Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL

Who is The Highland Soap Company?

The Highland Soap Co. Ltd. create bath, body and home fragrance products that are all designed, formulated and produced in the West Highlands of Scotland. Emma Parton, our founder, started our company in her home in the 1990s after finding it hard to buy organic skincare products that were nicely packaged and felt good to use. Emma continues to make our products and encourages a culture of sustainability and environmental concern among our team. We remain a small, family-owned company that pays above the Living Wage, uses sustainable ingredients and packaging, and puts the environment first.

Our registered address is:

The Highland Soap Company Visitor Centre & Larder Café
Inverlochy Mains
Old Inverlochy Castle
North Rd
Fort William
United Kingdom
PH33 6TQ

Registered in Scotland No. SC305568. VAT No: GB 895 4817 65

Where are you based and can I visit?

We are delighted to be able to share our new home with you. We recently opened The Highland Soap Company Visitor Centre & Larder Café in Fort William, set in 6 acres of grounds between the River Lochy and the 13th Century Old Inverlochy Castle, and with views over Ben Nevis. It is where we make all of our products and is open for factory tours, soap-making classes and delicious home-cooked food, coffees and cakes.

Find Out More About Visiting Us Here

WHOLESALE

Can I become a Retail stockist?

We supply our range to some lovely gift shops, farm shops, health shops and museums here in the UK but also in France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada and the USA. Please register here and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Can we stock your products in our hotel?

We offer our organic and sustainably packaged amenities to some of the smartest hotels, hospitality businesses and restaurants in the UK. We are competitively priced, and provide full-sized bottles, 5L & 20L refills and Scottish-made wall brackets. Please register at here and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

ORDERING ONLINE

How will I know that my order has been successfully received?

After you’ve placed your order, you will receive a confirmation email to let you know that we’ve successfully received your order and when it has been dispatched a second email with a tracking number. You are also able to view all of your relevant order information by logging into My Account, where you can view your order’s progress. We are finding that it is taking 3-4 days to dispatch orders, so we thank you for your patience. 

Can I order over the phone?

We are a small team and do not have a card machine in the office. If you are unable to use our website to order with a bank card, we can receive payment by cheque or Paypal though this will take several days to receive. The fastest way to order is via our website.

I’m ordering a gift for someone, is there an option of a gift message with my order?

To make your gift that extra bit special, there is an option for you to add a personal Gift Message at no extra cost and you can do this at the Shipping Options stage as you proceed through the checkout. We hand write these in a little gift card with a fountain pen – so please keep them to a couple of sentences. If you choose this option we will not include any prices in the parcel.

How do your gift vouchers work?

We have two types of gift voucher. Our Online vouchers and our in store vouchers. Our online vouchers can only be used to buy products on our website and our in-store vouchers can only be used in our stores. They cannot be used in our Larder Cafe in Fort William.

MY ACCOUNT

Do I need to set up an account to place an order?

You can proceed to place your order and Checkout as a Guest, however by creating an account, you’ll receive a number of added benefits. Scroll down to read more.

How do I create an account?

Creating an account is really easy to do. Simply follow the steps below. Step 1: Click ‘Create an account’ which appears at the top right hand side of the website Step 2: Enter your details and then click the ‘Create an account’ button at the bottom of the form

My log in details aren’t working. What do I do?

Simply click here and re-enter your email address. Once you’ve done this, you’ll receive an email direct to the address you entered with a link to reset your password. Please note that if you’re a returning customer from our old website and want to continue as a registered customer of highlandsoaps.com, we would like to invite you to create a new account, as your old password will no longer work on this site. Create a new account here.

Will I receive any benefits if I create a Highland Soap account?

As a member of our community, we’ll make sure that you’re the first to hear about exclusive product offers, new range launches and occasional emails about how we make our products or choose ingredients. You’ll also be able to keep track of your order information, manage your account details, join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community by rating and reviewing products.

I’ve forgotten my username or password – what do I do?

Simply click here and re-enter your email address. Once you’ve done this, you’ll receive an email direct to the address you entered with a link to reset your password.

Is my personal information safe?

Yes, we take your security very seriously. We do not store bank details on our server and Shopify, the well-known international ecommerce platform, manage all payments for us. Before making any purchase or providing us with any details, you will be asked to read all the 'small print'. You can read this now on our Privacy page here.

OUR PRODUCTS

What kind of ingredients do you use?

We believe we are the most sustainable and transparent maker of soap and skincare products in Scotland. We wild-harvest kelp for our Hebridean Seaweed range and distil our own wild-harvested bog myrtle essential oils, the only company in the UK to do so. We use organic or natural ingredients in all of our products, including our ongoing commitment to using RSPO organic vegetable oils, which we believe to be better for your skin and the environment.

We have strict due diligence processes in place regarding all our supplies and ingredients, auditing their approaches to animal welfare, child labour, Fair Trade avenues, etc. We only work with partners we trust.

Why do you use essential oils?

Essential oils are basically plant extracts. They're made by steaming or pressing various parts of a plant (flowers, bark, leaves or fruit) to capture the compounds that produce fragrance. It can take several pounds of a plant to produce a single bottle of essential oil. In addition to creating scent, essential oils perform other functions in plants, too. Lavender is used for its calming effects and inducing sleep while bog myrtle is known for its treatment of skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis, as well as anti-ageing.

Do your products contain parabens or SLS?

No. Our products are free from artificial synthetic surfactants (foaming ingredients), such as SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) or SLES, and our creams and lotions contain no paraben preservatives. They are bad for your skin, drying it out, and damage aquatic environments. We prefer to use organic and natural solutions instead.

Are your products Vegan?

Most are, with the exception of our Organic Creams and Organic Lip Balms, all of which of which contain beeswax. Two soaps also contain honey, Scottish Raspberry Cranachan Handmade Soap and our Honey & Oats Handmade Soap. Apart from that, all of our other soaps, hand washes, shower products, candles, diffusers etc are vegan, including our Whisky & Honey range. We would never test on animals and all are suitable for use by vegetarians.

Do you use microbeads in your products?

We do not use plastic microbeads as scrub agents in any of our products, preferring to use natural exfoliants such as Hebridean seaweed, organic oats, raspberry leaf and other compostable botanicals.

OUR PACKAGING

Is your packaging sustainable?

We have made a lot of progress in reducing our plastic consumption. We have removed all plastic from our Handmade Soap 190g range. Our 120ml organic cream jars are made with recycled glass. We have started using post-consumer recycled, and recyclable, plastic in our hand wash, lotion and shower products with 1L glass hand wash refill bottles. 5L refills are available on request by email for all products for £100, inc shipping. We have Zero Waste stations in our shops where you can refill your bottles and buy unwrapped soaps, shampoo bars and bath bombs. Our 250ml shampoo, body wash and conditioners are made from sugarcane rather than traditional plastic.

What is the loose fill in my parcel made from?

The boxes we deliver orders in are sustainably sourced and recycled and the white 'popcorn' stuffing used to protect the products in transit are also completely home-compostable, even if it does look like polystyrene. Just take a handful and hold them underneath a tap and watch this maize husk-derived packaging dissolve in your hand.

RETURNS

We hope to make shopping online at The Highland Soap Company simple and painless. Please check out our returns policy here.