Commercial Soap vs Cold Process Soap: What’s the Difference?

When choosing a soap for your skin, the ingredient list and manufacturing process matter more than most people realise. Many supermarket soaps are produced very differently from traditional artisan soaps, and these differences can significantly affect how the soap feels on your skin.

In this article, we’ll explore the difference between commercial soap and cold process soap, and why many people are choosing handmade soaps for a gentler and more nourishing skincare routine.

What Is Commercial Soap?

Most mass-produced soaps found in supermarkets are technically detergent bars rather than true soap.

During large-scale manufacturing, natural glycerin—one of the most moisturising by-products of soap making—is often removed from the soap mixture and sold separately for use in lotions and cosmetics. Without glycerin, the resulting bar can feel harsher and more drying on the skin.

To compensate, commercial soaps may include synthetic detergents, hardeners, preservatives, artificial fragrances, and colourants. These ingredients help extend shelf life and create a consistent product, but they can sometimes irritate sensitive skin.

Common characteristics of commercial soap include:

• Lower natural glycerin content

• Use of synthetic detergents or additives

• Mass production at high temperatures

• Uniform appearance and fragrance

While these soaps are convenient and inexpensive, they often prioritise cost efficiency and long shelf life over skin nourishment.

What Is Cold Process Soap?

Cold process soap is a traditional method of soap making that has been used for centuries. It involves combining oils or butters with a lye solution to trigger saponification, the natural chemical reaction that creates soap. 

Unlike commercial manufacturing, the glycerin produced during saponification remains in the soap, giving cold process bars their naturally moisturising qualities.

We take select oils such as Olive oil, Coconut oil, Certified Sustainable Palm oil or Shea Butter and Castor oil to create balanced recipes that cleanse while supporting healthy skin.  We make our soaps with additional oils to ensure extra moisturising properties so they are suitable for all over and every day use.

The mixture is poured into moulds and allowed to cure for several weeks, producing a long-lasting bar with a rich, creamy lather.

Cold process soap is typically characterised by:

• Naturally retained glycerin

• Plant oils and nourishing butters

• Minimal processing

• Small-batch craftsmanship

• Unique designs and natural scents

Benefits of Cold Process Soap

Many people notice a difference as soon as they switch to handmade soap. Some of the most appreciated benefits include:

1. More Moisturising

Because cold process soap retains its natural glycerin, it helps draw moisture to the skin rather than stripping it away.

2. Fewer Harsh Ingredients

Artisan soap makers like The Clovelly Soap Company prioritise simple, skin-friendly ingredients and avoid unnecessary synthetic additives. We love using natural Clays, Botanicals and Essential oils to create a beautiful washing experience. 

3. Richer, Creamier Lather

Natural oils create a gentle, creamy lather that cleanses effectively without leaving skin feeling tight or dry.

4. Better for Sensitive Skin

Many people with sensitive or dry skin find cold process soap to be a gentler alternative to heavily processed commercial bars. It usually leaves your skin feeling soft and moisturised.

5. Environmentally Friendly

Our Handmade soaps are produced in small batches by hand using simple tools and are cured for 4 weeks before being hand wrapped in beautiful botanical designs inspired by our ingredients and nature.  We use no plastic in our packaging

Why Choose Handmade Soap?

Handmade cold process soap represents a return to traditional craftsmanship and thoughtful ingredient selection.

Rather than focusing on mass production, we focus on quality, skin nourishment, and sustainability. Each bar is carefully created, cured, and cut by hand, making every batch unique.

At The Clovelly Soap Company, we create our soaps using the traditional cold process method, allowing the natural goodness of plant oils and butters to remain in every bar.

Final Thoughts

Not all soaps are created equal. While commercial soaps are widely available and affordable, they are often heavily processed and may lack the natural moisturising properties found in traditional soap.

Cold process soap offers a more natural alternative that supports healthier skin while embracing time-honoured soap making techniques.

