FAQ

Handmade soap is gentle on your skin, and Catarina Concepts uses as many natural ingredients as possible, to provide a product that is nourishing to your skin. All our products are made in small quantities to guarantee their quality & freshness. Glycerin is a natural byproduct of the soap making process. Glycerin helps the skin attract and retain moisture; versus harsh detergents you usually find in mass produced soaps. In fact, many commercial “soap” brands on the market, are not soap at all – they are “beauty bars,” “bath bars,” or “body wash” because they don’t go through the saponification process of true soap. From the first time you use our handmade soap, you will immediately feel the difference. Mass-produced soap has all of the glycerin removed and leaves your skin dry, causing you to probably need moisturizer. Moisturizing qualities of handmade soap from Catarina Concepts, combined with the benefits of essential oils make the perfect solution for everyday skin care.

We highly recommend you try handmade soap. All our soaps have natural beneficial oils as well as glycerin to help moisturize your skin. We do not use any preservatives or petroleum products in our soaps. Our process produces a very mild soap. We also stock a few unscented soaps for those sensitive to scents. As with any product that touches our skin, please discontinue use if irritation develops. Any product, even when made with the most natural, gentle ingredients can be irritating to certain sensitive individuals. Try testing on a small area of your skin first before scrubbing down.

As in the case with all real soap, our soap is not “Tearless.” Be careful not to get into your eyes. If you do, simply and quickly flush with water.

At Catarina Concepts, we use cold-process soap making. This method is the act of mixing oils with lye water. The result is a process called saponification, where the composition of the oils changes with the help of the lye to create a bar of soap. The whole process occurs at room temperature. Cold process soap requires 4-6 weeks to cure on racks. The main benefit of this process is having complete control over the ingredients and preserving the naturally nutritious and moisturizing properties of the oils.

You will find the ingredients for each item listed with the description of the item. ALL of soaps and lotions are made with vegetable-based oils (Olive, Coconut, Responsibly Sourced Palm Oil or Palm Kernel Oil, Shea Butter, Rice Bran, Avocado Oil, and Sunflower Oil, etc.). We use both essential oils and fragrance oils that are paraben and phthalate free. They are high quality, skin-safe fragrances.

Lye is sodium hydroxide combined with water. It isn't nearly as scary as it sounds. It is used as a binding agent in skincare products and food. The good news … It has completely evaporated well before it reaches your hands. It is used in the cold process, but by the time soap has cured and is ready to be sold, it’s gone! While caustic in its active state, it is necessary to produce the chemical reaction that turns oils into soap.

If stored properly, soaps can last up to a year, but we recommend using them within 6 months. When in use (showers, baths, hand washing) on average, our 3.5 oz. soaps last 2-4 weeks, but it depends on how often the bar is used. Store unused soap in a covered container that is not airtight (I like to use brown paper lunch bags). Keep in a cool and dry location, such as linen closets. Keep stored soap out of direct sunlight, as natural ingredient colors may fade and result in rancid soap bars (look for burnt orange or brown spotting). For soap that is in use, use a soap dish that provides drainage to enable it to dry before the next use.

We try to keep our recipes as close to the last made batch, but these are handmade small batches, so colors, textures and scents may slightly vary from one batch to another. Temperature can make color appear slightly different from batch to batch, while design may also vary. Small pockets of air may form from a thick batter being poured. It does not affect the quality of the soap. You may also see “soda ash” which is a harmless powder-like substance that forms when new soap meets air or has a rapid drop in temperature.

Occasionally, you may see some white powder on top of our soap. This is called “soda ash” and is a harmless substance. It is most common on the surface of cold process soap. Soda ash forms when new soap meets air or has a rapid drop in temperature. It will rinse off the first time you use the soap.

There are a few staples to the lineup, but trying new scents is always fun, so you will see some limited editions. Catarina Concepts is still in its infancy, so we’re trying to learn what our customers love and want more of. We will also make some custom soap designs for special occasions, but please allow for an 8 week lead time.

A quality bar of handmade soap will often “sweat” in humid weather due to the high content of natural humectants. A humectant is a substance that readily absorbs moisture from its surroundings. When natural soap sits out in humid conditions, the glycerin in the soap will draw the moisture out of the air and onto the soap. So, the sweating is moisture from the air that the glycerin attracts, not moisture coming from inside the soap. The more humid the environment and the more humectants in the soap, the more likely you’ll experience this phenomenon; There is nothing wrong with your soap, it’s just the glycerin and other natural humectants doing their job.

Essential oils are purely extracted from their source and have therapeutic effects. Fragrance oils are synthetically created for the purpose of scent but are safe for use on skin. If you find your skin easily irritated by fragrance; essential oil might be a great alternative for you! You should always consult with your doctor if you’re unsure.

No, Catarina Concepts is currently and online store only. Please check out Events page (Coming Soon) for when we’ll be at a local festival in your area.

Due to the delicate nature of handcrafted products, unfortunately we are unable to return products. We put detailed descriptions on each item, so you know what you are buying and using, please read each product fully before buying. There will be NO RETURNS on any items except for items found to be damaged or defective, and to be determined on a “case-by-case” basis only. If the product you received is in fact damaged or was sent by mistake, we will gladly do our best to fix the problem. Please email info@catarinaconcepts.com.

Unfortunately, Catarina Concepts does not ship outside of the USA.

Catarina Concepts will use our standard soap recipe as a base, but you can we have a selection of colors, exfoliates and scents to choose from. Bars are made in batches of either 18 (2.5-3.5 oz) or 10 (3.5-4 oz.) or petite guest bars at 1 oz. in size. Please email us at info@catarinaconcepts.com and include your contact info, number of total bars and desired sizes, as well as initial thoughts on colors and scents. We’ll set up a time to video chat to discuss and show options. Custom batches take approximately 4-6 weeks of production time, and 1 week for delivery.