Pure. Simple. Lard soap.
Lard soap bars are long-lasting, have a gentle cleansing action, and a soft creamy lather. Their gentle and natural qualities are well suited for all skin types including both sensitive, oily, and dry skin.
We use the old-fashioned, cold process lard soap method. All soaps are made right here on our farm in small batches. Each of our soaps is based on three pure and simple ingredients: lard, filtered water, and lye. All of our lard is produced and rendered on our farm from our very own ethically raised and pastured grazed Kunekune pigs.
We offer two varieties of soap on our farm, a simple but luxurious 100% Pure Lard Soap and a variety of seasonal soaping creations based on our Heritage Hill Farm Signature Soap recipe.
Lard is gentle and moisturizing because its fatty acid profile is the most similar to the sebum produced in our skin. It is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins A, D, and E. Lard-based soaps gently cleanse, moisturize, and produce a creamy, silky lather.
In addition to all the amazing properties of our pure lard soaps, our Heritage Hill Farm Signature Soaps also include coconut oil and castor oil, as well as fragrance and colours to finetune the “character” of each batch of soap. Coconut oil is rich in antioxidants and increases the cleansing power of the soap to tackle greasy and grubby hands. Castor oil then imparts our soap with properties that create a familiar bubbly lather. All fragrances are phthalate-free and all colours are ethically sourced. Natural enhancements like lavender flowers are grown right here on our farm.
Our Soaps
Pure Lard Soap
Our 100% lard soap bars are a farm staple. Our daughter is sensitive to ingredients in regular moisturizers and this bar keeps her hands from drying because of frequent handwashings.
If you are new to lard soap, you are in for a treat! The first thing you may notice is that 100% lard soap won’t create a frothy, bubbly lather like other soaps. That is okay! It isn’t supposed to. Instead, the bar pampers your skin with a creamy, silky lather.
This is the soap you want to reach for to gently cleanse, moisturize, and soften your hands.
Heritage Hill Farm Signature Soaps
Peppermint Lard Soap
This lovely lard soap is delicately scented with peppermint and dressed up with a touch of coconut and castor oil to enhance the cleansing power and lather of the bars.
Pricing
$10 a bar or $25 for 3 bars
Incoming Soap
It takes time to make great soap! Stay tuned for updates as more cured soaps become ready. We try to keep some year-round staples on hand as well as some limited seasonal releases.
New to Natural Soap?
Customers that have always used commercial detergents, washes, and bars sometimes wonder what makes cold-processed, small-batch soaps different.
To start, defining what soap is also helpful. Soaps are made from natural oils (like lard, coconut and castor oil). Soap undergoes a process called “Saponification” that transforms triglycerides from oils (i.e. Lard) with a strong base (i.e. Lye) to form salt made from fatty acids (aka, Soap). The composition of the oils used determines the hardness, aroma, cleansing, lather, and moisturizing abilities of soaps. For those keeners out there that love data, you can scroll to the end for a breakdown of the fatty acid profiles of the lard and oils we use.
Bars from large-scale commercial companies are often not soaps but detergents. Detergents are synthetic, man-made, petroleum-based derivatives. They are more accurately labelled as a “body bar,” “beauty bar,” or “body wash” instead of as a “soap”.
If you have only ever used commercially produced detergents and want to switch to real, natural soap, all we can say is, “Give it three weeks and your skin will thank you!”
The difference is as much as what is in our bars as what isn’t.
Unlike commercial bars (which you will notice float if you drop them in the tub) we do not add air to our bars to bulk them up. In addition, the qualities of lard (primarily the palmitic and steric fatty-acid content) create a hard and long-lasting bar. At the end of the day, you will find that handmade lard or lard-based bar lasts way longer than a commercial due to density and composition.
Let’s also talk about man-made petroleum derivatives. As wonderful as the properties are in the oils and ingredients we use in our bars, part of what makes them such a treat for your skin is simply that they aren’t full of fillers, stabilizers, and chemicals that make other products commercially viable but unfortunately not ideal for skincare. They may serve the purpose of cleaning but as the term detergent indicates, it is a harsh experience for the skin getting cleaned, leading to the need to purchase additional products to replenish what the detergent strips away.
We prefer natural soaps because they gently cleanse and nourish, rather than deplete our skin.
Fatty Acid Profiles of Our Soaps
Know your soaps! One of the amazing features of handmade soap is that you get complete control over the exact qualities of the soap simply by experimenting with the composition of natural oils used to create it.
The fatty acid profile of our pure lard bars are:
- 46% oleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid that contributes to the conditioning/moisturizing levels, as well as silkiness of the lather;
- 28% palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid that contributes hardness and a stable creamy lather;
- 13% stearic acid, a saturated fatty acid that contributes hardness and a stable lather; and
- 1% myristic acid, a saturated fatty acid that contributes hardness, cleansing, and fluffy lather.
The fatty acid profile of our Heritage Hill Farm Signature bar are:
- 35% oleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid that contributes to the conditioning/moisturizing levels, as well as silkiness of the lather;
- 22% palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid that contributes hardness and a stable creamy lather;
- 10% stearic acid, a saturated fatty acid that contributes hardness and a stable lather;
- 10% lauric acid, a saturated fatty acid that contributes hardness, cleansing, and big fluffy lather;
- 7% ricinoleic acid, an unsaturated fatty acid that contributes to the conditioning/moisturizing levels, and the stability of lather;
- 5% myristic acid, a saturated fatty acid that contributes hardness, cleansing, and fluffy lather; and
- 5% linoleic acid, (an unsaturated fatty acid that contributes to the conditioning/moisturizing levels, as well as silkiness of the lather)
The changes to the fatty acid profile and properties are because of the addition of coconut and castor oil. They give these bars their signature properties and feel.