Fragrance Oil vs. Essential Oil

When we began our handmade soap journey over eight years ago, we had so many choices to make when it comes to what we put in our soaps. We know that our customers have to make the same choices when it comes to choosing a soap. Should I use a palm oil or tallow based soap? Should I get a fragrance-free or scented soap? Essential oils or fragrance oils? The questions could go on and on. In today’s blog, we will discuss the difference between fragrance oils and essential oils, and why we choose to use essential oils in our soaps. If you want to learn more about tallow vs. palm oil, check out last month’s blog.

What are fragrance oils?

Fragrance oils are made with a mixture of synthetic and natural ingredients. Some are made with as many as sixty different ingredients in one small bottle. Due to the synthetic nature of the ingredients in fragrance oils, they typically last longer than essential oils. Resins, preservatives, and other synthetic ingredients allow the fragrance oils to withstand the soap-making process better and remain stronger once the process is completed. Fragrance oils also come in a much larger variety of smells than essential oils because they aren’t limited to natural scents. This means they are typically cheaper than essential oils and can be found in many commercial products. 

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are extracted from different parts of a plant, such as flowers, herbs, or roots. The extraction processes, steam distillation or cold extraction, are what creates 100% natural essential oils. Essential oils are not mixed or diluted with any other substances making them very neat compounds of a plant’s essence. It is difficult to recreate the scent of an essential oil in a fragrance oil and when it is attempted it contains an abundant mixture of synthetic compounds. The purity of essential oils allows them to retain the health benefits of the plants they are sourced from. The same purity makes it difficult for the scent of essential oils to remain stable during the soap making process, especially when it is done on a large-scale, like commercial soap making. However, for smaller retailers like us, we take the time and care to ensure the scent and beneficial qualities of the essential oils remain in our soaps.

Where do you get your essential oils for your soaps?

We get our essential oils from New Directions Aromatics. They offer a wide variety of products at a reasonable cost so we can keep our soaps reasonably priced for our customers. Aside from the cost, we choose their essential oils because they are certified 100% pure essential oils and Certified Fair Trade. We want to make sure we are using quality essential oils for our soaps, so we can help our customer’s skin look and feel its best while using natural products.  

Why should I choose essential oils over fragrance oils?

As we mentioned before, essential oils are 100% natural oils made from plant extract. The reason we use essential oils in our soap, and the reason you should choose them, is for their health benefits and gentle qualities for sensitive skin. Synthetic ingredients used in fragrance oils are more likely to cause skin irritation than essential oils. Typically, unless you are allergic to the plant itself, essential oils are safe to use on the skin and can actually help the skin. Depending on the type of essential oil, the health benefits may differ along with the scent and shelf life. Many essential oils are used for their anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antimicrobial, and pain relief properties. However, each essential oil has specific health benefits and should be chosen based on each person’s health and skincare needs.

Much like the essential oils put into our soaps, each soap has unique health benefits based on the oils that are used. When choosing a soap, we encourage you to read up on the essential oils and the grass-finished tallow, so you can make an informed decision that aligns with your health and skincare goals. We want to make sure our soaps allow you to opt-out of the chemical lifestyle to create the healthiest version of you.

Palm Oil Soap vs. Pasture-Based Tallow Soap

When choosing a soap, it can go far beyond simple smells, costs, and brands. The quality and source of the ingredients are equally important.

So, what is the main difference between pasture-based tallow and palm oil?

Palm oil and tallow are used as the base in the soap making process. The hard oils and fats in the palm oil and tallow allow the soap to stay firm when it gets wet. The most apparent difference between them is that one is a plant-based oil and one is a pasture-based fat, but the differences don’t stop there. The way palm oil and tallow are sourced is different, and their nutrients, cost, sustainability, and texture are different as well. We know it is practically impossible to know everything about the ingredients in every product we use, but when it comes to soaps we think it is possible to make an informed decision.

How are palm oil and pasture-based tallow sourced?

