why square 1

At Square 1 we practice the time-honored tradition of hand crafting cold process soap in small batches using real ingredients. These luxuriously lathering bars are made from ingredients you can pronounce and recognize, in fact most of the ingredients we use are edible. (But we don't recommend eating our soap).  We use base oils from sources that are organic, wild foraged or from grass-fed sources. Our products are also enhanced with natural clays that provide color, detoxification and many other great benefits. All scents come from pure, therapeutic grade essential oils (most of them organic) which also provide different beneficial properties.

Most "bars of soap" commercially available are actually called detergent bars on their labels because they are not actually soap. They are chemical concoctions. Most "body washes" are even worse. What sets us apart from other "natural”, hand-made soap makers? Read their labels and you will see the difference. Dyes or colorants, "Natural flavors", fragrances, or "safe synthetics" (safe according to who??) are not natural. They are a way to cut corners, costs or provide stronger/varied scents at the cost of your health. Current trends are leaning towards plant-based foods and skin care products but how many times are the current trends wrong? "Vegan or vegetarian” soaps use cheap, overly processed seed oils which we shouldn't eat or put on our body since we absorb what we put on our skin. (If you are not already familiar, research how they are made. The production of the oil creates a very different product than the vision of plants growing in a field their name may invoke) While we don’t support animal cruelty, we do believe that using the whole animal is good stewardship. Making sure no parts of the animal go to waste is the same practice our ancestors did for many generations. It’s not the latest trend.

Soap by definition is the mixture of sodium salts (commonly called lye) and natural oils. It is the time-honored process used by our ancestors. When formulated and cured correctly the lye saponifies the oil, turns it into soap and leaves no lye behind in the final product. Check out our ingredient index to see what benefits each ingredient brings to the product. We are passionate about quality and maintaining the most beneficial ingredients in our products. We hand measure, mix, pour, cut and wrap each bar. Our bar soaps are not just cold processed, we make each batch with our unique "ultra-cold" method of keeping the oils as cool as possible throughout the entire process to maintain the oil’s integrity.  We created our amazing combination of oils and goat milk that we love and each bar of soap is made with this base. The clay and essential oils vary for each type giving a variety of colors, scents and benefits. So no matter which kind you choose, you will find the same luxurious lather and quality in every bar. Our bars are full of extra nourishing oils for your skin, making them on the softer side. Take care to store them on a well-draining soap dish away from water to ensure it can dry out between uses to maximize the life of the bar.

A word on plastic. Plastic is made with chemicals that leach out into the products they hold especially after exposure to heat or long-term storage. Plastic is harmful to our body’s endocrine system and causes a whole host of problems. It is also not biodegradable. While it can be recycled, it will never break down in a landfill.  We believe that starting with quality ingredients is important but how you care for and what you do with those ingredients is equally important. We strive to reduce our exposure to plastic chemicals by using glass, stainless steel and silicone in all of our tools used to create our products.  Currently our lip balm tubes are plastic until we can find a better alternative.  Cardboard tubes are awkward and greasy. A metal or glass pot requires you to dip a finger in and rub your lips- not convenient in public. Your finger may not be so clean and then you are left wondering what do you do with the excess on your finger? So, while these are packaged in plastic, we fill them at the lowest temperature possible to reduce the amount of heat the plastic is exposed to. We are continually looking for another acceptable alternative.