Top 3 Reasons To Choose Handmade Soap Over Commercial Bars

If we stopped to count how many bars of soap we’ve used in our lifetime, the number would be ridiculous. Soap is something we reach for every single day, yet most people never ask the simplest question:

What’s actually in the soap you’re using?

Handmade soap offers something commercial bars simply can’t: authenticity, transparency, and ingredients your skin recognizes. Let’s break down the top three reasons handmade soap is worth choosing over mass-produced “beauty bars.”

Are you aware that our skin is the largest organ on our body?

We’ll read every line on a food label, but we almost never look at the products we rub into our skin day after day. When you think about the number of bars we’ve gone through in our lifetime, it becomes a little uncomfortable to realize many of those bars weren’t even true soap.

And while there are plenty of reasons handmade soap is superior, I’m going to focus on the three that matter most.

1. Handmade Soap Is Authentic Soap

Pick up a typical commercial “beauty bar” and read the ingredient list. You’ll see long chemical names you can’t pronounce and ingredients that don’t belong anywhere near your skin. Some bars even include Triclosan, a known pesticide.

Many commercial products are not true soap at all. They are synthetic detergent bars loaded with sulfates and parabens. Because they legally cannot call them soap, they market them as “beauty bars” or “cream bars.”

For people with sensitive skin, these additives & dyes that can easily cause irritation.

Handmade soap is different. It uses real oils like coconut, olive, almond, rice bran, and sunflower. These are the traditional ingredients that create actual soap through saponification. No detergents, no cheap fillers, no unnecessary chemicals.

Soap makers who keep their formulas pure are allowed to simply call their product what it is:

Soap.

Even though authentic soap doesn’t require an ingredient label by law, I personally list every ingredient I use. Transparency matters. Synthetic detergents are not soap. They are cosmetics. And that distinction is one more reason handmade soap wins every time.

To give credit where it’s due…

A few commercial brands have started removing sulfates and parabens because consumers are getting smarter. But reading labels is still essential if you’re grabbing a low-cost bar at the store.

Handmade makers tend to start with quality from the beginning - and that says everything.

2. Handmade Soap Retains Its Glycerin

Glycerin is one of the best reasons to choose handmade soap.
So… what is it?

Glycerin is a natural humectant, a thick, syrupy by-product created when lye, water, and oils become soap. It pulls moisture into the skin, leaving it soft, hydrated, and protected.

Commercial brands remove glycerin from their bars because it’s more profitable to add it to lotions. That’s why their soap dries your skin out… so you’ll reach for their lotion next.

A perfect marketing loop.

In handmade soap, the glycerin stays right where it belongs: in the bar. If you want lotion afterward, handmade lotion makers can add even more glycerin, not strip it away.

3. You Support Small Businesses and Artisans

When you choose commercial bars, you support companies that mass-produce low-cost detergent blocks with cheap fragrances, artificial colors, and mystery ingredients.

When you choose handmade soap, you support an artisan.

You support:

• small businesses
• families
• local makers
• people who care about ingredients
• real craftsmanship

Handmade soaps are often made in small batches, with creativity and technique that you simply won’t get from a factory. They smell better, look better, feel better, and perform better.

At Scrub Butter, all ingredients are chosen with intention. PEG-6 free, cruelty-free, sulfate-free, phthalate-free, and paraben-free options only.

Yes, handmade bars often cost more. But as with anything else in life, we usually get what we pay for. I’d rather invest in quality than rub harsh chemicals onto my skin every day.

In Conclusion

There are countless reasons to choose handmade soap over commercial bars, but these three alone make the case:

• commercial bars often contain unnecessary or harsh additives
• handmade soap keeps natural glycerin to support your skin
• purchasing handmade supports small businesses and artisans

Your skin is your largest organ. What you put on it matters.

So support an artisan soap maker, treat your skin kindly, and make bath time enjoyable again.