When it comes to crafting premium natural soaps, ingredient selection is everything. You may have noticed that our PËURR® soaps are centered around luxurious olive oil rather than coconut oil—a common base in many handmade soaps. We'd like to share the science behind this choice.
Understanding Coconut Oil in Soap
Coconut oil isn't a "bad" ingredient—in fact, it creates wonderful lather and cleansing properties that many soap makers love. However, it does have a unique characteristic: coconut oil soap can be drying to the skin.
This happens because coconut oil produces soap with strong cleansing action that can strip away natural oils from your skin. For some skin types, especially sensitive or dry skin, this can lead to tightness, irritation, or increased dryness.
The Soap Maker's Dilemma
Experienced soap makers know there are two main approaches to working with coconut oil:
- Limit the percentage: Use coconut oil as only a portion of the recipe (typically 15-30%), blending it with other nourishing oils to balance its cleansing power.
- Superfat generously: If using 100% coconut oil, leave 18-22% of the oils unsaponified (a process called "superfatting") to counteract the drying effects and add moisturizing properties back into the bar.
While both methods can work, they require careful formulation and still may not be ideal for everyone's skin.
Where Coconut Oil Really Shines
That said, coconut oil does have its place—we believe it's ideal for natural laundry detergents. Its powerful cleansing properties that can be too harsh for skin are perfect for tackling dirt and stains on fabrics.
The Lather Myth
The beauty industry has falsely led us to believe that unless a soap gives you big, fluffy lather, it won't cleanse you properly. This simply isn't true. Effective cleansing has nothing to do with the amount of bubbles—it's about the quality of the ingredients and how they interact with your skin.
In fact, those big, dramatic lathers often come at a cost: stripped skin that then requires heavy moisturizers to repair. The industry basically wants us using as much moisturizer as possible—it's a cycle that benefits manufacturers, not your skin.
The PËURR® Difference: Olive Oil
Instead of navigating the challenges of coconut oil, we've built our entire line around olive oil—a naturally gentle, nourishing ingredient that:
- Provides deep moisturization without the need for heavy superfatting
- Contains antioxidants and vitamins A and E that nourish the skin
- Offers a mild, conditioning lather that cleanses without stripping
- Creates a long-lasting, hard bar that's gentle on all skin types
- Is naturally suited for sensitive and dry skin
- Has been trusted for centuries in traditional soap-making
Our olive oil base allows us to create soaps that cleanse effectively while leaving your skin feeling soft, balanced, and hydrated—no special formulation tricks required.
Taking It to the Next Level: Goat Milk
While olive oil soap is already exceptional on its own, we take it even further by adding goat milk to our formulations. When you combine goat milk with an all-olive oil base, the result is truly next-level:
- The creamy richness of goat milk enhances olive oil's already luxurious lather
- Natural lactic acid provides gentle exfoliation alongside olive oil's moisturizing properties
- Additional vitamins and minerals complement the antioxidants in olive oil
- The combination creates an even more nourishing, spa-like experience
This pairing of olive oil and goat milk delivers the ultimate in gentle, effective cleansing with maximum skin benefits.
Experience the Premium Difference
If you've never tried an all-olive oil goat milk soap, you owe it to yourself to experience the premium difference. The moment you lather up, you'll notice how different it feels from conventional soaps—richer, creamier, and infinitely more gentle on your skin.
We're not here to say coconut oil is wrong for soap making—many artisans create beautiful products with it. But for our vision of premium, skin-loving body care, olive oil and goat milk simply deliver the gentle luxury we want every customer to experience.
Your skin deserves ingredients that work with it, not against it. That's the PËURR® promise.
Have questions about our ingredients or formulations? We'd love to hear from you.