Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any additional questions not covered on this page or else where on this website, please feel free to contact me directly.
Kevin@avenuesoap.com
What does The Avenue Soap Co. use to make their products?
The Avenue Soap Co. uses coconut, olive, palm, and almond oil in our soap. These are 100% all natural oils squeezed out of the fruits and nuts of trees. We also use other natural oils and butters such as coffee, cocoa, and shea.
Our soaps are colored with natural oxide pigments, clays, and micas.
The only thing that is not 100% natural are the fragrance oils used in some of our soaps. Some aromas and fragrances are not possible to extract from their sources, and so a synthetic version is used. These fragrance oils make up less than 2% of the soap.For specific details of a soap ingredients, please check the product page.
Why does The Avenue Soap Co. use palm oil in their soaps and where do they get it from?
Palm oil is used in soaps to create a better lather and a harder bar that lasts longer. Other products have been used for this purpose but they are not as effective, are not natural, or are even worse for the environment.
We only source palm oil from members of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil, also known as the RSPO.
The RSPO was founded in 2005 to create a system for certifying sustainably grown palm oil, and to create guidelines of membership for certified growers. These guidelines cover more than just environmental stewardship; members of the RSPO must report on and provide better working conditions, better wages, and foster local discussions and input on their impact on local and native land. These principles and criteria for members of the RSPO help ensure that the certified palm oil is produced under legal, socially and environmentally responsible management.
Why does the soap feel strange on my skin when I use it?
This is not unique to our soaps alone; any bar soaps you might use may have this same feeling. If you have hard water (water that is enriched in magnesium and calcium), you may be feeling the result of the insoluble salt that is formed between the fatty acid salt and these divalent metal cations, commonly referred to as soap scum. These residues are not harmful and often removed completely when toweling off.
If you would like, however, the residue can be removed with a dilute vinegar rinse (especially for shampoo bars). A few tablespoon (or less for drier hair) per cup of water applied monthly can help to dissolve these residues.
If a product is out of stock, when will it be back?
Please let us know if a soap you want is out of stock. Some soaps we will try to keep in stock by continuously making batches. Other soaps we will make less frequently unless you ask for it!
That said, our handcrafted soaps take about 6 weeks before they are ready. Most of that time is spent waiting for the soap to cure and dry. We will list our soaps for sale 2 weeks before they are ready to ship.