Ingredients & Safety

At Cloudy Soap, every bar is handmade in small batches with cold-pressed plant oils, shea butter, and natural botanicals. This page is the long version of what's in our soaps, where it comes from, how to use the bars safely, and what we tell you we can't claim.

What's in our soap

Our base recipe across the line uses the same conditioning foundation, with the active ingredient changing per bar:

  • Shea Butter — rich, conditioning butter that helps skin retain moisture.
  • Coconut Oil — creates a creamy, generous lather that cleanses gently.
  • Olive Oil — mild, plant-based conditioning oil.
  • Castor Oil — boosts lather and helps the bar last longer.
  • Avocado & Apricot Kernel Oil (in select bars) — lightweight oils that nourish without feeling greasy.
  • Water and sodium hydroxide — the cold-process saponification reaction that turns oil into soap. No sodium hydroxide remains in the finished bar.
  • Bar-specific actives — activated charcoal, finely ground coffee, peppermint essential oil, or lavender / gardenia / lemon essential oils depending on the product.

What we don't use

  • No sulfates (no SLS, SLES, ALS)
  • No parabens
  • No synthetic fragrance
  • No artificial dyes or colorants
  • No phthalates
  • No animal-derived ingredients — every bar is vegan and cruelty-free

Sourcing and small-batch production

Every bar is poured, cured, and cut by hand at our workshop in small batches of fewer than 50 bars per pour. Cure time is 4–6 weeks, which is what gives the bars their long-lasting hardness and rich lather. We buy our shea butter, coconut oil, and essential oils from suppliers who source ethically and provide certificates of origin and identity.

How to patch-test a new bar

Even with the gentlest ingredients, individual skin chemistry varies. If your skin is reactive or you're new to handmade soap, we recommend a patch test:

  1. Lather a small amount of the bar in your hands.
  2. Apply to a small area of skin on the inside of your forearm.
  3. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.
  4. Wait 24 hours. If you don't see redness or irritation, you're good to go.

Essential oil and allergen notice

Several of our bars contain real essential oils for fragrance (peppermint, lavender, gardenia, lemon). Essential oils are natural but can be sensitizing for some people, particularly during pregnancy or for those with citrus or floral allergies. If you have known essential-oil sensitivities, our unscented Activated Charcoal bar is the best starting point. People with nut allergies should note that several bars contain coconut and shea (a tree-nut derivative); if you have a severe tree-nut allergy, please consult your physician before use.

A note on claims

We make soap. Soap is a cosmetic, not a drug. We don't claim our bars treat, cure, or prevent any medical or skin condition — we don't have the FDA approvals required to make those statements, and neither should any handmade soap maker. What we will tell you: our ingredients are clean, plant-based, and chosen with care, and our customers consistently tell us the bars feel gentler on their skin than commercial alternatives. If you have a diagnosed skin condition, talk to your dermatologist before changing your skincare routine.

Questions?

Email us at hello@cloudysoap.com and we'll get back to you within one business day.