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 Back
in early 1999 a creative scientist stood armed with a scale, a bottle
of sodium hydroxide, copious notes with calculations and a pot full
of wonderful oils. Pouring over carefully formulated recipes and
weighing out every ingredient with the utmost care - my very first
batch of soap was made.
Frustrated with harsh soaps available on the commercial market,
I began making my own handmade soaps in small batches with ingredients
I could pronounce.
When my husband and I found our apartment filling up with bars
of soap, we gave away soaps to friends and family so that they might
reap the benefits of a gentle, natural bar of soap. When we found
ourselves unable to keep up with growing demand, we decided to turn
our clean hobby into a home-run business.
After brainstorming funky names for our soap line we decided to
keep it simple. At the time we lived in a gorgeous apartment in
an old home on High Street in Closter, NJ. Since our first batch
of soap was made here, we decided on High Street Soap as our name!
Our soaps are made with all-vegetable, food-grade oils using the
traditional cold process method. One of the things that makes handmade
soap special is that it retains its natural glycerin. Glycerin,
a by-product of the soapmaking process, is a humectant that aids
in keeping moisture next to your skin.
Commercial soap companies remove glycerin from their product in
order to sell it to various industries. Some soaps available on
the market today aren't even soap - they are synthetic detergent
bars.
We craft small batches of true soap with wholesome ingredients
and all the glycerin is left intact, ready to pamper your skin.
With a wide variety of scents and blends, we're sure you will find
a soap just right for you.
Of course just making soap wasn't enough for us. Soon we began
researching various recipes and formulations for lip balm, healing
salves, bath salts and bombs, lotions and much more. With the same
natural, fresh goals in mind, we now offer a wide array of natural
body care products.
Here at High Street Soap we strive to bring you the freshest,
finest products available. Our recipes embody many hours of
research and formulation. From the smallest bath salt to our ten-pound
batches of soap, every ingredient is carefully blended with the
health of your skin in mind.
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© 2010 High Street Soap
Oils
such as olive, sunflower, grapeseed and castor are common
in our recipes. We also add luxury butters like shea and cocoa
because they feel so yummy! 
When
the melted oils and butters reach the desired temperature
we carefully stir in the lye solution. Then we stir... stir...stir...
and yeah, you guessed it, stir some more! 
After
diligent stirring the raw soap reaches a stage called 'trace'.
At this point we add spectacular goodies like oatmeal,
poppy seeds, cucumber puree, essential oils or high quality
fragrance oils. 
Whimsy
rums amok during this part of the soap making stage and we're
constantly surprised as to what gets thrown in the pot! This
is a batch of our Chamomile-Bergamot soap to which we add
calendula petals.
After
the dust settles from our whimsy frenzy we pour the raw soap
into a wooden slab mold. While in the mold the soap will remain
warm and continue to saponify. After 12 hours or so we take
the soap out and cut it into bars to cure. Curing the soap
can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks depending on the soap!