frequently asked questions and answers

Q: Do you sell your products at any other locations?

A: No. Once upon a time we used to carry our soaps at Whole Foods Markets, and some other local shops and businesses in our area, however we no longer sell our products anywhere but our retail store and our online website and currently do not consider selling any of our products anywhere else. 

Q: How long have you been making soap? 

A: 15 years. Heidi began making soap in her kitchen for herself after having a severe allergic response to something. Her passion and love of soap making lead her down a path she didnt see coming, as she passed on her soap to friends and family - the demand just continued to grow. She later went to school to become an esthetician, and has been a practicing, licensed, advanced esthetician for the last 12 years. This enables her the background, license and experience to create skincare products aside from soap for you. 

Q: You make soaps, lotions, and many other products - why dont you make shampoo? 

A: We are founded on being great at skincare, we like to leave he hair care to the hair experts ;)  We do offer a shampoo soap here, but when asked for a recommendation for liquid shampoo - we usually direct you to jasons dandruff shampoo/ shampoo plus conditioner, or avalon organics " thickening" rosemary shampoo. Why these?  because they tend to have the best results not only for your hair and scalp, but also your skin. As the residue from hair care products is rinsed over your skin, we think these suggested products have the least likelihood of causing issues or worsening current issues. 

Q: What inspires you to create a bar?

A: soaps are formulated after an idea strikes us. Sometimes, we just want to create a bar with certain ingredients in them because we personally know the powerful benefits specific ingredients have. Sometimes we just want to make a bar that smells or looks a certain way, just because.  However, all soaps, allergy issues aside, are formulated to be safe and gentle for anyone to use, regardless of having a skin issue or not. Each bar is packed with beneficial goodies which will actively help certain issues, but at the same time, behave as a gentle, healthy cleanse good for any skin type.

Q: Are all of your products made with essential oils? 

A: As of 2019, we have completely eliminated any fragrance/natural fragrance oils from our products. Everything we make is created with quality natural essential oils. 

Q: Wait, what is the difference between a fragrance oil and an essential oil? 

A: Essential oils are naturally occurring oils extracted  from botanicals, ex; lavender, orange, basil, patchouli, etc. These are 100% pure and natural and come directly from the source. Fragrance oils - are man made scents. However, this does not mean that they are " fake" oils - often times a fragrance oil is actually compounds from other naturally occurring botanicals, blended together to smell like something else. Even though natural, we have to list them as fragrance on the label, as they are blended compounds to create a specific " fragrance". 

Q: How do you come up with these crazy soap names?

A: We keep things personal here at bodygoodies. Just as the personal determination to create an awesome bar of soap, the names of them mean something to us, too. Sometimes they are named after people we know personally, pets, places, sometimes they are named after memories or objects. 

Q: Why do you retire some of your soaps?

A: Bars are retired based on a few things. Sometimes we get an idea where we can combine a few different soaps into one soap. This allows us to put all of the benefits of 2 or 3 bars, packed into one. This makes it easier for your skin to receive multiple benefits without having to have 4 bars of soap stacked in your shower at one time. Sometimes bars are retired due to shortages of ingredients; unfortunately, sometimes this happens. Sometimes bars are retired simply because we've got new ideas and want to take things in a new direction, in which case, not all soaps will fit into the lineup anymore--but we do our best to keep the bars you love available.

Q: Why are bodygoodies soaps different than Dove or Dial?

A: A few reasons. Passion being the first. It is Heidi's passion to create the most top notch product she can possibly create for you to use on your skin. Heidi is a bit of a science buff and really gets into the nitty gritty properties of every ingredient she uses to blend them together in perfect harmony. All bodygoodies soaps are cold process; these soaps have a very low pH level compared to other types of soap. Your skin's natural pH level is also fairly low. This means when you use a cold process soap, the change to your pH level is much less than using a harsh cleansing bar, such as a store-bought mass manufactured bar, which results in a gentle cleanse without causing upsets to your skin. Dove, Dial, Irish Spring--all of those are not even considered "soap", actually--they are "beauty bars", "body bars" or "cleansing bars". This is because they are not even made of ingredients which allow them to be called "soap".- go ahead, look on the label ;)

Q: Are your soaps made with lye?

A: Yes. Soap cannot be made without the use of lye. Lye and water are mixed together and are then mixed with the oils and butters chosen for a batch of soap. Once they mix together, a chemical reaction takes place and soap is created. it is a complete chemical change. sodium hydroxide is used to make bar soap, potassium hydroxide is used to make liquid soap, but they are both - lye and without them, soap could not happen. 

