What's Inside Artisan Soaps

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At Lumen & Lather Co., every formula begins with a simple question: How do we want our handcrafted soaps to feel on the skin? 

From there, we choose a small, considered palette of natural ingredients such as oils, butters, milks, clays, and aromatics to create the lather, slip, and finish we’re after—whether that’s a silky spa bar, a slow kettle cooked bar, a slow lathering heritage soap, or a soft, conditioning beard balm. 

This page offers a quiet look behind the curtain at the ingredients we reach for most often and why we love working with them. We select our natural ingredients with care and share them openly so you can decide what best suits your skin care rituals and lifestyle. 

While we describe the materials we use, we are not a drug or pharmaceutical company and do not make medical or therapeutic claims about our soaps or other products. Any information provided is for general, informational purposes only and is not intended to suggest that our bars treat or prevent any condition.

Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter) functions as an emollient, occlusive, and structural butter, making it an essential natural ingredient in handcrafted soaps. It helps soften dry skin, support moisture retention, and add firmness and stability to balms, butters, and soaps, enhancing your skin care rituals.

Mango Butter (Mangifera Indica) serves as an emollient, texture enhancer, and skin-conditioning ingredient. It helps soften and smooth the skin while adding structure and creaminess to formulations without feeling overly heavy, perfect for your handcrafted soaps.

Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii) acts as an emollient, occlusive, and skin-conditioning ingredient. It helps soften dry skin, support moisture retention, and improve overall skin feel while adding body and creaminess to formulations, making it a favorite in many skin care rituals.

Apricot Kernel Seed Oil (Prunus Armeniaca) functions as an emollient and skin softening oil. It helps smooth and condition the skin, improve glide, and support moisture balance without leaving a heavy or greasy residue, ideal for enhancing the benefits of handcrafted soaps.

Argan Oil (Argania Spinosa) serves as an emollient and skin conditioning oil. It helps soften and smooth the skin, support moisture retention, and improve overall texture without heaviness, making it a valuable natural ingredient in your skin care rituals.

Bakuchi Oil (Psoralea Corylifolia Seed Oil) functions as a skin conditioning and tone supporting botanical oil. It helps improve the appearance of uneven looking skin, supports smooth texture, and enhances overall skin radiance. Its naturally earthy, herbaceous aroma makes it a unique addition to handcrafted soaps.

Castor Oil (Ricinus Communis) acts as a humectant supportive emollient, lather booster, and conditioning oil. It enhances shine, improves glide, and helps stabilize and boost lather in soap formulations, making it an essential ingredient for effective skin care rituals.

Coconut Oil (Cocos Nucifera) serves as a cleansing, lather boosting, and conditioning oil. It contributes hardness and abundant bubbles in soap and adds smooth glide and lightweight nourishment in leave-on products, enhancing the experience of handcrafted soaps.

Hemp Seed Oil (Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil) functions as an emollient and skin-conditioning oil. It helps soften and smooth the skin, support moisture balance, and improve overall skin feel without heaviness, making it a great addition to skin care rituals.

Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia Chinensis) acts as a balancing emollient and skin conditioning ingredient. It helps soften and smooth the skin, support moisture retention, and improve glide without leaving a heavy or greasy feel, making it ideal for handcrafted soaps.

Lanolin Oil (Lanolin) is the liquid fraction of lanolin, a natural wax derived from sheep’s wool. It is lighter and more fluid than traditional anhydrous lanolin, offering similar protective and conditioning benefits with improved spreadability in skin care rituals.

Olive Oil (Olea Europaea) functions as an emollient and skin conditioning oil. It helps soften and smooth the skin, support moisture retention, and contribute to a gentle, nourishing feel, making it a popular choice in handcrafted soaps.

Rice Bran Oil (Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil) acts as an emollient and skin-conditioning oil. It helps soften and smooth the skin, improve glide, and support moisture retention without a heavy or greasy finish, enhancing your skin care rituals.

Sunflower Oil (Helianthus Annuus) is a lightweight, plant-derived oil pressed from the seeds of Helianthus annuus. It is commonly used in skincare for its mildness, smooth texture, and balanced fatty acid profile, making it a great choice for handcrafted soaps.

Sweet Almond Oil (Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis) functions as an emollient and skin softening oil. It helps smooth and condition the skin, improve glide, and support moisture retention without feeling overly heavy or greasy, perfect for your skin care rituals.

Tamanu Oil (Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil) acts as an emollient and skin conditioning oil. It helps support the appearance of healthy looking skin, adds nourishment, and contributes to a smooth, supple finish. Its naturally earthy, nutty aroma makes it a wonderful addition to handcrafted soaps.

