I didn’t start making soap because I wanted to start a business.
I’ve been living a natural, plant-based life for over twenty years. Making eco-friendly cold process soap has always been a craft I loved — a quiet way to bring that philosophy to life.
For a year, I made soap for other boutique brands, pouring everything I believed into every batch. But in 2026, I realized something: I wanted to speak directly to the people using my soap. I wanted to share not just the bars themselves, but the understanding behind them.
Because here’s the thing — most people don’t know what’s actually in the soap they use every day. I didn’t always know either. But once I learned the difference between real soap and chemical detergent bars, I couldn’t un-know it.
This page is where I share what I’ve learned.
First, What Even Is “Soap”?
It sounds like a silly question. But here’s the thing: most of what’s sold as “soap” in stores isn’t actually soap.
By legal definition, real soap is made by mixing fats or oils with an alkali (lye). This triggers a chemical reaction called saponification that transforms the oils into soap and glycerin. That’s it. That’s the whole process.
But most commercial “beauty bars” and “body washes” aren’t soap at all. They’re synthetic detergent bars — made from petroleum-based surfactants, foaming agents, and preservatives. The FDA has acknowledged that most products sold as “soap” today are legally detergents, not soap.
So if you’ve been using a “bar soap” from the drugstore and it leaves your skin feeling dry and tight — don’t blame soap. Blame the fact that it wasn’t really soap in the first place.
The Glycerin Secret
Here’s something the big soap companies don’t want you to know.
When real soap is made through saponification, glycerin is created naturally. Glycerin is a humectant — it draws moisture to your skin. It’s what makes handmade soap feel gentle instead of stripping.
In commercial soap production, manufacturers remove the glycerin. They sell it separately to cosmetics companies for use in expensive lotions and creams. Then they add synthetic detergents and foaming agents to replace what was lost.
So you’re paying for a product that:
1. Takes away the most beneficial part of soap
2. Replaces it with cheap chemicals
3. Leaves your skin drier than when you started
Handmade cold-process soap keeps the glycerin in every bar. That’s the difference between feeling “squeaky clean” and feeling truly clean.
What I Leave Out
When I make my soap, I start with the question: “Would I put this on my own skin?”
If the answer isn’t a clear yes, it doesn’t go in the batch.
| I don’t use | Because |
| Sulfates (SLS / SLES) | They strip your skin’s natural oils just to create foam |
| Synthetic fragrances | One word on a label can hide 100+ undisclosed chemicals |
| Parabens | They can mimic estrogen in your body |
| Artificial colors | Your skin doesn’t need FD&C dyes |
| Preservatives | Real soap doesn’t need them |
Instead, I use things like olive oil, shea butter, coconut oil, and natural herbs. The colors in my soap come from what I grow or forage — turmeric, mugwort, clay, and botanicals.
What I Put In
Real soap only needs a few good ingredients.
Each bar I make starts with a base of plant oils — olive, coconut, shea, soybean. Then I add the things that make each bar special:
– Turmeric from Guangxi, for its anti-inflammatory and brightening properties
– Mugwort (Ai Ye) that I forage from the mountains here in Yunnan, boiled into a concentrated decoction
– Himalayan pink salt, finely ground for gentle exfoliation
– Activated charcoal and oatmeal, for deep cleansing without harshness
– North African shea butter, for deep moisture
That’s the whole list. You can read every ingredient and know exactly what it is.
How to Choose a Natural Soap
Not every bar labeled “natural” is the same. Here’s what to look for:
1. Short ingredient list — 5 to 10 ingredients you can recognize
2. Cold-process — means the soap was made at low temperature to preserve the beneficial properties of the oils
3. No “fragrance” or “parfum” — the scent source should be named
4. Glycerin retained — you’ll know this because the soap feels moisturizing, not drying
5. Properly cured — good soap is left to cure for 4 to 6 weeks, not rushed
Every bar I make follows these principles. That’s what yiyihandmade is — soap made the way soap should be, with ingredients you can trust.
Start Simple
You don’t need a 10-step routine. You don’t need products with ingredient lists longer than this page.
Sometimes the best thing you can do for your skin is the simplest: wash with real soap, moisturize with real oil, and let your skin breathe.
If you want to try what I make, you’ll find all my bars in the shop. But even if you find another maker whose values align with yours, the important thing is knowing what’s actually in the bar you’re using.
Your skin deserves that honesty.