+ What are the Benefits of Natural Soap?

You may have read a bit about this already on our social media or in the journal, but we love natural soap bars for the simple fact that they are able to clean our skin whilst also nourishing it with skin loving oils, butters and clays. Through the super fatting process, there are excess oils left in our soap that work alongside the natural glycerine to help moisturise, smooth and feed your skin. You can read a bit more about why we love natural soaps here

+ Can Hand Made Soap Go Bad?

As long as you store your soap properly, away from moisture and direct sunlight, your soap will only get stronger the longer you keep it, although the essential oil smell may diminish. Once you have begun to use your soap, just remember to keep it on a well draining surface or soap dish, or else it can develop a squishy outer layer. If this happens, you can still continue to use your soap as normal (it works just the same) but it will feel a lot softer and won’t retain its shape in the same way

+ How Long Does Natural Soap Last?

Before your natural soap has been used you can keep it on the shelf for many years and it will still work perfectly as soap. Our handmade soaps have a best before date of 6 months after they are opened, but this is simply so they fall inline with U.K skincare guidelines.

Once used we find that a bar of soap typically lasts between 2 - 4 months, depending on how many people and how often you are using it.

+ Why Does Natural Soap 'Sweat'?

Natural Soaps typically retain their natural glycerine, at least ours do. Glycerine naturally occurs during the soap making process, and in commercial soaps it is often extracted for use in commercial skin care products. This is because glycerine is nature's humectant, it attracts moisture and helps to lock it into the skin, boosting hydration and moisture. What this means is that your natural soap bar is attracting and holding onto as much water as it can, whether that’s in the air or the water left on your bathroom sink - this is why we always suggest letting your soap thoroughly dry out between uses and keep it away from humidity to help it last longer

+ Why Is Handmade Soap So Expensive?

At Wild Sage + Co we pay all of our staff well above the real Living Wage. We don’t use machines to make or label our products and everything is shipped in recycled or biodegradable packaging. We use only natural ingredients and don’t cut corners when it comes to making our skin care. All of these things cost money, but it means that we don’t end up costing the planet.

+ Is Natural Soap Safe to Use Daily?

You can learn all about the PH of natural soap and why it is safe to use in our recent blog here

+ How Should I Store my Natural Skin Care?

We always suggest storing your natural skincare away from direct sunlight and at no more than room temperature. Natural balms can melt at high temperatures and so it is always wise to be careful when taking them out of the house during the summer months.

+ Why Has My Balm Gone Lumpy?

Balms that contain Shea Butter can sometimes turn lumpy if they are stored in unstable temperatures. If the balm melts and hardens again this can cause small bumps to form in the balm. There is nothing technically wrong with it and you can continue to use it, it’s just that the texture is slightly different and you may need to take a little extra time massaging it into the skin or rubbing it between your fingers before applying

+ How do I use Natural Skin Care?

Our products contain no preservatives, and so while you can use our skin care in much the same way as you use your normal skin care, we always suggest using clean hands, a spoon or wooden stick to remove the balms from their pots to apply to skin. This prevents any dirt or bacteria getting inside and potentially spoiling your lovely natural skincare product

+ Is Natural Skincare Better than Commercial Skincare?

Of course at Wild Sage we believe that natural is better, however we are aware that handmade natural skincare can only go so far, and that there are some skin conditions or concerns that natural products simply cannot solve alone. I’m in the process of writing a blog about this and will be sharing it with all of you soon

+ Are your products cruelty free?

We happily test our products on ourselves, family + friends, so all of our products are Cruelty Free and always will be

+ Are your products Organic?

Where possible our products contain Organic ingredients and when they do it will be shown on the ingredients list or product information page.

Always check our product information pages for our most up to date information on Organic Ingredients

+ Do you use Sodium Hydroxide, Lye, Caustic Soda?

Sodium Hydroxide, otherwise known as Lye or Caustic Soda, is an essential component to soap making. When we make soap, the oils we use react with the caustic soda in a process called saponification. This process changes, for example, Olive oil, into Sodium Olivate, which is a harmless substance otherwise known as Olive oil soap! This means that there isn’t any caustic soda left in your finished bar of soap.

+ Why is my product a slightly different colour than last time?

All of our products are made using natural ingredients. This means that the colours can change from batch to batch, just as ingredients found in nature are not entirely uniform. Our rosehip seed oil, for example, can range from being a deep orange to a light pink, just as the rosehips themselves vary.

We try to keep our products as uniform as possible, however if you are unsatisfied with the way your item looks them please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us about it

+ Where is my parcel?

If your parcel is late or has not arrived please email Julie@wild-sage.co.uk with your order number so we can check the Royal Mail tracking

+ Do you have a refill service?

We don’t currently have the space to provide a refill service, as our premises are still limited at the moment. For this reason we suggest recycling or upcycling them.

+ Can I try before I buy?

As we are such a small company we are not able to send out samples. However we do send out a small soap sample with each order, so you can try a different soap each time

+ Do you ship outside the EU?

While we are covered to ship outside the EU we have taken it off our list of possible delivery destinations as we encountered so many problems when items were crossing the boarder. Whether it was extortionate shipping fees, extra taxes as they crossed or simply parcels going missing.

For now we're including Ireland in our list of delivery destinations and hopefully this will increase as shipping to Europe becomes a smoother process