Pasture-based tallow is made by rendering suet. Beef suet is the fat found around the loins and kidneys of cows. To render the suet, it is chopped up, melted over low heat, the liquid fat is strained to separate solid pieces, and the liquid fat is then allowed to cool resulting in rendered tallow. While to some tallow may seem strange or gross, the added vitamins and nutrients along with the sustainable benefits, actually made tallow a better choice for soap than palm oil.

Palm oil comes from the fruit of oil palm trees, the scientific name is Elaeis guineensis. The majority of palm oil harvested today comes from South Asia; although, it was originally native to Africa. There are different types of palm oil, but the oil that is typically used in soap making comes from squeezing the fruit of the oil palm tree. It is squeezed to get all of the palm oil out and this crude oil is then used to make soaps and many other household products. Palm oil is very common in household products because it is cheap and easy to work with, however, the conditions of its sourcing often call for ethical concerns. The ethical concerns in palm oil production stems from unfair labor practices and massive deforestation that further risks endangered species.

While tallow comes from animals, it is not the primary reason the animal is harvested. In fact, suet is typically considered waste in the farming industry. After the meat that most people eat is harvested, the suet is leftover with other non-traditional parts. Rendering tallow from suet to make soaps and balms is a sustainable way to use something that would be otherwise discarded. As for our soaps and balms, we also ensure the use of grass-fed cattle for any of our suet. We want to ensure our soaps are made using humanely sourced ingredients that are high quality.

What are the benefits of tallow vs. palm oil?

In addition to palm oil creating a long-lasting soap, its benefits also include high vitamin E and vitamin A content and refatting agents that allow your body to restore its natural oils. While these are amazing benefits, the benefits of beef tallow are even better. Tallow contains vitamins A, D, E, K, and B12, which contribute to skin health and appearance. Given that the fat saturation of tallow is close to human fat, the vitamins within it can be absorbed into the body easier and it locks in moisture and nutrients without clogging your pores.

Why choose beef tallow over palm oil?

We made the choice ourselves when we began making soaps, with skin conditions and health concerns we were looking for natural remedies that help our bodies and don’t break the bank. Tallow is known for its nutrient-rich properties that naturally heal and nourish our skin, so for us, it seemed like the perfect base. We make sure our tallow is ethically sourced and ensure it comes from a high-quality source. By doing so we can create soaps that are good for us and don’t come with the moral dilemmas of palm oil. Why not use a soap that is good for your health, your skin, the orangutans, and the elephants too!

Source: wwf.org

Happy Holidays from The Healthy Porcupine to you

This year has been quite the experience to say the least. We hope you have all managed to stay safe and healthy throughout. We are grateful to have managed to stay safe ourselves. 2020 brought a number of changes to our personal and professional lives. On a personal level, we have had to change how we interact with friends, family, and hobbies. As avid Dungeons & Dragons players, we used to meet our friends three out of four weekends a month to play. For safety measures, we have had to shift this to a fully online game once a month, which as you most likely know isn’t the same. Not to mention our switch to at-home workouts or rather the lack thereof LOL. We have worked to maintain some degree of normalcy, but who really can these days (and that is 100% okay!) Professionally, we had to adjust to having all of our major events canceled, having to completely alter how we set up and did business at the New Boston Farmers Market, and transition to having to rely completely on online sales and wholesale. While we have experienced abundant changes, we know that many small businesses have had a terrible time this year and that many have not made it. That is why we wanted to share our story with you all and say how extremely thankful we are for our customers who have allowed us to continue selling our all-natural tallow soap.

