- About Herriot Cottage -
Ingredient Information
Each soap has a unique blend of ingredients, the specific ingredients for each soap are on the listing.
Olive Oil- the main ingredient to make soap gentle and non-stripping on skin, while also producing a rich and creamy lather
Coconut Oil- bubbles, bubbles, BUBBLES! Coconut is essential for a nice bubbly lather and is a great cleanser for skin.
Rice Bran Oil- rich in Vitamin E and antioxidants, this pantry staple is great for skin.
Cocoa Butter- a nourishing yet hard oil that helps make the soap longer lasting.
Sweet Almond Oil- packed with fatty acids this gentle oils is a lightweight moisturiser.
Shea Butter- super nourishing as around half of what’s added remains unsaponified (not turned into soap) so is absorbed into your skin as a moisturiser.
Castor Oil- another bubble builder for great lather.
Honey- honey is a natural humectant which helps the skin to retain moisture, as well as adding antioxidants and natural sugars that increase the beautiful lather
Goat Milk- rich in saturated fats to increase lather and unsaturated fats to moisturize and nourish skin, goat milk is a very popular ingredient in home made soap. Our goat milk is locally produced from Ardee Dairy Goats
Cow Milk- milks add minerals and vitamins to soap and make the lather super luxurious. We use local, full cream, raw cows milk from Farm Fresh South.
Coconut Milk- a vegan friendly alternative to other milks, coconut milk is still packed with vitamins for your skin, as well as creating a luxurious and fluffy lather.
Activated Charcoal- this superskin loving ingredient binds to oils and dirt detox pores and is particularly good for oily skin
Lye/Sodium Hydroxide- this is what soap was originally made of but in the form of wood ash from the fireplace. Now-days soap makers use the refined version which turns oils into their saponified version- soap! About 95% of the oils are turned into soap, leaving 5% to be absorbed into your skin which is how soap cleans but doesn't strip the goodness out.
The soap is cured for a minimum of four weeks and not tested on animals (just the children).
About Me
I started making soap in my kitchen as a hobby to learn over the winter. I wasn't prepared for how addictive soapmaking was going to be, there is so many techniques and ingredients that I could experiment with! People loved my soaps so I found some courage to sell at local markets and demand went CRAZY!
I run my passion project alongside my job as a paramedic, as well as raising my young product testers Alice and Harry. Behind the scenes putting up with the takeover of our storeroom is Malcolm, my delightful fiance.
All botanicals are found in my garden or locally foraged. I use local products where possible, for example Southland Honey from Miele Apiaries but I'm yet to find any coconut milk around here...
I love a challenge or custom order so if there's something you want me to put in soap, let me know!
Soapmaking has been a space where my creative, scientific and business mind can combine and bring a beautiful, nourishing product to the market for people to enjoy. I hope you enjoy my products as much as I do!