Activated Charcoal (Charcoal Powder) functions as an oil-absorbing, deep cleansing, and colorant ingredient in handcrafted soaps. It helps absorb excess oil, contributes to a clarified skin feel, and adds a rich black or gray color to products, enhancing your natural ingredients for effective skin care rituals. 

Bentonite Clay (Bentonite) serves as an oil-absorbing, slip enhancing, and texture modifying ingredient in these artisanal creations. It helps draw excess oil from the skin, improve razor glide, and adds a silky, smooth feel to products, making it a staple in skin care rituals. 

Coconut Milk (Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Juice) acts as a skin conditioning, lather enhancing, and softening ingredient. It helps create a creamier foam in handcrafted soaps and adds a smooth, nourishing skin feel in emulsified products for your skin care rituals. 

Goat Milk (Caprae Lac) functions as a conditioning, softening, and lather enhancing ingredient. It helps create a rich, creamy foam in handcrafted soaps and supports a smooth, comfortable skin feel in emulsified products, making it an essential component of natural ingredients for effective skin care rituals.

Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice) serves as a hydrator, soothing agent, and skin conditioner in handcrafted soaps. It aids in moisture retention, calms the feel of irritated skin, and enhances overall skin softness, making it a popular choice in natural ingredients for skin care rituals. 

Arrowroot Powder (Maranta Arundinacea Root Powder) functions as an oil-absorbing, moisture-reducing, and texture-enhancing additive. It effectively reduces greasiness, improves slip, and provides a soft, powdery finish on the skin, contributing to the luxurious feel of handcrafted soaps.

Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) acts as a deodorizer, mild abrasive, and pH adjusting ingredient. It neutralizes odors, offers gentle exfoliation, and boosts cleansing performance in rinse-off products, making it a valuable natural ingredient in skin care rituals.

Beer (Saccharomyces Ferment) is a lather-enhancing and conditioning liquid additive. The natural sugars help boost bubbles in soap, while proteins contribute to a creamy, stable foam, adding to the delightful experience of handcrafted soaps.

Black Lava Salt (Sodium Chloride, Charcoal Powder) serves as an exfoliant, detox-supportive additive, and aesthetic enhancer. This salt polishes the skin, while charcoal brings mild oil-absorbing properties and a striking color contrast, making it perfect for natural ingredients in skin care rituals.

Castile Soap (Potassium Olivate) is a gentle cleanser and mild surfactant known for producing a low, creamy lather. Valued for its conditioning feel, it is a staple in many handcrafted soaps.

Citric Acid (Citric Acid) is a naturally occurring fruit acid derived from citrus fruits, commonly used in cosmetics as a pH adjuster and formulation stabilizer, ensuring the quality of natural ingredients in skin care rituals.

Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate) acts as a soaking aid, texture enhancer, and mineral additive. It dissolves easily in water, making it ideal for bath products and therapeutic formulations that enrich skin care rituals.

Honey Crystals (Mel) are dehydrated, powdered honey that provide the natural sugars and humectant properties of liquid honey in a low-mess, easy-to-measure form, enhancing the benefits of handcrafted soaps.

Lemon Juice (Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Juice) contains natural fruit acids (primarily citric acid) and is often used in cosmetic formulations for pH balancing and refreshing properties, making it a key natural ingredient in skin care rituals.

Lemon Peel Powder (Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Powder) is derived from the dried outer rind of the lemon fruit. It offers natural aromatic compounds and mild fruit acids, making it a popular botanical additive in bath and body formulations that celebrate handcrafted soaps.

Pine Tar (Pinus spp. Tar) is known for its purifying, soothing, and scalp-supportive qualities. It lends a distinctive smoky, woodsy aroma and dark brown color to products, particularly in handcrafted soaps for problem skin and scalp treatments.

Tussah Silk (Silk Fibers) serves as a film-forming, slip-enhancing, and skin-conditioning additive, contributing a smooth glide, soft after-feel, and subtle sheen in finished products that are part of skin care rituals.

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water) functions as a natural astringent, toner, and skin-soothing ingredient. It refines the appearance of pores, balances excess oil, and refreshes the skin, providing a light, clean feel in handcrafted soaps.

Wine (Saccharomyces Ferment) acts as a botanical liquid additive and label-enhancing ingredient, contributing mild fruit acid content, natural sugars, and antioxidant properties, although many benefits may diminish in high heat or high pH systems.

