Different types of soap bars
Soap School
Not All Soap Bars Are Made the Same
A bar tells you the shape. It doesn’t tell you what it’s made from, how it was made, or how it will feel on your skin.
A bar is a format, not a formulation.
That means two products that look almost identical sitting in the bathroom can actually be very different once you look at what’s inside.
So what kinds of soap bars are there?
Here are a few broad types you’re likely to come across.
Syndet bars
“Syndet” means synthetic detergent.
Think of it a little like your shower gel or shampoo, but made in a solid bar format. Instead of traditional soap made through saponification, syndet bars are formulated using cleansing surfactants. Most solid shampoo bars are made this way.
And just like liquid shower gels and shampoos, syndet bars can be formulated in very different ways.
Syndets are not soaps. They are often called solid bars or cleansing bars.
Melt-and-pour soap
Melt-and-pour soap starts with a ready-made soap base.
The maker melts that base, then may add colours, scents, botanicals or other ingredients before pouring it into moulds.
It is often used during soapmaking workshops where interesting designs and shapes can be explored within a shorter session.
The difference is that the soap base itself has already been made before the maker begins working with it.
Cold-process and hot-process soap
Both cold-process and hot-process soaps are made from scratch by combining oils or fats with an alkali such as sodium hydroxide.
Through a chemical reaction called saponification, those starting ingredients are transformed into soap, with glycerin naturally formed along the way.
The difference is mainly in how the soapmaking process is carried through.
- Hot process uses external heat to cook the soap and move the process along more quickly.
- Cold process does not use external heat to cook the soap. The ingredients are combined, and the heat naturally generated during saponification helps carry the reaction through before the soap is left to set and cure in its own time.
What's Inside Our Cold-Process Soaps?
A short, purposeful ingredient list. Nothing extra. Nothing filler.
Botanicals, clays & minerals
Added for skin benefits and natural character.
Essential oils
Naturally scent the bar.
Water
Carries the alkali so soap can be made.
Sodium hydroxide
The essential alkali that makes soap possible.
Carrier oils
Plant-based oils that form the cleansing base of the bar.
The Cure
Our soaps are not ready right away. They need time.
During curing, excess water gradually leaves the bar and the soap becomes harder.
A harder, well-cured bar lasts longer and wears down more slowly.
At My Naked Bar, we give our cold-process soaps at least one month to cure.
Why We Wait
So what happened to
the sodium hydroxide?
Sodium hydroxide is essential for making a solid bar of soap. There isn't a substitute for it in this process, and while it is corrosive in its raw form, that raw form is not present in a properly made finished soap because during saponification it is used to turn the fatty acids in the oils into soap.
And what about
the glycerin?
Glycerin is naturally formed during saponification. It is a humectant, which means it attracts water. In traditional cold-process soapmaking, that naturally formed glycerin remains as part of the finished soap. At My Naked Bar, we leave it there.