Earth Drops©: Frequently Asked Questions

A question that I've been asked so many times over the 22+ years. Simple answer, No. We use cows milk in the ones that we do use milk in. There is NO difference in the quality that the milk brings to the soap. We use only pure essentials in our soaps, that's what I want you to smell, not the pungent odor of a goat.

Our soaps will last approximately the same as other soaps, of course, if your soap dish drains well than it will last much longer than if you leave it lay in moisture.

Our soaps are all a little different, all are moisturizing, some more than others with the exception of our Chamomile Smile, which was developed for my daughters troubled teen type skin, this is the only one that is more for normal to oily skin.

All 'PURE SOAP' is produced with either sodium hydroxide (lye) or potassium hydroxide. These are the alkali that when combined with an acid, in our case pure vegetable oils, produces a salt, which we know as soap. The sodium hydroxide is totally consumed by the oils so the end result contains no lye. Other chemicals used to produce latter are detergents.

Pennyroyal, rosemary, lavender, and basil in this order, are pretty common as natural insect repellents. Wormwood is another herb that has enjoyed this reputation for warding off unwanted pests. A word of caution though, if you decide to experiment with pennyroyal in or around your home, on yourself or your pets. Dried or powered forms of this herb can be used safely against insects such as mosquitoes and fleas with pretty good results. However, pennyroyal in the 100% pure essential oil is very potentate. When used in the pure form can induce menstruation and may cause miscarriages unless 'well-diluted'. I love the qualities of this herb and would not do with out it in my home, especially in the summer time. But I use only the dried herbal form. Read up on this herb before you decide to experiment with it. In the mean time rosemary, citronella, lemongrass, and eucalyptus are some other good herbs to experiment with as insect repellents.

No, milk and honey are the only animal products that we use in any of our soaps, we do not use lard or tallow. In my grandmother and great-grandmother's time that's all they had to work with. But today there are many very good supplies of high quality vegetable oils to choose from.

Glycerin is a natural by-product of the soap making process. When the alkali, and the acids combine the chemical reaction releases the natural glycerin molecules contained in the vegetable oils. Our soaps are produced by the cold press method so all of the natural glycerin remains in the bars.

Vanilla being one of my personal favorites, I wish we could add this scent to our line-up. But the essential oils of vanilla are one of the most expensive, its cost being right along side that of pure essential oil of jasmine. We refuse to use less expensive man made fragrance oils in our soaps, so I am sorry to say no.

Only natural ingredients are used to produce our soaps, we do not use artificial colorants or additives.

All of our soaps produce lots of rich creamy lather.

No. Only pure vegetable oils are used in our soaps. Lanolin is a by-product of the wool industry and we do not use animal products other than milk and honey in any of our soaps.

What most people want from liquid soap is a totally clear or brightly colored see through liquid that will not dry out, not clog up the pump of the soap dispenser, and stay exactly the same consistency until it is used up. To fill these high expectations various chemicals, long hours of 'cooking', and a large quantity of water must be added to the soap. We are committed to producing the highest quality in our all-natural herbal soaps so we do not add chemicals or large amounts of water to make them liquid. But there are ways to make a healthy liquid soap from your favorite soap bars at home if 'see through' isn't that important, and also once in awhile you may have to clean out the pump of your soap dispenser. Request the free recipe e-mail to find out how along with a few other recipes for easy to make at home natural products.

These soaps are all-natural and contain no artificial preservatives. The shelf life varies between the different kinds of soap, but at least one year with most exceeding this. As I answer this question here, a bar of soap that was produced three years ago is in my shower and it is still as lovely as it was when it had finished curing. We recommend FIFO, first in first out, because fresh is best.