Our skin
Skin is everywhere on the human body which absorbs whatever we put onto it.... moisturisers, cleansers, fresheners, purfume, soap, etc. Speaking of soap, an average human takes approximately 50,000 showers at the age of 70, assuming that person showers twice a day.
Why use handmade soaps??
The main reason people use handmade soaps are because of these two main reasons:
1) Glycerin, which acts as a natural moisturiser
2) Aroma from essential oils which improves moods of the day
Handmade, or Glycerin soap is made by melting and continuously heating soap that has been partially dissolved in a high-alcohol until the mixture reaches a clear, jelly-like consistency. With home- and hand-made soaps that still contain glycerin left over from saponification, the grating, melting and cooking can proceed without the addition of anything into the mixture, though sugar or more glycerin is sometimes added.
In industrial soap-making, the glycerin is then usually removed to be used in skin creams and more expensive soap products. Most brands of common bar soap leave the skin dry after washing because of this, while shaving soaps and moisturizers are valued for softening skin, largely through their high glycerin content.
As a result, without glycerin, commercial soaps tends to dry out the skin, meanwhile in handmade soaps, you will find extra moisturising effect and added functions together with infused essential oils.
Essential oils are concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils do not as a group need to have any specific chemical properties in common, beyond conveying characteristic fragrances. Essential oils are generally extracted by distillation. Other processes include expression, or solvent extraction. They are used in perfumes, cosmetics and bath products, for flavoring food and drink, and for scenting incense and household cleaning products.
Various essential oils have been used medicinally at different periods in history. Medical application proposed by those who sell medicinal oils range from skin treatments to remedies for cancer, and are often based on historical use of these oils for these purposes. Essential oils are used in Aromatherapy treatments as a curative and preventative aid to enhance your well being. Some similarity in health benefits exists between oils, i.e. many floral are good for relaxation.
Interest in essential oils has revived in recent decades with the popularity of aromatherapy, a branch of alternative medicine which claims that the specific aromas carried by essential oils have curative effects. Oils are volatilized or diluted in a carrier oil and used in massage, diffused in the air by a nebulizer or by heating over a candle flame, or burned as incense, for example.
Adapted from www.wikipedia.com
