If you have browsed our soap shelves, you may have wondered why some bars are called Handmade Soaps and others are called Organic Soaps.
The names can make the two ranges sound like opposites, but that is not quite the case. Both are made by hand in the Scottish Highlands. The main differences are the recipe, the soapmaking method, the size of the bar and what happens after the soap is poured.
Our 190g Handmade Soaps are made using the traditional cold-process method. Our 150g Organic Soaps are glycerine-based bars made using a melt-and-pour process.
Here is how the two ranges compare.
Handmade and organic soap at a glance
| Handmade Soap range | Organic Soap range | |
|---|---|---|
| Bar size | 190g | 150g |
| Soapmaking method | Traditional cold process | Melt and pour |
| Main base | A blend of seven vegetable oils, including shea butter and cocoa butter | Organic glycerine with botanicals and essential oils |
| Batch format | Made as one 25kg block | Poured into an 8kg mould |
| After moulding | Cooled, cut into bars and left to cure | Cooled, set, cut into bars and wrapped |
| Finished appearance | Varies by recipe, with different plant extracts, oils and botanicals used across the range | Typically translucent, with clear, bright colours |
| Where it is made | The Scottish Highlands | The Scottish Highlands |
The table reflects the two production methods currently described by Highland Soap Co.
How our Handmade Soap range is made
Our Handmade Soaps are made using the traditional cold-process method, one 25kg block at a time.
We begin with a blend of seven vegetable oils, including shea butter and cocoa butter. These are combined with a sodium hydroxide solution, often called lye, to begin a reaction known as saponification.
Despite the name, cold-process soap does not remain cold. The mixture heats naturally as the oils and lye react and become soap.
Once the block has cooled and firmed up, it is cut into individual bars using a hinged wire cutter. The bars are then left to cure before being checked, wrapped and placed on the shelves.
It is a slow, hands-on process. People are directly involved throughout, from mixing and pouring to cutting, curing and wrapping the finished bars. The method has been used by soapmakers for generations and remains at the heart of how we make our 190g bars in the Highlands.
How our Organic Soap range is made
Our Organic Soaps follow a different process.
Organic glycerine is gently melted together with botanicals and essential oils, according to the recipe. The liquid soap is then poured hot into a large 8kg mould and left to cool and set.
Once firm, the block is removed and cut by hand into individual bars using a wire cutter. Each 150g bar is then checked and wrapped by hand.
Because the soap base has already been made, these bars do not need the same curing stage as our cold-process soaps. The full process can be completed much more quickly.
The result is a translucent glycerine-based bar, often with bright colours and visible botanical ingredients. The individual formulas vary, with ingredients such as seaweed, Scottish oats, heather, essential oils and plant extracts used across the range.
Are Highland Soap Co Organic Soaps also handmade?
Yes.
Our Organic Soaps are melted, blended, poured, cut, checked and wrapped by hand in the Scottish Highlands.
“Handmade Soap” and “Organic Soap” are the names we use for two different product ranges. They are not intended to suggest that one is handmade and the other is not.
A clearer way to describe the distinction is:
- Our Handmade Soap range consists of 190g cold-process bars.
- Our Organic Soap range consists of 150g melt-and-pour glycerine bars.
Both involve hands-on making. They simply begin with different bases and follow different production methods.
Are the Handmade Soaps organic?
The Handmade Soap range is defined by its cold-process method, rather than by every ingredient being organic.
Individual bars may contain ingredients that are organically produced. For example, product ingredient lists can identify organically produced shea butter, cocoa butter, palm kernel oil, botanical extracts or essential oils.
The exact ingredients vary from bar to bar, so it is worth checking the individual product page rather than assuming that every soap within a range has the same formula.
Which soap range should you choose?
Neither range is automatically the right choice for everyone. The best place to start is with the kind of bar, fragrance and ingredients you prefer.
Choose a Handmade Soap if you prefer
- A larger 190g bar
- A traditional cold-process soap
- A bar made from a blend of vegetable oils and butters
- A slower soapmaking process that includes curing
- The solid look and feel of a traditional cold-process bar
The Handmade range includes fresh, floral, herbal, woody and warming fragrances, as well as more specialised bars such as Gardener’s Remedy Hand Soap.
