FAQs

• What is Bastille soap?  Bastille soap is made mostly of olive oil (no less than 70%) with addition of other oils, fats, and butters. Castile soap on the other hand is named after its origin of Castile region of Spain and has only olive oil. Castile soap is known for being moisturizing and gentle. Nox Soap Company will carry mostly Bastille soap. We have found Bastille soap allows us to include other nourishing ingredients such as Shea Butter, cleansing coconut oil and castor oil which promote luxurious and large bubbles.

• What is in our bar soaps? Our soaps contain vegan oils, fats and butters. We use iron oxide pigments or clay to add beautiful colors. Iron oxide pigments are naturally occurring minerals known to be safe, gentle and non-toxic on the surface of the skin. For scents, we use pure natural essential oils as well as phthalate free fragrance oils. Our essential and fragrance oils are sourced from responsible and high quality suppliers. While we prefer pure essential oils, there are limited scents. The fragrance oils we use have been highly tested, stable and skin safe. We find that some products such as lotion and body butters perform better with fragrance oils.

• Are your products natural and organic? Natural means something that comes from nature. Our products are made mostly of natural ingredients. Our soaps have a high content of vegan oils, clay or iron oxides for coloring and pure essential oils for scents. There are some ingredients that are synthetic that are needed to maintain the high quality of the product and prevent harm. An example is the use of Optiphen preservative to protect against mold and bacteria in our products that have water or can be exposed to water such as lotions, liquid soaps and sugar scrubs.

• Why does my soap melt so quickly? We do not use artificial hardeners in our soaps. Glycerin is a sweet thick colorless liquid that is a byproduct of soap making that attracts water. While glycerin is a great moisturizer for your skin because it attracts water from the air into your skin, it will melt your soap faster. To prevent melting, keep your soaps dry in between uses using a soap dish like the one we offer that helps make our soaps last longer. Another trick is cutting your full size bar in half to lessen exposure to water.

• Do we recycle?  We use recyclable boxes and use eco-conscious packaging materials like kraft paper and biodegradable packing paper and cardboard.  We use glass containers whenever possible.  We do use some plastic containers such as for scrubs for your safety in case of breakage.   Many of our product containers can be re-purposed after use.  Our bottles can be used as vases; our jars can be used to hold spices, office supplies and trinkets.  We will continue to work on our recycling efforts to minimize our carbon footprint.