'... the fresh feel of natural glycerin glides over and protects your skin. Olive oil then nourishes and moisturises - kind to sensitive skin. Complementary butters, botanicals, and essential oils impart their own properties.'

... every skin needs a lil' casTLC

Welcome to the online shop of fine Castile (olive oil) soaps - home of casTLC brand soaps and lil'lather kids soap. As you'll see, all ina lather Castile soaps are made with TLC to an age-old recipe. Olive oil prevents the loss of your skin's natural moisture, softens skin and attracts external moisture. Because of its qualities, Castile soaps are ideal for sensitive, young and mature skin.

ina lather soaps are the product of a chemical process called saponification. Saponification occurs when acids such as animal or vegetable fats are mixed with an alkali (lye) and produce a mixture of soap and glycerin. Glycerin is a natural humectant. It is usually skimmed off industrially-made 'soap' and sold separately. Having natural glycerin in an ina lather soap bar is what sets quality handmade soaps apart.

casTLC soaps are made in my soaping shed in Sydney, Australia and are guaranteed by ina lather's own Quality Soaper Policy (see below).

A history of soap

Soapmaking has been around for 2000 years and has changed little since its discovery when ancient people cooked their meats over open pits. They found that after a rainstorm, when fat and ash mixed together, a foam formed around the fire's remains. Women in Roman times washing their clothes along the Tiber River at the bottom of Sapo Hill, noticed their clothes became cleaner with less effort. The ashes and fat of animals from the sacrificial fires atop the hill mixed with the rain (lye) and ran down the slope thus making soap. Alternatively, Sapo is the cleansing salve that the ancient Gauls used, prepared from animal fat mixed with wood ash. A soap factory was even discovered in the ruins at Pompeii complete with cured bars.

In the 8th century soapmaking was revived in Italy and Spain and, due to the abundance of olive trees, made from olive oil. During the 14th century soapmaking began in England, although instead of olive oil, soaps were made from animal fats, such as tallow, the fat from cattle.

Soap fell out of favour in 1800s Victorian England as soap baths were considered sinful. Thankfully today, with its popularity returned, the benefits, individuality and gift-giving appeal of handmade soap outshines the often harsh synthetic chemical blends, or detergents, that are commercially available and sold as beauty bars today.

Soapmaking can be done by a few different techniques, including cold process and hot process method. Hot Process is where a soap base is cooked at temperature over a short period (see 'handmilling'). Cold Process - as in ina lather Castile soaps - involves no cooking of the soap. Rather, it relies on the heat generated by the chemical reaction of the acid and alkali. At this point, although lye is used at some point during the manufacturing process, a properly cured soap (after the saponfication process) does not contain any lye at point of sale to you! 


Chemistry lesson

Water alone does not wet well. Water molecules are closely bonded and bead up on the surface. Soap acts as a surfactant (surface active agent) which helps the water to soak in. How does soap clean? Soap has a water-loving head and a water-hating, oil-loving tail. Soap's effectiveness as a cleansing agent is because of its mix of oil and water. Once dissolved the oil-loving components attract to dirt, while the water-loving molecules carry it away, attracted by the bath water.
 

Soapmaking terminology

• Astringent - a skin cleansing action that contracts the pores and tissues, eg lemon
• Emollients - ingredients that moisturise the skin such as glycerin
• Essential oils - volatile plant by-products with beneficial qualities, used in aromatherapy
• Fillers - ingredients that add bulk to a product
• Fixative - ingredients that stabilise volatile oils, ie orris root or tincture of benzoin
• Glycerin - a by-product of soapmaking. Glycerin is an emollient and humectant - a substance to hold moisture. It is extracted from commercially-made soap
• Handmilling - grating, remelting and mixing of a basic soap - known as French Milling or Rebatching. This allows you to mix colours and scents and add to different molds.
• pH - stands for 'positively charged hydrogen ion' or 'potential of hydrogen'. A pH of 7 is neutral; soap is always slightly alkaline (pH 8-9). For a soap to be neutral, chemical additives most likely have been used.
• Superfatting - extra oils and fats added to a soap that will not be saponified, creating a richer and milder soap. ina lather soaps are superfatted to 5%.
• Trace - when saponification occurs, the soap thickens to what is referred to as 'trace'. This is noticeable when you drizzle some from a spoon and a line of soap is visible on top.

• Original CasTLC (unscented) - sodium olivate, aqua
• Cinnamon chilli - sodium olivate, aqua,
• Thai green curry - sodium olivate, sodium cocoate, aqua
• Silky red dress - sodium olivate, sodium palmate, aqua, fragrance, serica
• Manuka honey bar - sodium olivate, sodium cocoa butterate, aqua, avena sativa, mel
• Granite (for men)- sodium olivate, aqua,
• Orange poppyseed - sodium olivate, sodium stearate, aqua,
• Bohemian rhapsody (aged 3 years) - sodium olivate, aqua, alcanna tinctoria,
• Herbivore - sodium olivate, sodium palmate, aqua,

Legend: sodium olivate - olive oil (soap), sodium cocoate - coconut oil (soap), sodium palmate - palm oil (soap), sodium cocoa butterate - cocoa butter (soap), sodium stearate - shea butter (soap), aqua - distilled water, serica - silk, avena sative - oatmeal, mel - (Manuka) honey, alcanna tinctoria - alkannet root

Quality Soaper policy

the ina lather guarantee:
- All ina lather Castile soaps are handmade with TLC
- Your bars are individually handcut to ensure quality
- Contains natural glycerin for a silky moisturising soaping experience . . . naturally!
- Each batch is fully cured and pH tested to 8.5-9
- Made with skin-loving and approved quality ingredients
- Each value-for-money bar is long-lasting

‘A great lather guaranteed or your money back’ The happy soaper

Any questions or feedback, please call 0423 130 959 or email mark@inalather.com.au