Introducing Lard Based Soaps!

I began Rustic Silk Soaps with the intentions of only offering vegetarian and vegan products.  I never planned to change that, but recently I've begun to feel differently.  Don't get me wrong, I'll still have plenty of veggie soaps available, but I've finally decided to include some lard soaps in my line up.

When I first started making soaps, I was put off by the thought of using animal fats because I was slightly icked out at the idea of slathering it on my skin while I bathe.  I broke down one day and finally made a soap out of lard.  I hot processed it because I wanted to try it quickly to see how it compared to my recipes at the time...and I found it very drying.  I figured this soap was bound to be inferior to my veggie soaps, so I passed the soaps off to my mother-in-law after a good cure and forgot about them.

After about six months, she asked me if I had any more of them.  I told her no, but that I would make her some and let her know when they were ready.  Once cured, I gave her several bars and kept the others to cure further.  A few weeks later, she contacted me and let me know she wanted a couple more because she had given some to one of her friends that had visited and raved about the soap in the bathroom.

Then, one day while I was visiting, I used the soap by her bathroom sink without thinking.  After I dried my hands, I couldn't help but notice how silky my skin felt.  Imagine my surprise when I realized I had used the soap I had given her!  I was quite impressed with the soap, and started questioning my decision for using only veggie oils and butters.

The final decision came when someone pointed out to me that using fat in soap was an ecologically responsible way to use all of the animal that was sacrificed.  When I was growing up, I spent lots of time outdoors hunting deer with my Dad.  He instilled in me from a very young age that you only take what you need and use everything that you can.  The thought of disrespecting the animal's sacrifice by not using every part slowly nibbled away at my mind until I started seriously rethinking my mindset toward animal soaps.

To date, my mother-in-law has recruited several people who are in love with the lard soap that I began making for her.  They all claim that it's the gentlest soap they've ever used.  So I have decided to include this soap in my line up for the people who need a little gentler soap.