Welcome
Great Soap for Great Skin
Thank you for visiting Great Lakes Soap Co. I have been making fine handcrafted soap since 1998. I developed a recipe that creates a hard bar of soap that lasts a long time. It lathers beautifully, and most importantly, it is gentle on your skin. Only high quality food grade ingredients are used in the manufacture of my soaps. I hand blend these ingredients in small batches creating a luxurious bath soap. Then these soaps are wrapped in a paper label that I created and designed. My soaps are handcrafted in Pure Michigan, the beautiful and scenic Great Lakes State. Great Lakes Soaps are proudly and entirely made in America by me.
Pictures taken in my backyard.
About Great Lakes Soaps
My soaps are hand made by me in small batches to ensure quality and freshness. They are fresher because they do not require any cure time to make them mild. The soaps are mild and lather well as soon as they are out of the mold. They may be used right away, but they will last longer if they are cured to allow for moisture evaporation.
Glycerin Stays in the Soap
My soaps are all natural with an added fragrance. Since they are all natural and contain no harsh chemicals they are great for any skin type. They are especially good for sensitive skin. My handcrafted soaps are made using the traditional cold process method where glycerin is formed naturally and retained in the soap. The glycerin acts as a moisturizer and soothes and softens the skin. Because no excessive heat is applied to my ingredients, the natural enzymes in the oils remain intact making them available as nutrients for the skin. This creates a natural bar that lathers well, feels silky smooth and rinses away clean leaving your skin feeling soft and fresh.
Ingredients
Only high quality food grade ingredients are used in the manufacture of my handcrafted soaps. All my soaps contain olive oil and coconut oil. Some soaps may also contain pure refined tallow. All the soaps (except Castile) have additional ingredients such as butters, milk, herbs and spices, botanicals, essential or fragrance oils to create a unique soap. Castile is an unscented soap with no additional ingredients.
No Artificial Colors
There are no dyes or artificial colors added to my soap. Brightly colored soaps are pretty, but if they are colored with chemicals it could be harsh or irritating to sensitive skin. My soap’s gentle color variations are derived from the addition of essential oils, natural herbs or spices.
Refreshing Aromas
Pure essential oils or fragrant oils that are developed specifically for use in soap are added to my soap to produce delightful and refreshing aromas that last. Essential oils display powerful properties. Some are mood lifters, while others are antiseptic, antibacterial or antifungal. The essential oils that I use are a pure highly concentrated essence derived directly from the plant. They are extracted from different parts of certain plants. It can come from the petals, stems, twigs, leaves and roots. They also are extracted from trees, grasses, berries or fruits. The use of essential oils or high quality fragrance oils in my soap is what makes each bar unique.
Commercial Soaps Remove Glycerin
The commercial soap making process requires high temperatures to make large volumes of soap. The high temperatures destroy enzymes and often removes all the goodness from the soap, creating a detergent bar that is drying to your skin. Glycerin is the natural by product of the soap making process. Glycerin attracts and retains moisture on your skin. The natural glycerin is removed from commercial soaps to allow the milling process to work more efficiently. The glycerin is then sold to other industries where it is used to make lotions and other products. The high temperatures and the removal of glycerin leaves commercial soaps harsh and drying on your skin.
Additional Information:
Olive Oil Castile for sensitive or dry skin
Tea Tree & Acne
Jewelweed & Poison Ivy
Lemon Eucalyptus for Mosquitos
Soap for Pets
Most commercial "soaps" aren't really soaps at all, but detergents that are artificially scented, colored, and preserved with chemicals that can be irritating to your skin.
Does your commercial soap have the words "soap" written any place on the label? Commercial soaps are really detergent bars and they are not true soaps. Commercial soaps may contain some or all of these ingredients: Sodium Cocoylisethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Isethionate, Coconut Acid, BHT, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Frgrance, Sodium Chloride, Titanium Dioxide, Tetrasodium, EDTA, Trisodiium Etidronate, Sodium Dodecybenz-
Hand Made
All Natural
We DO NOT use palm oil in our soap. The production of palm oil is the largest cause of deforestation and the loss of rain forests. It is a big factor in global warming and animal endangerment. An area the equivalent size of 300 football fields of rainforest is cleared each hour to make way for palm oil production. This large-
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Milk Soaps
Goat Milk & Honey, Rose Milk and Peaches & Cream