Choose an Organic Soap if you prefer
- A slightly smaller 150g bar
- A glycerine-based soap
- A translucent bar with clear, bright colours
- A bar that lathers quickly
- Fragrances such as Peppermint, Scottish Heather or Juniper Berry that are available within the Organic range
Both collections include several familiar Highland Soap Co fragrances, so you may also be able to choose the same scent in either format.
The same fragrance can feel quite different
Hebridean Seaweed is a useful example.
The 190g Handmade Hebridean Seaweed Soap is a cold-process bar made with saponified vegetable oils, shea butter and cocoa butter. It contains seaweed, nettle, peppermint oil and lavender oil.
The 150g Organic Hebridean Seaweed Soap is glycerine-based, with glycerine derived from organic vegetable oils. It also contains seaweed, peppermint oil and lavender oil, but the underlying formula and method are different.
The two bars therefore share a fragrance and several key ingredients, while still offering a different type of soap.
This applies elsewhere in the ranges too. Highland Lavender, Wild Gorse & Vanilla, Whisky & Honey and Sweet Orange & Cinnamon are among the fragrances available in both formats.
Which range is better for sensitive skin?
The range name alone cannot tell you whether a soap will suit your skin.
Fragrance, essential oils, botanicals and individual allergens all vary between products. Natural ingredients can still cause a reaction in someone who is sensitive or allergic to them.
Check the full ingredient list on the individual product page, particularly if you already know that certain essential oils, fragrances or botanicals do not suit you.
Anyone with a diagnosed skin condition or a history of significant reactions should follow the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.
Are both ranges vegan?
Most Highland Soap Co products are suitable for vegans, but some soaps contain honey.
Whisky & Honey and other honey-based recipes should not be described as vegan. Check the ingredients and product information for the individual bar before buying.
Which type of soap contains glycerine?
The Organic Soap range is specifically glycerine-based, with glycerine derived from organic vegetable oils listed prominently in its formulas.
Glycerine is also formed naturally during traditional soapmaking. However, the Handmade range begins with oils and lye and creates soap through saponification, while the Organic range begins with a prepared glycerine-based soap formula that is melted and blended with the ingredients for each recipe.
Does one range last longer than the other?
Our Handmade Soaps are larger at 190g, compared with 150g for the Organic range, but bar size is not the only factor.
How often you use the soap and how you store it will make a substantial difference. A bar left sitting in water will soften and disappear much faster than one allowed to drain and dry properly.
Whichever range you choose, keep the soap away from the direct stream of the shower or tap and use a slatted or well-drained soap dish.
Read our guide to making your soap last longer
So, which should you choose?
Choose the Handmade Soap range for a larger, traditional cold-process bar made from a blend of vegetable oils and butters.
Choose the Organic Soap range for a smaller, glycerine-based bar with a translucent appearance and a different selection of fragrances and botanical ingredients.
You may find that you prefer one method, or that your choice changes depending on the scent. Both ranges are made by hand in the Scottish Highlands and both give you a wide choice of ingredients, fragrances and finishes.
The most useful comparison is not simply handmade against organic. It is one type of handmade soap against another.
Common questions
What is cold-process soap?
Cold-process soap is made by combining oils with a sodium hydroxide solution. These ingredients react through saponification to form soap. The mixture is poured into a mould, cut into bars and left to cure before use.
What is melt-and-pour soap?
Melt-and-pour soap begins with a prepared soap base. The base is melted, combined with ingredients such as essential oils and botanicals, poured into a mould and allowed to set before being cut.
Does cold-process mean the soap stays cold?
No. The mixture heats naturally as saponification takes place. “Cold process” means that the soap is not cooked using the prolonged external heat associated with other soapmaking methods.
Do Organic Soaps need to cure?
They do not need the same curing stage as cold-process soaps. Once the glycerine-based soap has cooled, set and been cut, it can be checked and wrapped.
Is organic soap always handmade?
Not necessarily. “Organic” relates to the ingredients and standards applied to them, while “handmade” describes how a product is made. Highland Soap Co’s Organic Soap range is made and finished by hand.
Is Handmade Soap always organic?
No. Handmade describes the process, not the certification or origin of every ingredient. Always check the individual product information.