Which Soap works best for dry or problem skin?
From our customer feedback, we find that what brings the most relief varies from person to person. If the cause of their problem is sensitivities to chemicals, any of our goat milk soap will bring relief. Most people with problem skin use our Tea Tree soap. For those with dry skin our most popular are Baby Me, Buttermilk, Rich, and Oat & Honey.

Why do you use goat milk?
Milk has been used as a cleanser and beauty aid for centuries. Goat milk, however, has special qualities—some that are still not fully understood. It is used universally by people with sensitivities to other types of milk for everything from feeding babies to bathing. The goat milk we use is fresh, not powdered. Unlike powdered goat milk, fresh goat milk is loaded with vitamins (D, B6, C, E), milk sugars, proteins, & butterfat. Goat milk also contributes a thicker lather to the soap than water (the common alternative), and is a natural source of Alpha-hydroxy acids. Recent studies indicate that Alpha-hydroxy acids rejuvenate your skin making you look and feel smoother and younger.

Why handmade?
Our small batch size and handcrafted production process allows us to create the highest-quality bar of soap around. Glycerin, a naturally occurring moisturizer, is produced in soap and helps draw moisture to your skin. Commodity soap and detergent manufactures process their product to take out the glycerin and sell it as a valuable byproduct. By keeping the natural glycerin in the soap, you get a wonderfully moisturizing bar of soap, that actually moisturizes your skin as you use it.

More and more people are discovering the truth about commodity soaps (go ahead and read the label on any one of them). They are finding out that they are not soaps but actually harsh detergents. Detergents strip oils out of the skin removing the naturally present moisturizing oils along with the soil. This is why you skin feels dry and uncomfortable after bathing.

Handcrafted soaps gently lift the soil on your skin into suspension so it can be washed away. Handcrafted soap leaves glycerin and other moisturizing oils behind making you skin softer and moisturized.

After regularly using handcrafted soap you may find that you no longer need to apply lotions and creams after bathing. So why not treat yourself to a bar of handcrafted soap? You skin will thank you for it.

Why not a goat milk shampoo?
Thank you to all the customers that have written us to tell us how much you like our soaps and wish we would also make a shampoo. A good shampoo is actually quite a bit different from soap. One of the main differences is that it has a lower pH that is more friendly to your hair. One of the problems this creates is that lowering the pH provides an environment in which gram-negative bacteria are able to thrive. Nearly all gram-negative bacteria are harmful. The way most companies deal with this is by putting a synthetic preservative in the shampoo. While using a synthetic preservative is certainly healthier than using a shampoo full of harmful bacteria, it's not something we're planning on doing any time soon. We are currently researching ways to preserve shampoo naturally, but don't have any kind of time frame on when we may release a shampoo. 

How is your soap made?
All of our soap is made in small batches. Every batch is guaranteed. We allow our soaps to naturally air dry for at least four weeks. Drying is necessary to make a mild bar of soap and allows the soap to last longer as well. Get the full scoop and a sweet video of our production process over here.

What's different about your soap?
Soap making is a delicate blend of art and science. Because of the temperamental reactions of the ingredients—goat milk, vegetable oils, and alkali—it's very tricky to create a soap that uses goat milk as a base ingredient instead of water, especially fresh goat milk.

We use something called the cold process method to handcraft our soaps in small batches. This just means that we don't add heat during the soap-making chemical reaction. This helps preserve the naturally occurring properties of the milk and oils we use. Goat milk is rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals and nourishing to your skin. We do everything possible to preserve these properties. The result; Alabu's soap moisturizes, soothes, and softens your skin naturally. Try a bar. We think you will love how it makes you feel!

We are committed to making natural bath and body products that gently yet thoroughly cleanse and moisturize. Our ingredients contain no artificial preservatives or colors. Most people with sensitive skin find they can use our scented products with good results, but for our friends with especially delicate complexions we also offer unscented products.

How much goat milk is in a bar of your soap?
We use farm fresh goat milk. We use no powdered milk, and we add zero water. That means over 1/4 of our handmade soap recipe is pure goat milk and there is almost 1oz of goat milk in each handmade bath bar.

Why do you make soap?
We have been asked that many times over the past few years. The answer is simple, we like what it does for our skin :). Once you try Alabu's handmade soap and realize what a difference it makes, you'll be hooked, too. Most people find they eliminate or significantly reduce the amount of lotion they use when they start using our handmade soap. No kidding!

Do I need to do anything special to take care of my soap?
You don't have to do anything, but there are a couple of things you can do to get the most out of your soap. We recommend using a soap dish that drains. Your soap will last much longer if it is allowed to breath and "dry" after each use.

What is lye?
Lye is a pretty loosely defined term, but it always means either raw sodium hydroxide, or sodium hydroxide mixed with water. Sodium hydroxide is a strong caustic alkali (or base). This highly alkaline substance is neutralized when combined with fats or oils to form soap. All soap (commodity or handmade) requires sodium hydroxide or another strong alkali to create soap.

Where does the lye go in soap?
Soap is produced when a fatty acid is combined with an alkali (for bar soap, almost always sodium hydroxide A.K.A. lye) in a process called saponification. The alkali causes the fatty acid to be split into two parts: the major fatty part (a carbon chain) and glycerin. Once this happens, sodium joins with the carbon chain to produce soap. Soaps are usually produced by combining fats or oils with lye, soda (Na2CO3). In this process the alkali is used up in the reaction. In our soap, we actually use much less alkali than is required. The result is that there is absolutely zero chance of there being any alkali leftover, and there's also extra moisturizing oils in the bar to help soften, soothe, and moisturizer your skin!

What's the difference between fragrance & essential oils?
Essential Oils are extracted from the plant. Fragrance oils are aroma compounds blended to duplicate a particular fragrance. Some fragrance oils contain essential oils. We use only pure fair trade essential oils in our products.

Do you test any of your products on animals?
Absolutely not! No animal testing is performed. We formulate all of our products, and the ingredients we use are all top-quality and natural. We know how to formulate a product to give it the characteristics we are looking for, so we are totally comfortable with testing the products on our own skin before we offer them for sale. After we have the results we're looking for, we ask friends and family try them to give provide feedback on the product.