FAQ'S

What ingredients are in your soap?

We use a base recipe of two oils: Olive and Castor Oils. We refer to soaps made using our two oil recipe as our Regular Recipe Soaps. To increase the moisturizing ability of our soaps we sometimes add goat milk , or Shea and cocoa butters, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, kokum butter, mango butter, evening primrose oil, grapeseed oil, calendula oil (our packaging has the ingredients listed). We even make 100% Olive Oil Castile soap

Do you test on animals?

No, we never test our products on animals. We've always tested them on friends, family and enthusiastic volunteers who were excited about trying out new products.

Are your soaps "cruelty free"?

We do not use animal products that result in the death of that animal for the primary use in making our product. All our soaps are vegetable oil based.

Do you use any animal products in your soaps?

Yes, we do. Some of our products may contain goat milk, cows milk or buttermilk. As mentioned above, all other soaps are vegetable based and do contain animal products. These are NOT byproducts of the animals as they do not have to be killed in order to use it.

What are "superfatted" soaps, and are yours superfatted?

Superfatting soap means that the amount of lye used has been reduced, so that there is extra oil that is not turned into soap. These extra oils are then available for your skin to make use of, in addition to the glycerin for their moisturizing properties; this is one of the reasons that Granny Kate's Soaps feel so wonderful on your skin.

I'm allergic to fragrance - What can you do for me?

Granny Kate makes unscented soap from our 100% Olive Oil Castile Soap, to our goat milk and shea butter soaps. You may detect a slight odor in some of our unscented soaps due to the natural ingredients used, especially unscented goat milk or soaps with cocoa butter. If you purchase both unscented and scented soaps in an order, the shipping box will have a scent to it, but since each soap is wrapped separately, your unscented soap should not absorb scent from other soaps while being shipped. The scent should fade from the unscented soap fairly quickly. Please order conservatively with your first order because we do not accept returns of soap simply because you think you might like one of other scents more than what you ordered! And that includes our unscented soaps as well.

What about those with sensitive skin?

Most likely you will be able to use our soaps because they are incredibly mild and gentle. Most commercial soaps are detergent based, using lots of synthetic ingredients, and that's what usually causes skin reactions. That's very different from how we make our soaps. We don't use any artificial colorants, hardeners, latherers or preservatives. We are not aware of anyone who is unable to use our soaps. If you have allergies to fragrance, then we suggest you either select scents derived from 100% natural 'Essential Oils' or an unscented soap. We have a few customers with highly sensitive skin that have been able to use Granny Kate's soap.

What's the best way for someone with sensitive skin to try your products?

If you've experienced problems with other products, we recommend that you start with Granny Kate's unscented soaps and test yourself. If you are pleased with the unscented soap, but really want to have a scented soap, then try one of the soaps scented with a natural essential oil. If all goes well, perhaps you can then try a soap made with fragrance oils. We use very high quality fragrances that you may be able to tolerate, even if you haven't been able to tolerate fragranced products from other makers. You'll have to be the judge on what is best for you. However - as we state clearly above, our vegetable oil soaps will still have the natural odor of vegetable oils, milks and butters! If you cannot tolerate the smell of olive oil, for example - please don't order our soaps!

How long does your soap usually last?

Most of our customers say a bar of our soap lasts them between 3-4 weeks. This is based on normal use. If you're lathering up six different times because you're enjoying the scent and experience, obviously a bar isn't going to last that long! Your mileage may vary. It also depends on how many people are in your household that use the same bar.

How do I make my soap last longer?

Let your soap dry out between uses, by putting your soap on some kind of a soap dish that allows air to circulate around the bar. A 'proper' soap dish will either raise the bar up for air to circulate from beneath, or contain air holes for drainage of water below the soap. If you store your soap in the little alcove built into most shower stalls and tub surrounds, the shower spray will continually soak your soap. You will literally see your soap's glycerin, and your money, go down the drain. You can also use a sisal bag or netted sponge to further extend the soap's lather. Granny Kate's handmade natural soaps will last longer if you take care of them!

Can I wash my hair with your soap?

Absolutely, YES! Our soaps are made with high percentages of Olive and Castor oils which provide wonderful conditioning for your hair and scalp. You'll find it rinses out easily! Just as different people's skin requires different levels of moisture, you'll need to test out which of our soaps gives your hair the look and feel you want. Our regular recipe soaps are generally used as shampoo bars by people with oilier scalp and hair, whereas if you have drier hair, you'll probably want to try a goat milk or shea butter soap. Or, you can try Granny Kate's shampoo bars.