Are there any all-natural soaps that lather really, REALLY well?

Hello,
      I was wondering if anyone might know of an all-natural soap that lathers really, REALLY well that I might be able to try? I’ve tried several all-natural vegetable based ones in the past several years, but I’ve never been able to find one that lathers worth a darn. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thank you

I have used this for years and love it the smell of the Champa is amazing and it lathers up nice. In JOY GZ http://www.sacredmountainherbals.com/natural-body-products/natural-bar-soap

How well the soap lathers depends upon how hard your water is. In my experience if you have hard water, then natural soaps don't usually produce a good lather.

Look for one with 30-50% coconut oil as a base.  Lathers with abandon, even in hard water.

Note that the more aggressive the soap lathers, the more risk that the soap will dry your skin.  The commercial
products often add sodium lauryl sulfate, which lathers like crazy, and was originally designed as an industrial de-greaser.
So you can imagine how good that is for your skin.  Also note that the commercial advertising has made us think that
lots of suds and bubbles is good and even necessary.  It's not really.  


Compared to other oils and fats, coconut oil is a bit expensive, so expect to pay more.


...soapmaker for many years...

I may be a little biased since my spouse makes it, but this stuff works great http://www.smilingdaisiessoapco.com/ She doesn't use any SLS, parabans, or sulfates in any of her products.  No artificial dyes either, she uses either micas or ground herbs for colour.  Some of her products do use a "fragrance" for the scent, but they are free of the chemicals which give me(and many others) headaches.  She also does make some with only essential oils for the people who want a completely natural product.  Depending on the product she also infuses the oils with different herbs, some of which we grow ourselves(no herbicide/pesticide/gmo), this helps to add their properties to the soap (Calendula for example people have been finding works amazingly for their eczema).  Depending on where you live shipping from us can be way to much money.  I'd recommend hitting up local farmer's markets and really put the gears to the soapers asking specific details of why thy used specific oils in their product.  If they can't answer you, chances are they have no idea what they are doing, probably found a soap recipe on Pinterest and are selling you the first bar of soap they ever made.    In our area "Soapers" are popping up quicker than the most vigorous of weeds in a garden.  Most of them also disappear as quickly as they popped up.  Hopefully you will soon find a soap that will make you happy.

I use Dr Bronners

I've used this soap/shampoo b4, and it lathers really well. I found it was too strong for my hair as a shampoo bar, but my hair is super fine. As a soap bar or shaving bar it lathers really well- they sometimes have seconds, or less packaging items on sale a little cheaper: http://www.soapforgoodnesssake.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1212&Product_Code=babassu-shampoo-and-body-bar&Category_Code=
Hope you find what you are looking for.
Dee

I agree with Su Ba. I think the lathering of soap has a lot to do with one's water supply.

Thanks for all the suggestions. While I agree that water hardness or softness makes a difference in lathering ability, I don't think its the only reason. I think some soaps just inherently lather better than others no matter how hard or soft the water is.

I'm also biased as I make this soap. It's plain Castile: olive oil, lye and rain water (soft for better lather): http://etsy.me/2flfyLt
If you're interested in making your own, I could paste the directions. It's easy!

I've been an avid soap maker for many years. I make a pure coconut oil bar soap that lathers beautifully, cleans amazingly well, and doesn't dry me out. The ingredients are coconut oil, lye, distilled water. I sometimes add a little low-note essential oils for fragrance so the scent doesn't flash off so fast.

This is the soap made by Jane Weeks. A definite gift item, due to the artistic nature.

Dale Hodgins wrote:This is the soap made by Jane Weeks. A definite gift item, due to the artistic nature.

Thanks so much, Dale! BTW, I use rain water for my soaps, resulting in lots of suds. As a matter of interest, I visited my daughter last week and she insisted that I accept a gift of a professional hair cut. I took my bar of soap and refused conditioner or any other 'products.' The hairdresser was surprised by the suds and how easy it all was. I left looking the same as if she had used all that junk on my hair. (It lasted about as long, too -- back to normal two days later. )

Even though i make my own soap, i mainly use that for our hands. in the shower i like some extra lather and i use aleppo laurel leave oil soap. Lathers well and is mild and cleansing.

