Beard & Pre-Shave Oil: Natural Scent

How To Use Natural Shaving Soap

Whether you are shaving your face, underarms, or legs, you will experience the most comfortable close shave if the hair is thoroughly softened with water, and hot water works best.

Directions for a Traditional Mug and Brush Wet-Shave

Begin with cleansed skin to help remove dirt and grime from the hair so that it can absorb water and soften.

• Shave during or after a hot shower or rinse your face with hot water to stimulate the skin, open the pores, and soften the hair
• Give your shaving brush a good soaking with hot water
• Shake the brush a bit--you want it wet, not waterlogged
• Take the brush and swirl it over the surface of the soap to generate a rich lather--it will be bubbly at first but as you swirl the lather will become thicker
• Apply brush to your face in quick, circular movements to produce a rich lather and exfoliate the skin
• Apply the rich lather with the brush until it covers all the areas you want to shave
• To generate a fuller lather, simply add a bit more hot water to the brush 
• With a clean, sharp razor, take short, light strokes, shaving with the grain of your beard
• Hold loose skin taut to help prevent cuts
• Rinse the razor often
• For a very close shave, you can re-lather and shave very gently across the grain
• Rinse with cold water
• Apply an After-Shave Balm or a Beard Oil or even a Facial Oil to moisturize your skin

Don't have a mug or brush? Once your skin is cleansed, rinsed, and hair is softened, massage the shaving soap onto the area to be shaved to create a rich, foamy lather. Shave as usual. 

While everyone has their own special shaving routine, we do recommend shaving in the shower.

How To Use Our Shaving Balm and Beard Butter

Whether you are clean shaven, have a mustache, a bit of a scruff, or a beard, the skin on your face needs moisturizing. This skin-soothing cream is great as an after shave balm to gently soothe freshly shaven skin or as a beard butter to conditioner the beard. It is alcohol-free and will not dry out sensitive facial skin.

As an After Shave Balm

Our shave balms are specifically designed to soothe the sore and irritated skin that occurs after shaving. Even if you don't feel the irritation, the uppermost layer of your skin will have lots of tiny abrasions and micro-cuts from the razor blade.

1. Right after shaving, rinse your face with cool water.
2. Gently dry the skin to remove excess water. It does not need to be completely dry--you want it to be a bit damp.
3. Take a small dime-size dollop of balm and rub it over your fingertips.
4. Starting from the bottom up, use your fingertips and gently massage the balm into the freshly shaved skin.
5. Don’t forget your neck.
6. Allow a few minutes for the balm to be fully absorbed.
7. Reapply after each shave.
8. The balm may also be used before shaving to help prevent irritation.

While it might be tempting to slather a thick layer of balm all over your face, especially if it feels irritated, more is not better! The balm should lightly cover all of the freshly shaved skin. If you apply too much, there will be too much to absorb into the skin which can result in a greasy feeling and blocked pores.

If you are unsure how much to use, start small. You can always add more until your learn what your unique face likes.

As a Beard Butter

Our shave blend is a leave-in conditioner that contains a bit of beeswax (not as much as a typical beard balm or wax) which helps tame and smooth flyaways to help style and shape the beard.

The balm ingredients work together to moisturize the skin, soften the beard hair, minimize itchiness, and give your beard a healthy shine.

Our beard butter is also great for mustache hair. Skin under a mustache is often neglected and can easily become dry and flaky.

Whether you are growing a new beard and only have a bit of scruff or your beard is exactly the right length for you, a beard butter does an excellent job keeping both the hair and the skin underneath moisturized.

1. Beard butter is best applied to a dry or barely damp clean beard.
2. Our beard butter is quite concentrated and little goes a long way so start with a small amount (about dime size) of beard butter. Obviously your beard length will determine the amount of balm needed, but you can always add more.
3. Scoop out the dime-size dollop with your finger. 
4. Rub the balm between your hands to warm and soften it.
5. Apply the beard butter directly to your beard using your hands.
6. Work your fingers through your beard to distribute the butter evenly and don't forget the skin underneath.
7. Use a beard comb to distribute butter evenly throughout your beard.
8. Leave the beard butter in place for a few minutes or until it's fully absorbed.
9. You can style your beard as usual after the butter is absorbed.

Quick Tips:

• Apply beard butter only to clean hair. Using the balm on a dirty beard will lead to buildup that can cause skin irritation and a very unhappy beard.
• Be sure to wash your beard to remove the residue from a previous application before applying more beard butter.
• More is NOT better. Too much conditioning balm can weigh your beard down, cause excess buildup, and give the beard a greasy look and feel.
• Do not combine beard butter with other beard grooming products which can also lead to buildup and greasiness.
• We suggest a beard comb since the butter washes out of a beard comb more easily than beard brushes.

If you work a beard butter down to the facial skin, you can use beard butter in place of beard oil. Beard butter is designed to keep your beard hairs hydrated and healthy but can also help the skin underneath your beard. But if you choose to use both, apply the beard oil to the skin first before using beard butter.

If you have very sensitive skin or are simply trying a new product for the first time, we always recommend doing a patch test.

