not!) and our lip balms use beeswax.

With daily use and proper care, an average 4 oz soap bar from Fresha Soap should last about a month. 

There are a few ways to get your soap bar to last longer! First off, water is the #1 enemy of soap. Let your soap dry out after eat use and keep it up and out of standing water. Soap lifts and soap holders help, too. So do soap savers!

Another way to get the most from your soap is to use a washcloth, loofah, poof, or soap saver instead of rubbing the bar directly onto your skin. Both methods work just fine, but nothing beats the lather you can get from using a poof.

Lastly, when you’re down to only a sliver of soap, let it dry out and save it in a soap saver. There’s no reason you can’t use every last little bit!

Not yet. Currently our website is the best and easiest way to find our products.

On occasion, we may be found at a local market or local shop, too, but not with regularity at this time.

Not at this time.

If you have concerns or questions about allergens or something specific, please reach out and I’m happy to help.

Not at this time. 

My recipes took me years to create and perfect. They are not for sale at this time.

Wholesale: I am open to working with retailers interested in wholesale accounts with priority given to Ohio-based companies.

Custom: I am always open to making custom orders. Please know that the lead time on custom orders is about 6 weeks. Please contact me for more information.

Private Label: Sorry, I do not currently offer private labeling. 

Please contact me for more information on wholesale or custom orders!

 

Due to the nature of our products, we do not offer returns, but I also want you to be happy so let’s talk if you have issues. Our return policy can be found here.

Our privacy policy can be found here.

I’m never going to spam you or sell your info. It’s just me, loves. I’m not a corporation; I’m just one woman who sells soap. We have a secure website and I really care about your info being kept safe. 

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