It's actually common for many all-natural soaps to not lather the greatest. When I first started making soaps I ran into the same problem. There are various oils that can be added to make the organic soap lather more when it's being used. We have a few different all-natural soaps listed on our website, each soap has a list of ingredients online, perhaps it may help. Please let me know if I can provide more information.

Check out the PM that I sent you.

My soap is lathery. I've used it as bar soap, shampoo and shaving cream.

50% coconut oil, 50% palm oil. No color or fragrance.

Castor oil is reputed to increase the lather factor in handmade soap.  The primary factor is how hard or soft your water is, though.

I made soap once and it lathered really well. Cant remember the ratios but it had lots of coconut oil and some rice bran oil.

The oils used are going to be the biggest factor in how the soap lathers. This is a tool that soapmakers use to build new recipes and if you click on one of the oils, the "Fatty Acids" section should update to show the predicted properties of that oil when used in soap. Coconut and castor oil are both good for bubbles but you don't necessarily want or need a 100% coconut or castor oil soap (100% coconut can be harsh on dry/sensitive skin and 100% castor won't mold up properly because it's too soft). Beer soap is also good for bubbles.

If you have hard water you'll want to check to see if the soap contains a chelant, which helps break up the soap scum caused by hard water. On an ingredients label you might see something like sodium citrate, EDTA, or citric acid. I don't think most soapmakers think to add these unless they also live in a spot with hard water; I know I don't. But if you live in an area where hard water is a problem you might find that the local soapmakers are adding it, or you could add it to your own recipes.

Jane Weeks wrote:I'm also biased as I make this soap. It's plain Castile: olive oil, lye and rain water (soft for better lather): http://etsy.me/2flfyLt
If you're interested in making your own, I could paste the directions. It's easy!

I retired in January, so no longer sell my soap but if anyone wants the recipe I'm happily sharing it with many people. Send me an e-mail & I'll send it to you. jane[at]smallbones[dot]ca

Julia Winter wrote:Castor oil is reputed to increase the lather factor in handmade soap.  The primary factor is how hard or soft your water is, though.

A bit (1%) of borax added to the soap recipe is supposed to be all it takes, to overcome hard water issues. It's also supposed to lower the ph of the soap, making it easier to prevent soap scum from building up. A bit more, though I'm not sure how much, is supposed to make for a great shampoo bar, too...

I make all my own soap, I've made boxes full or soap, but one of my favorites that leathers the best is: 50/50 pig lard and hemp oil, with bee pollen pebbles in it, also instead of using water in the soap I make a stinging nettle tea. Mixing oils helps soap lather, as well as adding sugar and or salt but it doesnt take much and can have too much if you're not careful.

I wanted to chime in and offer my favorite natural soap from this American, family owned company called Rustic Strength.

Their soap lathers REALLY well. Unlike a lot of natural soaps.

They have truly hypoallergenic, unscented soaps:
https://rusticstrength.com/collections/liquid-hand-soap/products/liquid-hand-soap-plain-jane-no-scent

Or soaps with essential oils:
https://rusticstrength.com/collections/liquid-hand-soap

Their dish soaps, laundry soaps and hand soaps all have

No Parabens
No Phthalates
No Perfumes or Fragrances
No Synthetic Colors or Dyes
No Sulfates (SLS and SLES)
No Endocrine disrupters
No Animal Testing

And they're vegan, plant-based and biodegradable.

Me and my wife are super into reducing waste. So I like that they offer large bulk options ( up to 5 gallon containers ).  I when I have those, I just refill my smaller one-gallon container and it takes so long to run out of soap. Love that.
And the company accepts their containers back for re-fill. Which they sanitize, re-fill, and re-list at a 20% discount, here:
https://rusticstrength.com/collections/close-the-loop-containers-or-less-than-perfect

And I think it's really cool that they are one of the companies providing bulk re-fill stores their soap.
So you can go to your local refillery with your container to fill up, zero waste.

If you haven't seen a Refillery in action, it's really cool and you can see what that looks like on their instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/rusticstrength/?hl=en