Giving the soap time to transform allows it to concentrate into oil, making it a high-quality product with a much more comfortable effect on the skin.
Check that the terms SURGRAS and Saponifié à froid (cold-saponified) are written on your soap. If they aren't, chances are your soap has been baked for hours at high temperatures, and the active ingredients, even if organic or natural, are less effective. Or your soap may be a solid based on tensio-active ingredients found in shower gels for the body, which don't provide the comfort of oils.
The price of your cold-saponified superfatted solid soap is also a good indicator. Made in small batches with organic ingredients in France, surgras soap is generally more expensive, and can cost upwards of 10 euros per 40g if the ingredients are of the highest quality. But what a treat for the skin!
The lather is creamy and feelings of tightness disappear. Choose a cold-saponified, hypoallergenic, fragrance-free superfatted soap for baby or sensitive skin. For the face, choose a cleanser suited to your skin type and with a PH level close to that of facial skin.
Finally, as your soap is made from natural ingredients, it will be unique. It's not unusual to see small differences from one delivery to the next. This is due to nature, as a natural ingredient used cold and unprocessed can vary in color or smell from one production to another.
As with all soaps, your cold-saponified superfatted solid soap can be scented. Check that the fragrance is natural (it's usually indicated in the inci list), and choose soaps that are fragrance-free and allergen-free, with no risk to the skin.
Nourishing or exfoliating, your cold-saponified superfatted soap is a two- or three-in-one solution: it cleans the skin, exfoliates the body and softens the skin at the same time.
Other types of soap do not offer the same benefits. Heated soaps made from soap shavings or pellets. This is called hot saponification. Here, fatty substances are heated with soda, often in larger quantities. The soap paste heats up for several hours, then releases any excess potash or soda. Unfortunately, during this heating phase, a key ingredient for the skin also disappears: Glycerin. It's glycerin that gives cold-saponified surgras its soft feel.
Finally, there's another category of product that isn't a soap, but which is rather quickly referred to as solid soap. This is a surfactant-based solid product, which may or may not contain sulfates. It's more like a classic solid, but not at all like an artisanal soap. This solid product is also heated, and its glycerine content is not as high.