For external use only. Discontinue use if irritation occurs. Best if used within 6 months of opening.

Your skin is as unique as you are.

If you think about it, your skin type is not even the same for all of the areas of your body.

The skin on your face is different from the skin on your hands, which is different from the skin on your back which is different from the skin on your feet ...etc.

Although your skin type is determined by genetics, it will also be affected by other factors and can change with time.

Understanding your skin type is a good starting point before trying or switching to natural products.

There are typically five types of healthy skin: normal, dry, oily, combination, and sensitive.

NORMAL SKIN

This skin is balanced, neither too dry nor too oily. It has regular texture, no imperfections and a clean, soft appearance, and does not need special care.

OILY SKIN

Oily skin is the result of excessive secretions of sebum, an oily secretion of the sebaceous glands. Oily skin tends to attract more dirt and dust than dry skin and may be prone to blackheads, acne, and excessive shine. It is frequent in adolescents and often seen with acne or blemish-prone skin. 

DRY SKIN

For some people dry skin is caused by external factors such as the weather, low air humidity, sun, or hot showers, and it is often temporary.

However, for others it may be a lifelong condition. Dry skin is a result of a decrease in natural oil production which often results in skin that is flaky and has a rough appearance. Dry, cracked skin is often prone to skin disorders, such as eczema.

SENSITIVE SKIN

Truly sensitive skin easily reacts to external stimuli. The skin is often fragile, thin or fine-textured, dry, and prone to allergic reactions. 

Sensitive skin often feels uncomfortable, tight, red or itchy. It is a delicate skin that needs a lot of TLC. 

COMBINATION SKIN

Combination skin is just what is sounds like, it has characteristics of both dry and oily skin. The area with more oil is usually the T- zone (forehead, nose, and chin), while the skin on the cheeks is normal or dry.

For more information on skin type and help with product recommendations for your individual needs, please read our blog, What's Your Skin Type?

After all these years in business, the most often asked question we hear remains, “Why is natural soap better?”

I have been using only natural soap on my face and body for over 20 years. It is the first product I learned to make.

My skin has become so accustomed to the benefits of these lovely bars, that everything else makes my skin itch.

Our soap bars travel with me everywhere I go. I even keep one-time-use scraps in my purse to use in public restrooms!

While I believe that many of the "reasons" listed below may apply to some natural handmade soap companies, I will focus on the one company with which I have intimate knowledge and experience--CHAGRIN VALLEY.

1. Handmade Soap is Actually Soap

Most of the soap you purchase today is a commercially manufactured chemical cocktail of ingredients. It is not natural and is not even really “soap.” They are nothing more than detergents in disguise.

Here is what the FDA has to say:

“Today there are very few true soaps on the market. Most body cleansers, both liquid and solid, are actually synthetic detergent products. Detergent cleansers are popular because they make suds easily in water and don't form gummy deposits. Some of these detergent products are actually marketed as "soap" but are not true soap according to the regulatory definition of the word.” Source

2. Natural Soap is Made With Natural Ingredients

The very best reason to use natural soap is the ingredients. A product is only as good as the ingredients used to make it. 

OUR skin-nourishing ingredients are USDA Certified Organic, sustainably produced, cruelty-free, and ethically traded.

Harnessing the Power of Nature we make each soap bar unique by adding a variety of organic butters, purifying natural clays, organic herbs, seeds, grains, spices, flowers, vegetables, fruits, chocolate, and pure botanical essential oils to provide natural color, aromatherapy, texture, and gentle exfoliation.

3. Natural Soap Is NOT Made With...

• synthetic ingredients
• artificial fragrances or perfumes
• artificial colors
• detergents
• synthetic preservatives

Our soap bars contain only the ingredients that they need—no extra preservatives that liquid body washes or commercial bar "soaps" require to increase their shelf life to years, and no foam boosters to make them lather.

4. Natural Soaps Are Moisturizing

Sadly many people have the misguided perception that all bar soaps will dry your skin. The problem is that most commercial bar “soaps” are detergents and not real soap.

So why are natural soaps so moisturizing? Of course, it's the ingredients! Natural soap made of pure ingredients derived directly from nature is a rare find these days. Here are a few other reasons. 

Superfatting

Superfatting is the process of adding extra fats (oils or butters) when formulating a soap recipe so there is more fat in the mixture than the lye can react with during the chemical reaction. This process creates a more hydrating bar with superior moisturizing and emollient qualities.

Our soap bars are formulated with lots of extra plant oils and butters. We superfat our bars at a higher rate than most soapmakers.

Natural Glycerin

Glycerin is not added to a natural handmade soap recipe – it is created during the natural soap making process called saponification. Once saponification is complete, the ingredients have combined and chemically changed into soap, glycerin, and a bit of water.

Glycerin, a precious and gentle emollient, is a humectant that draws moisture from the air to the skin creating a moisturizing protective layer.

Commercial soap manufacturers remove the glycerin from their soaps because excess glycerin decreases the shelf-life of soap and they can sell the glycerin or use it in products that command a higher price like the lotion.