If you’re looking for a gentle, nourishing cleanse, switching to a handmade cold process soap could make a noticeable difference in your daily skincare routine.

Lots of you are familiar with Clovelly and have probably visited us in our little shop at the top of the unique cobbled street.  Some of you I am sure have never visited and this week I wanted to share a bit of why we made our home here and why our business is named after it

Clovelly is a unique village built on the side of a cliff and has been owned by 3 families and is now owned by The Rt Hon John Rous.  

It is unique in that it is privately owned and there is a fee to visit the village and enjoy its stunning views, beautiful harbour and rich history.  People are often shocked that you have to pay to go to a village but Clovelly is a great day out if you make a full day of it.   The entrance fee covers parking, the 20 minute film of the history of the village,  access into the car less cobbled street where you can see the sledges that the villagers use to get everything in and out of the village and visit the Kingsley Museum.  Meander through the village saying hello to the local cats, have a cream tea in The Clovelly Tea Rooms. Visit the RNLI boat house in the Harbour and if you are lucky see some porpoises outside the Harbour walls.  In the summer months at high tide you can swim in the sheltered harbour and maybe see some white bait or tiny jelly fish while you float.  

In addition to this you can visit the beautiful Court Gardens as part of the entrance fee.  It is an RHS partner garden and a fantastic example of a workin Victorian Kitchen garden with amazing green houses growing Peaches, Apricots, Lemons and Oranges.

We moved here in 2011 from London and I am from nearby Barnstaple so I have always loved Clovelly and it was a dream to move here.   As a family we have embraced life here which is a little slower than London.  Mr Clovelly Soap is part of the RNLI crew and I also teach workshops here in our studio in Higher Clovelly.  It made so much sense to name our business after this amazing place and I hope that some of you get to visit us here one day.  I recommend coming early, savouring every piece of history, every view and every unique corner of the village and the great thing about the entry fee is it is valid for a week so you can swim, see the gardens and come back again.

www.clovelly.co.uk

Something I have noticed in the last year or so is businesses are discounting more and more,  offering free shipping on smaller orders and regular sales.  

As a small business we have always priced for good value and to cover our costs and there isn't much wiggle room to discount heavily or often.  I assume that this is because the economy has been struggling and people and therefore businesses are struggling so they feel the need to discount to attract customers and keep the money coming in.  What I have been wondering is how do you as customers feel about it?  Do you love a sale or a discount or do you start to feel a little cynical if it happens a lot?  

I am sure there are many businesses that price to factor this in but we are not one of them and I am also sure that a lot of small businesses end up making less money on products because of it.  Do you think this is a short term trend while the economy is struggling or a shift towards companies having to compete more and more with discounting and devalue their products or increase prices to allow a margin for discounts?   We do often run our super popular ends sales and honestly the reason we don't offer the ends as a regular product is because we need to get someone in to help put them together so we wait until we have a load made up and you all seem to love that.

I would absolutely love your feedback on this topic if you have 5 minutes to spare

When it comes to Handmade Soap you really need a great soap dish (see my breakdown of the best options) OR Soap on a rope.  I am a child of the 80's and Soap on a rope was the retro gift you got your Dad or Grandad from M&S and it was usually a moulded round or oval soap with the rope embedded into it.  Imperial Leather or Cussons were also regular features in the Soap on a Rope Era. 

They may seem like a bit of a throw back but there was definitely method in hanging your soap from the tap in the shower.  Handmade soap needs air round it between uses to dry it out and stop it absorbing water and turning into liquid soap.  Popping it on a rope means the soap lasts longer and you have a handy rope to stop you dropping the soap on your toes in the shower.  It is also really handy for washing the kids or the dog as you can keep it on your wrist and not drop it in the water and have to play hunt the slippery soap!