 With that being said, our holiday plans will be very simple this year. We will be hanging out at home with our cats, playing our favorite games, and Darlene will be making duck for dinner. We are getting our duck from Greentwist Acres, a local farm located in New Boston, New Hampshire. Our honey is also locally sourced from DJ’s Pure Natural Honey located in Manchester, NH. We want to continue to support local businesses while we stay home and enjoy the holidays. Of course, we will be washing up with our Rosemary Mint Tallow Soap, so we can be clean and fresh for dinner. If you want to check out Darlene’s duck recipe you can find it here. Feel free to share your holiday plans with us in the comments or send us your favorite holiday recipes (we are still looking for side dish recipes.) We know the holidays aren’t the same this year, but they can still be good if you can find a way to connect with your family, virtually or otherwise, or just do something that makes you happy. If you’re still looking for holiday soaps for your home or last minute holiday gifts, check out our store and order now! If you need a last minute gift we have virtual gift cards that you share with family in person or online! Get into the holiday season with the smell of some of our all-natural tallow soaps.

 P.S. Santa said our Pine Tar 20% Soap reminds him of the soap back in his workshop. 😉

Why support your local soap business?

The process of making soap is unique to each brand. With ingredients being sourced from a variety of places and techniques utilizing each ingredient differently, knowing exactly how the soap is made can make all the difference. This is where small businesses, like The Healthy Porcupine, come in to provide consumers with trusted products that are free of chemicals, dyes, and unnecessary additives.

Creating a conscious product is not the easiest task for a brand, big or small. It requires time, knowledge, and money. Taking the time to research the best ingredients available and figuring out how to use them in your soap. Obtaining the knowledge to put your research to the test and make quality soap from quality ingredients. Spending the money necessary to make sure your soap is natural, healthy, and beneficial while also being accessible to your consumer. With that being said, the choice to formulate a conscious soap is just as good of a decision for the brand as it is for the consumer. Brands feel confident in the positive effects of their products (like our all-natural tallow soap), and in turn create happy, loyal customers!

At The Healthy Porcupine, we use locally sourced ingredients and a transparent production process that creates value for our brand and trust between us and our customers. As a small business, we can select the finest ingredients that will help our customers’ skin while also giving them the tools they need to choose a soap that is right for them. Big soap brands can provide the education and the high-quality ingredients, but the quality is often lost in production through the use of harsh chemicals and additives or mass production techniques.

With a small all-natural soap brand you have the transparency and authenticity that you don’t get from large corporations. Our all-natural conscious soap products come with a face you know, recognize, and trust. As a small business, we lookout for our consumers with our honest recommendations and demonstrated value for high-quality products. We hope you all keep supporting small businesses just like we do!

The Healthy Porcupine newsletter is coming soon!

Hi everyone! We hope you are all staying safe and healthy during these times. As I mentioned in our last blog, we are getting back into the swing of things and we are excited to be more active online and in markets. It has been a hard time for everyone in 2020 and we hope to continue giving you all the products you want and need.

With that being said, we are ecstatic to announce our new bi-weekly newsletter, beginning Monday, October 12, 2020. This newsletter will serve as a consistent method of communication between The Healthy Porcupine and our customers. Each newsletter will be different and will feature new products, new blogs, upcoming events, ingredient descriptions, upcoming sales, and customer feedback.

With this exciting newsletter comes an exclusive discount! We will include the promo code in our first newsletter. If you want to make sure we have your email or if you want to sign up, you can sign up here. Now is the time to sign up and stock up on your favorite items sitewide!

Stay tuned for our first newsletter on October 12, 2020, and look out for the discount code along with some recommendations of our favorite products. As always, we hope to continue to safely provide healthy, natural, soothing products online and in person. We will be updating you on in-person events soon. Stay safe and happy shopping!

 P.S. don’t forget to sign up with your email here!

The New Boston Farmers Market Opens This Weekend!

Hey there everyone! It’s definitely been awhile. I haven’t done any real social media updates or blog posts since the beginning of the whole pandemic thing because, well, I didn’t really feel like it was appropriate to do the whole marketing thing while so many people have been going through so much. It just felt off to me and then, as time went on, it felt more and more awkward to just pop back in like “Heeeeyyyy!” So…this is me just taking the plunge back into it.  

