I feel extremely passionate, proud and emotional about this facial soap! As much as I hated having acne in the past, I learnt enough from the experience to be able to finally (after seven attempts!) create the bar of facial soap that answers all the questions that acne-prone skin poses. Although the underlying cause(s) of breakouts vary from person to person, it’s been scientifically proven that people with acne have low levels of linoleic fatty acid in the outer layer of their skin. Whether it’s a correlation or causation of the inflammation of the follicle that is characteristic of acne, it makes sense to use a product that would encourage the skin to gradually shift towards a healthier lipid profile. Please bear with me as I continue to explain my rationale: a lot of lovely nourishing oils traditionally used in soap-making tend to be higher in oleic acid compared to linoleic, whereas those higher in linoleic acid are very tricky to incorporate into the soap recipe, either due to their properties or an extortionately high price tag!
As a mad scientist and soap-maker, I bent and eventually broke all rules that were preventing me from reaching my goal. I managed to create the soap with a unique fatty acid profile that represents every single fatty acid in beautiful ratios and, you guessed it, has the perfect balance of oleic and linoleic :) To cut a long story short, I made the crucial decision to invest into the super-precious rosehip oil (feel free to Google it ;) ), and made the final changes (at 5 am, the Magic hour indeed!) to what I already considered the ultimate recipe; I incorporated more of the non-comedogenic (it doesn’t block skin pores) unrefined shea butter that is wonderfully moisturising and is rich in antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Every single ingredient that went into making this soap has been included for a reason. Grapeseed oil is anti-inflammatory and astringent (therefore helping to tighten the pores); safflower oil is highly conditioning and moisturising; hemp oil oxygenates and hydrates skin, boosts its UV defence, enhances skin elasticity and radiance; rose hip oil is simply the Queen of oils with its anti-aging, photo-aging protection and skin regeneration properties – no wonder celebrities swear by it! Organic charcoal powder is a natural miracle worker for de-toxifying your skin as it pulls the dirt, toxins and unwanted excess oils out of your pores making them less visible; provides gentle exfoliation; soothes skin irritations and speeds up healing. And finally, you couldn’t have asked for a more effective essential oil blend to say good-bye to acne: lavender, tea tree, Juniper berry and clary sage have been ranked as the absolute best for combatting spots due to their profound antimicrobial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant characteristics.
Not only does the Yin-yang bar smell fresh, clean and stimulating, look pretty and symbolic; it’s the facial bar I couldn’t recommend highly enough for any teen or adult who wants to have a blemish-free, radiant complexion!
Average weight: 71g
Ingredients:
Organic extra virgin olive oil, organic extra virgin coconut oil, unrefined organic shea butter, organic grapeseed oil, organic safflower oil, organic virgin hemp oil, organic castor oil, organic rosehip seed oil, organic charcoal powder (100% natural coconut carbon pure powder), lye, lavender, tea tree, Juniper berry and clary sage essential oils.