We have made soap on a rope for many years now and it is one of my favourite ways to prolong the life of the soap.  Why not give it a try with our great value soap on a rope bundles

To start our Blog off here is a lovely free Sugar Scrub recipe on my Studio Blog

Welcome to my Sunday musings!

Happy Sunday….and today it is actually sunny which makes such a difference.  I don't know about you but the sunshine seems to make all things better.  The tough economic climate in which I see so many amazing small businesses & families like ours struggling on a daily basis,  the tough environmental climate in which I battle to rationalise my role as a consumer business and my desire to save the planet and challenge the worlds financial equalities whilst also being a child of the 80's that loves to shop and enjoys lifes little luxuries.  These days my idea of luxury is a bath and some skincare,  some time in my garden on my new Yoga platform (made from pallets) and peace and quiet.  The Newsletter has always been a dream of mine, to produce something that people stop and read for a few minutes each week and not the vehicle it has become which is to simply announce sales or discounts.  While those are useful it doesn't give me much satisfaction.  I would love to know what you want from a newsletter? I want to share recipes that allow you to make your own little bit of eco luxury or save some pennies as well as some plastic waste (like this weeks sugar scrub recipe). I also want to share details of workshops that we offer via my studio Rowan Tree Studio Some feedback would be amazing if you have some time. In the meantime for anyone still reading I thought some informaton on us and what we do would be helpful if you didn't already know. We are a small family run business with an amazing team that makes Soap, Candles, Skincare and so much more from our HQ at the old Clovelly School.  We have a cute shop in Clovelly Village, sell online and wholesale as well as creating private label soaps and skincare and developing products for other amazing small brands. My other passion is teaching people how to make soaps, candles and skincare as well as Sewing and Patchwork and other fibre arts from Our Studio in Higher Clovelly.  Well after that long post I am heading off for a late brunch of gluten free pancakes and making a lot of bath bombs!

Winter brings many challenges to our skin that can make it dry, flaky and dull. Central heating, cold air and wind combine to dehydrate our skin and make it feel much dryer than usual.  This can exacerbate existing skin issues like Rosacea, Excema and hormonal acne.

I am no stranger to the Winter Skin blues which you may think is odd for someone with their own skincare company.  After a busy run up to Christmas my skincare regime if I ever really have one is pretty non existant and January tends to be when I realise how badly I have neglected my skin and general health.

With the start of a New Year where we hope to talk to you all more and give you more knowledge about natural skincare, soap and natural cleaning, now felt like the perfect time to talk about how best to combat winter skin.

Here are my top tips for fighting winter skin:

1)  HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!: This is one we all know but often neglect.  Water is the skins friend and drinking enough water helps in all areas of health.  Caffeine, Alcohol and Foods high is salt draw moisture from the skin.  If you are taking part in Dry January why not try something a little different as a special weekend drink.  Here in Clovelly we have the owner of Raw Water Kefir company PIQI and her naturally sparkling Kefir is the perfect gut and skin treat in January. 

2) NUTRITION: Food is also key in improving our skin from the inside out and what perfect time than January to eat some healthy skin loving food.  

• Good fats like Salmon, Avocado, Chia Seeds & Nuts
• Eat the Rainbow including food high in Beta Carotene like Carrots, Sweet Potato and Bell Peppers.
• B7 or Biotin is needed for the metabolism of fatty acids and protects cells from damage and water loss, helping to keep your skin moist and plump. This can be found in Egg Yolks, Oats, Salmon and Hemp seeds.
• Zinc deficiency can cause dry and cracked skin - Eat Rye/Wheat sprouts, Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds to get more Zinc.
• Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables to add water to your diet

3) CLEANSE:  Skin cleansing is a hot topic in skincare and many people shy away from soap on the face.  Personally as a soap maker it is the product I turn to for my whole body from Hair to Toes.  I have combination skin so my go to soap for the face is our Honey & Oat Facial Soap (also great for hair and body).  Honey is a humectant which means it draws moisture from the air to your skin and the glycerin in our soaps asks in the same way.  This combined with oats that have been used for centuries on the skin make a wonderful gentle exfoliating soap that does not dry the skin.   If you have oily skin then our Patchouli & Orange Charcoal facial soap is ideal.