Many of our handcrafted soaps are intentionally fragrance free. When we do choose to scent a formula, we work with both essential oils and high-quality fragrance oils, depending on the mood, story, and complexity the product calls for. Each item is clearly labeled as fragrance free, essential oil scented, or fragrance oil scented, so you always know exactly what you’re choosing.

Essential Oils

In many of our core bars, we use essential oils to create a more natural, understated light aromatic profile—lavenders that feel soft and familiar, citruses that feel bright but not sharp, and herbs that lift without overwhelming. These natural ingredients are chosen for their mood and atmosphere rather than sheer intensity, enhancing your skin care rituals.

Fragrance Oils

In certain collections—such as our Lu(e)men boxes, collaborative pieces, and some Heritage scents—we use carefully selected fragrance oils. These allow us to build more complex, layered scent stories (think barbershop rituals, shadowed evenings, coastal air) that aren’t always possible using essential oils alone. Whenever a product is made with fragrance oil rather than essential oil, it’s clearly labeled on the ingredient list.

Some of our handcrafted soaps, particularly our clear and honeyed glycerin bars, utilize a few extra natural ingredients to keep the bars smooth, stable, and beautiful in real-world applications. These ingredients are used thoughtfully and at low levels, always with purpose.  

**BTMS 50**  (Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetyl Alcohol (and) Butylene Glycol)  

Is a conditioning emulsifier composed of Behentrimonium Methosulfate (a quaternary conditioning agent) and Cetearyl Alcohol (a fatty alcohol). The '50' indicates it contains approximately 50% active conditioning ingredients.  

**Cetyl Alcohol**  

Functions as a thickener, co-emulsifier, stabilizer, and emollient. It improves texture, adds slip, enhances creaminess, and gives products a rich, velvety skin feel, making it ideal for skin care rituals.  

**Cocamidopropyl Betaine**  

CAPB functions as a secondary surfactant, foam booster, and mildness enhancer. It helps increase lather, stabilize bubbles, reduce irritation from stronger surfactants, and improve overall skin feel.  

**Phenoxyethanol**  

A widely used, globally approved preservative for cosmetic and personal care products. It is a clear, slightly viscous liquid effective against a broad range of bacteria.  

**Polysorbate 80**  

Functions as a solubilizer, emulsifier, and dispersing agent. It helps incorporate fragrance oils, essential oils, and other oil-soluble ingredients into water-based products, improving clarity and stability.  

**Potassium Bitartrate**  

A naturally derived acid salt commonly used in food and cosmetic applications. In personal care products, it is valued for its pH adjusting and stabilizing properties.  

**Potassium Hydroxide**  

Functions as a saponifying agent, reacting with oils and butters to create potassium soap. Potassium-based soaps are softer and more soluble than sodium-based soaps, making them ideal for liquid and cream soap formulations.  

**Potassium Sorbate**  

A water-soluble preservative salt derived from sorbic acid, commonly used in cosmetic and personal care products to help protect against mold and yeast growth.  

**Propylene Glycol & Sorbitol**  

Together, they function as humectants, solvents, and texture enhancers. They help attract moisture to the skin, improve glide, prevent drying, and enhance clarity and smoothness in various cosmetic systems.  

**Sodium Benzoate**  

Functions as a preservative, helping inhibit the growth of bacteria, yeast, and mold in water-containing products.  

**SLSA**  

A mild, sulfate-free powdered surfactant derived from coconut and palm oils. It is commonly used in bath and body formulations to create rich, bubbly lather.  

**Tetrasodium EDTA**  

Used in very small amounts in some formulas to help soaps perform more consistently in hard water—keeping bars smoother and helping lather rinse away cleanly.  

**Sodium Hydroxide**  

Commonly called lye, is a highly alkaline compound used in soap making. It is essential for the saponification process that turns oils and butters into solid soap.  

**Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)**  

A naturally occurring mineral pigment used in cosmetics for whitening and opacity. It is available in pigment grade (for color) and coated/non-nano versions for specific formulation needs.  

**Vegetable Glycerin**  

A clear, odorless, plant-derived humectant typically sourced from coconut, soy, or palm oils. It is one of the most widely used moisturizing ingredients in skincare and soap making, enhancing the overall effectiveness of our handcrafted soaps.  

**Vitamin E**  

An antioxidant and skin conditioning ingredient that helps slow the oxidation of oils (extending shelf life) and supports skin softness and smoothness in leave-on products.

Every bar and balm, crafted with natural ingredients, is made in small batches in our studio. This means you might notice slight differences in color, swirl, or botanical placement. There may also be small variations in exact weight or cut. We see these nuances as part of each handcrafted soap’s character, enhancing your skin care rituals.