Think about it! Commercial soap companies remove the moisturizing ingredient (the glycerin) which in turn creates a soap that dries your skin and then they use the glycerin they removed to sell you a skin-moisturizing lotion. Quite an ingenious profit-making strategy!

Thus skin-nourishing ingredients, plus superfatting and natural saponification create a soap bar full of moisturizing, natural oils, and natural glycerin.

5. Scented Natural Soap Provides Real Aromatherapy

Our scented natural soaps are made with pure essential oils, not fragrance oils, and offer aromatherapeutic benefits.

Fragrance oils, whether artificially created or derived from natural components, may duplicate the smell of a flower or herb, but they do not offer the therapeutic advantages of essential oils. 

Furthermore, the generic term, “fragrance” or “parfum” on a label can indicate the presence of up to 3,000 separate ingredients and the FDA does not require companies to disclose what is in a “fragrance,” because it is considered a “trade secret.”

BLOG: Why We Use Only Real Plant Essential Oils

6. Natural Soap Helps Maintain Healthy Skin

The body’s largest organ, our skin, is incredibly porous and absorbent. How we treat our skin can have a major impact on our overall health as well as the look and feel of our skin.

Everyone wants healthy skin and our skin is not a fan of synthetic chemicals. I cannot count how many times customers have told us that our natural soap has not only helped improve their skin but has improved their lives by relieving itchiness and dryness, and easing irritated skin conditions such as eczema and acne.

7. Natural Soap Provides Rich Lather Without Synthetic Foam Boosters

People absolutely love bubbly lather. The foam, bubbles, and lather we know and love from commercial liquid and bar soaps are produced by surfactants--synthetic foam boosters, lathering agents, and detergents.

A properly formulated and cured bar of natural soap needs no synthetic additives to create a lather or to clean because natural soap is a natural surfactant. So it not only makes great bubbles and lather, but it also helps clean oily dirt from your skin--naturally!

BLOG: "How Does Natural Soap Create Lather?"

8. Natural Soap is Economical

Some consumers are put off by the cost of handmade soap. You probably look at a bar of natural soap and wonder why it costs more. I mean, soap is soap, right? Both bars clean your skin, right?

While I may agree that both bars clean the skin, the similarity goes no further. Simply put, commercial soaps contain synthetic ingredients that are very cheap to produce in a lab.

If you use a liquid body wash the main ingredient is water. You pay for water. A properly cured soap bar has very little water remaining, meaning you are getting exactly what you pay for.

I believe that old saying, "You get what you pay for," rings true when comparing a handmade bar of a natural soap to a commercial brand!

BLOG: "The True Cost of Commercial Soap"

9. Natural Soap Has a Smaller Environmental Impact

It may seem odd that a product we use to keep our bodies clean is doing quite the opposite for our environment.

If you are not using a natural soap, as you take a bath or shower you coat your skin with synthetic compounds like fragrances, dyes, preservatives, and detergents. These synthetic ingredients wash down our drains into our septic fields or water treatment facilities. Now imagine the millions of people who use these soaps each day.

Also, if you use a liquid body wash, how many plastic bottles and pumps do you dispose of in a single year?

10. Natural Soaps are Unique

I make handmade natural soap. I did not invent anything new.

But what I know is that our natural soap is made in small batches by people who have a passion as well as a mission for making natural products.

For me, soapmaking is a synergy of science and art that took years to perfect. It is a labor of love. I take the time to create wholesome soap recipes that do not sacrifice beauty or scent while incorporating amazing natural and organic ingredients.

11. A Natural Soap Company Has Social Consciousness

While I am sure there are some large commercial soap companies with a social conscience, natural soapmakers tend to have the utmost respect for the earth and all its creatures.

Environmental stewardship is not a buzzword for us. It is not a talking point, not a political stance nor is it about optics!

At Chagrin Valley it is our practice to use raw materials that are sourced in an environmentally and ethically responsible manner.

• We use organic ingredients which supports organic farming
• We are Leaping Bunny Certified--Cruelty-Free
• Our palm oil and other ingredients are certified sustainable
• We buy Fair Trade whenever possible
• Our products are biodegradable and minimally packaged with recycled and recyclable materials
• Our packaging is over 99% plastic-free
• Our natural ingredients will not add synthetic chemicals to our ecosystems

 Dedication to a kinder and gentler way of living is a big part of why we do what we do.

12. You Are Supporting A Small Business

If you are holding this soap in your hand, I probably don't need to convince you that shopping small business is important. Your purchase really does make a difference.

When you buy a handmade bar of natural soap, you are supporting a small business that truly cares about and believes in the products they make.

Small businesses are run by people - not by boards or stockholders. They are often entrepreneurs who bring a creative freshness into an otherwise regimented world.

We do it all ourselves--from start to finish--from our hands to your hands--from our family to yours! Thank you!

Before I conclude I would like to add one final reason to the question of "Why You Should Switch To Natural Soap Bars."

The simplest answer is, Why Not?

From its composition to its benefits for the skin and health, to its impact on the environment, natural soap is very different from commercial liquid “soap,” bar “soap,” or syndet bars.