Oil cleansing is a great alternative to soap if you want to remove dirt and makeup gently.  I am a huge fan of products that serve many purposes and our Hair, Face and Body oil can be used as a skin cleanser, Hair Conditioner, Body Oil & Facial oil.   A little goes a long way and a bottle lasts for months which makes it one of my favourite budget skin products.

5) MOISTURISE: Winter is the time to up the moisturising game and use something richer and in particular a night product that you can put on and sleep with.  Our Skin Balms are rich and nourishing and as the main ingredient is MeadowFoam Seed oil they sink into the skin not leaving it greasy.

6) EXFOLIATE: When skin is dry and flaky there is a tempation to exfoliate to remove the dead and dry skin, in the winter this can cause more damage if you use a harsh exfoliant.  Oats make a great gentle exfoliant and if you have any dried beans in the cupboard you can grind them finely and use as a gentle natural scrub.

7) TONE:  After you have cleansed, it is time to use a natural toner to wet the skin and close the pores before adding your chosen moisturiser.  Our new Organic Floral Water Toners can be used after washing and through the day to combat dry air.

I hope this has given  you some ideas for ways to manage dry winter skin and to help you on the path to great skin we have a Winter Skin Sale until the end of January with 20% off a huge range of skin pampering products.

 

Living on this amazing coast means we have access to foraged ingredients with fantastic properties like Seaweed.   This time of year I love to wander along the beach at Clovelly or Bucks Mills and collect Kelp and Bladderwrack for our massively popular Seaweed soaps.  Kelp is in long flat strips often on a stalk and sometimes dried for cattle as a nutrient filled winter snack.  In terms of cosmetics it is high in antioxidents and anti-inflammatory as well as being high in minerals like Iodine which are great for the skin.  We only use a small amount in soap but it can be used as a face mask as well to really get the skin benefits

We air dry the seaweed and then oven dry on low to really remove the moisture, seaweed is a humectant that draws moisture from the air so it needs to be well dried before it can be used in skincare.  Once dry we break it up and pop in a coffee grinder to make a find exfoliating powder to use is soaps.

If you wanted to get the amazing skin benefits in a more direct way you can make powdered seaweed into a quick face mask:

• 2 Teaspoons of seaweed powder
• 2 teaspoons of  Pink, Green or White Clay
• 1 teaspoon of an oil of your choice like Castor oil, Almond oil or Olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of distilled water
• 1 Teaspoon of Honey
• 6 drops of essential oils of your choice - We love 3 drops each of Rosemary & Lavender

Stir the dry ingredients together with a non metalic utensil (clay reacts with metal)

Add water and stir until lump free, add the oil, honey & essential oils to make a smooth paste and if needed add a bit more oil.

To use add a a thin layer to damp face and neck with a brush avoiding  your eye area, leave for 15-20 minutes and then remove with a damp cloth and add a rose water spritz and a moisturiser of choice

If irritation occurs discontinue use

Enjoy the amazing benefits of natures bounty and take a walk on a beach

Sarah

I have been making Handmade Cold Process soap since I was given a book my Tatyana Hill back in 2004 when I started developing allergies to skincare and other household products.

This book was visually spectacular and gave me a lot of inspiration in my early tries but I never quite got the results I expected.   There are different types of soap and for many people the hard smooth shiny bars from Imperial Leather or Cussons where all we knew of soap.  Commercial soap is made in huge vats using the continuous method which essentially means ingredients are added to the vat and sometimes by products of the chemical reaction are removed because they are more valuable.  A good example of this is Glycerin which is a product of the reaction between the oils and the sodium hydroxide (commonly known as Caustic Soda) glycerin is a naturally moisturising ingredient used in other cosmetics and is highly prized.   Extracting this can mean the soap is less moisturising which can give rise to the common refrain I hear in the shop that people cannot use bar soap because it dries their skin out.   