So, hi.

It’s been a busy couple of months and we’re very excited that the New Boston Farmers Market is starting up this weekend! It will be nice to get outside and see people, even if it’s going to be in a whole social-distancey manor. Yes, the market is going to look and feel a bit different this year, but I’m very thankful that we’re able to have one- especially since I believe it is extremely important (now more than ever) for the community to have access to local food and goods.

For a complete rundown of how things are going to look at the market in general, you can find that info on the New Boston Farmers Market facebook page. For my booth, specifically, here’s how things are going to go:

1.       I will be updating the website to allow market customers to order ahead of time by choosing the “in store pick-up” option for shipping. Please do so before 11:59pm the Thursday before the market so I have time on Friday to get everyone’s orders together.  

2.       Customers can also send me an email or a Facebook message with their orders ahead of time to either pay in person or I can send an invoice via Square (See #1 about time limits on ordering)

3.       No one is going to be allowed in my tent and all my product will be located behind me where only I can reach it. Unfortunately, this means that you can’t smell the soaps before making a decision (but I assure you, they’re all quite nice!).

4.       If paying cash, PLEASE try to give me exact change. All our prices can be found here!

5.       I may be wearing a mask and I won’t be able to give you a hug or have a long conversation this year, but please know that I am so thankful for all of you and am very much looking forward to seeing you, even if it’s from a bit of a distance.

Some of what I just mentioned will probably change a bit over time. I’ve never had to vend in a pandemic before, so we’ll see what works and what doesn’t and make changes accordingly! Thank you in advance for all of your patience and understanding and thank you for being there during these interesting times. Please feel free to email or message me with any questions, comments, or suggestions! Take care and see you on Saturday!

Back on Track

Wow. Okay, so things have been kind of crazy lately! We’ve picked up more wholesale accounts, we’re selling a lot more soap on both our website and Amazon.com, we sent in our application for the New Boston Farmers Market (opening day June 6th), and we’re busy preparing for the Made in New Hampshire Expo which is TWO WEEKS from today!

With everything that’s going on, we’re happy to announce that we’re FINALLY caught up from when we both got the flu back in late December/early January (hooray) and then, right after that, we had a bit of a production glitch which lead to a limited amount of soap and a very stressed out Jen and Darlene. You may have noticed that a lot of soaps are listed as “sold out” at the moment- don’t worry, we’re back on track and we’ll have product back in stock before the Expo! Unfortunately, we did have to cancel our appearance at the Danbury Winter Market this week, but we’ll be back for the last market of the season in April!

But yeah…things are good, Spring is almost here, and we’re starting to plan some hikes. We’re looking forward to getting back outside again! 

"...What's the Pine Tar for?"

Whenever we’re at farmers markets, we almost always have customers who look at our soaps, stop, and then curiously ask, “…what’s the Pine Tar for?”

Almost all of our soaps contain some type of essential oil, so the Pine Tar soap is vastly different and, admittedly, not for everyone. Because pine tar comes from pine stumps that are slow burned in a kiln, not only is it a thick…well…tar, it has a VERY strong odor. Now, because it’s a natural product, the odor can change from time to time- there are times when it smells like strong barbeque or a wood stove, and there are other times when it can be super faint and smell almost like the tar that’s used on highways. Regardless of the smell, pine tar is a very effective ingredient.  

Pine tar has been used medicinally for thousands of years due to its anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and antipruritic properties. It’s used in soaps and shampoos to help relieve symptoms of different skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, poison ivy, and various forms of dermatitis (1 ). However, you don’t have to be suffering from a skin ailment to enjoy our Pine Tar soap- many people just absolutely love the odor and how well it cleans.

1.       Barnes PhD, Tanya M. and Grieve PhD, Kerryn A., Topical pine tar: History, properties and use as a treatment for common skin conditions, 1/20/16, The Australian Journal of Dermatology, Abstract,  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5434829/