Q: Why don't you make those cool clear glycerin soaps?

A: Well, we do make glycerin soap! All cold process soap is glycerin soap. In fact, that cool clear stuff you're thinking of actually cannot be made without first making cold process soap. To create clear glycerin, cold process soap is taken, heated, and mixed with alcohol to turn it clear. There are absolutely no benefits to clear glycerin that cold process soaps don't have; if anything, benefits are taken away by turning the soap clear. The use of alcohol just for aesthetics makes no sense to us here, as alcohol is certainly not beneficial to skin. 

Q: What if I dont have any skin issues; is this soap going to do something to my skin?

A: Absolutely. It's going to nourish it, clean it gently, and probably make it fall in love. But it won't do things you don't want it to. Just because a bar may be good for rosacea or eczema does not mean it won't be good for someone without those things. Hours and hours of formulations have enabled these bars to be safe for anyone to use.

Q: I have an allergy; are your soaps safe for me to use?

A: Depends on what you are allergic to and the severity of your allergy. If you have a severe allergy to tree nuts, latex or bee products or any such ingredients it is possible you may have a reaction. Some allergies are general, some are specific. If you notice any sort of allergic response, discontinue use. We always recommend using bar none to begin with if you have allergies or extremely sensitive skin. 

Q: Are bodyoodies soaps vegan?

A: We use beeswax in our solid lotions and liplove, propolis (also from bees) and/or buttermilk + goatsmilk in some of our soaps. The benefits of these ingredients to the health of your skin are incredible. However, all soaps are formulated differently. most of our line does not contain beeswax or milk, This means there are many vegan options available here at bodygoodies. check the individual ingredient listings before purchasing. 

Q: What are those dots in some of your soaps?

A: That is the result of hours and hours of mashing up a batch of soap and rolling it into tiny soap balls. If we didn't love them so much, we wouldn't do it. You can just imagine rolling thousands of those li'l beauties at a time! ;)

Q: I love your soap, but there is a fragrance I really love and want in a soap. Can you make it?

A: bodygoodies is always open to suggestions and comments. Heidi will not stop making soap until she stops breathing. She LOVES making soap and creating new ones is always something she loves doing! If there is something you would like to see in the lineup, send us an email and we will take it into consideration. However, ultimately, soaps are designed to be safe and beneficial. It is with knowledge, research and care that soaps are created. For us, it's about quality and every single ingredient is a part of that. So if we cant obtain a certain fragrance in a safe, toxin and phthalate free blend, we wont use it. 

Q: What are those tiny dark specs in my liplove or lotion?

A: As you know by now, bodygoodies uses only the purest, natural ingredients we can get our hands on. unrefined butters and beeswax often have specs of crushed shells, propolis, etc... The specs you see in your pucks or bodywhip are tiny bits of the making process which have not been filtered out. They are completely harmless.

Q: How long does this soap last?

A: This question always makes us laugh a little bit. It's hard to tell someone how long a bar of soap lasts for a few reasons. We have no idea how many people you may or may not live with and how many of them may or may not use your soap. We have no idea how long you spend lathering, how many showers you take, if you lather twice just because you can't get enough of your bodygoodies bar or where you keep it when you aren't using it. We can tell you, if its stored properly, cold process soap is a long-lasting soap that doesn't dry up and break into pieces. it doesn't flake, split or crack like so many commercial bars do. Cold process soap is so high in glycerin naturally, that it must be kept in a well drained area so it doesnt "melt". If you don't store your soap properly, you might find a pile of goop where once was your beloved bodygoodies bar. So, keep your goodie in a well drained area, and you should have your soap for quite a while.

Q: Your soap is made with lye, but I do not see lye on your label, why?

Lye can be a scary word for a consumer to read on a label, The truth is, once soap is made, there is no lye left in the bar, it is a complete chemical change called - saponification- in which the oils ( fats) are mixed with a lye water mixture. There are a few ways to legally label soap. It is legal, to simply list "soap" on the label and sell it as just that. However we are proud of our ingredients and choose to list them. It is also legal to use the INCI names - in which case you would read a lot of words that had no meaning to you such as Prunus Armeniaca, which would be- (Apricot) Kernel Oil. You would also see, sodium hydroxide there, which would be ( LYE). It is also legal to label soap such as we do here, saponified oils of :  etc etc.. and that means, oils which have been turned to soap with the use of lye.