Handmade Cold Process Soap is a very different beast and I have spent years educating people on the vast difference in how works and what is does to your skin.  As you can imagine I am a passionate convert and nothing but my own soap has been on my skin or my families skin since 2004!   Handmade soap is made in small batches in a pan by melting the oils, adding water and caustic soda and blending until it thickens before adding essential oils, clays, herbs and other natural ingredients designed to enhance the soap.  Sometimes additional oils are added to make the soap more moisturising and sometimes you can add milk instead of water which has natural benefits.

I have always loved passing on my knowledge and have taught many people over the years how to make soap that can be tailored to each person using it and is a simple a cost effective way of saving money and plastic by making a large batch once or twice a year to last your family for washing, shampoo, cleaning and gifting throughout the year.      I am starting to teach soap, skincare and candle making again and am hoping to take my workshops on the road to a community hall or space near you in the next few months.  If you want to learn a usefull skill using your own herbs, goats milk and other natural ingredients please get in touch  for availability.   

 

Thanks Sarah

When it comes to handmade soap one of the biggest issues we find from our customers is the soap not drying our properly and becoming soft and squidgy and frankly not lasting as long as it should.  To give you small amount of technical information soap is made from a magical combination of Oils, Water and Sodium Hydroxide in a mysterious process called Saponification!

 

This process turns simple ingredients into Soap and Glycerin which is an amazing skin product that moisturises whilst drawing moisture to it.  Glycerin carries on attracting moisture so when a bar of soap is sat in a pretty but inpractical soap dish with no ridges and no drainage it soon sucks up water and turns to a fragrant but mushy mess (hardly cost effective!)

A few tweaks to your sink apparel can solve this problem and ensure long lasting soap.  If you love a pretty china or pottery soap dish then a quick solution is a slice of Loofah on top to place the soap dish raising it up from the water and ensuring good air circulation.  Not to mention a fabulous soap impregnated scouring pad to clean the sink with.

One of our best selling soap dishes is a wooden Hemu soap dish with wide slats and raised sides to keep the soap away from water and drain it well between uses

If you fancy a bit of 80's Nostalgia then a fantastic new (see reworked for the 21st Century) product is our magnetic soap holder which is ones of my absolute favourites and guaranteed to ensure long lasting soap.  Simply pop the bottle top shaped metal part into a bar of soap and stick the sucker on the tiles or the side of the sink ensuring super dry soap all the time

 

And last but by no means least Soap on A rope, the 80's Classic (can you tell I am a child of the 80's?) hangs in the shower allowing air to circulate round the bar ensuring is stays dry between uses and has a handy strap to hold onto preventing soap slipping in to the bath!

So don't fret if you have wet soap, help is here for all budgets and if you fancy a go at The Good Life you can grow your own Loofah so you never run out of soap dishes or kitchen scourers ever again!

Take Care Sarah

The Clovelly Soap Company was my dream for the last 14 years and I have slowly worked towards being where we are now. I managed on my own making small batches of soap for years and selling at craft fairs and a few local shops in London.

 

Once we had moved to Clovelly the decision to really grow the business had to be a joint one with my husband Casie who was integral to the explansion plan. He took over making the soap about 3 years ago when the pans just became too heavy for me and I wanted to concentrate on our brand, working on sales and designing ranges.

 

 

Now we work together to run our lovely little shop in the pictureque & unique tourist village of Clovelly where we live, send out orders to our lovely stockists and design ranges, products and packaging for one off promotional soaps, corporate gifts, wedding favours and guest soaps. It is a juggle with family life but we wouldn't have it any other way. Making Soap and Candles looking out of our studio window is bliss and being able to sneak off to surf or garden or just hang out with the kids make this the best job in the world.