Frequently Asked Questions

What are your business hours?
Our Online Store operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, excepting from time to time when maintenance work is necessary. Our shipping and receiving hours are Monday to Friday from 10h00 to 17h00 Central European Time (Belgium).
In addition to our webstore open hours, we also open The Croft's Soap Kitchen every Wednesday from 4 - 7 pm. Come along and smell all our creations in person, and stay for a chat with our soap artisan!

Do you accept credit cards?
Using the PayPal secure payment system, you are able to use the following cards to safely make your purchases.

     
Please note that you DO NOT need a Paypal account in order to pay for an order using Paypal. You can also use a credit card such as Mastercard or Visa. During the checkout process please choose either the Credit Card or the Paypal option, you will then be given the choice to "sign-in" to your Paypal account OR type in your credit card information.

Can I pay any other way than by using credit cards?
We accept bank transfers for payment. Or, in person, we accept cash (please do not post money).

I received your soap as a gift. May I exchange it?
We want you to be 100% satisfied, so yes, you may. Return your items unopened, un-used and in re-sellable condition within three days from when you received your gift and we will exchange it for another item of your choice less shipping costs. Contact us for return authorisation before you pack up the item(s), and we'll guide you from there.

Do you guarantee your products?
We want you to be 100% satisfied with our soap. If for any reason, you are not satisfied, let us know. We'll do our best to make it right for you. Please keep in mind the nature of natural, personal care products, and understand that we cannot accept for exchange items that you have opened, handled, cut or used. Shipping costs are non-refundable.

What is Lye? (also known as Caustic Soda, Sodium hydroxide, and NaOH)
Lye is an alkali used in the making of soap. Lye is sodium hydroxide combined with water (or other liquid) which is then combined with oils to undergo the process of saponification. This process produces soap. Lye is made commercially by the electrolysis of brine (seawater). After the chemical reaction (saponification), sodium hydroxide is no longer present in the soap. We know, it's hard to believe that something so harsh on your skin in this form can turn oils into something that is so gentle and lovely on your skin - but it does. Trust us. No 'real' soap can be made without sodium hydroxide.

Isn't the sodium hydroxide in your soap harmful to the skin?
Raw sodium hydroxide on its own will cause severe burns to the skin. However, it's necessary to use a strong alkaline like sodium hydroxide to make soap; this is true whether it is made in mass quantities in a factory or in small batches at home. The Croft's soap is made using sodium hydroxide in a spring water solution and added to vegetable oils that react together to produce the completely different compound of soap. While free oil that has not been turned into soap is left in The Croft's soap to help add to the softening benefits, raw sodium hydroxide is not. We know it is surprising to many people that such a harsh chemical is used to produce a soap so gentle you can use it on your face daily, but it is easier to understand the process if you compare it with baking. Once the eggs, oils, flour, and liquid are blended, there is no way you can reasonably extract the egg from it, and egg is unrecognisable in the finished product.

Why doesn't my soap look exactly like the photo?
The Croft's soaps are handmade, and cut, packaged, and labelled by hand. There will always be some variance in every product because it's not coming from a factory equipment line. Thus, the pattern you see in the picture may not match the pattern of your soap exactly, but you can rest assured that the ingredients that go into each recipe are the same.

What do you mean by Bath Bars, Basin Bars, and Guest Bars?
The Croft produces bars in 3 different sizes for your convenience.


Bath Bar
Our largest and most robust bar, great for in the shower or the tub. You know you have a soap in your hands when you hold one of these chunky bars. Weighing in at over 140g (most are 150g or more), this bar will last and last - if allowed to dry out between uses. Approximately 10 cm x 7 cm x 2.5 cm in size.

Basin Bar
A versatile size - great for beside your sink, in the bathroom, kitchen, or wherever you want it to be. For some, it is the preferred size for also in the bath or shower. Weighing in at over 75g (most are 80g or more), this bar is a handy size. Approximately 9 cm x 5.3 cm x 2 cm in size.

Guest or Sample Bar
We produce this size for people who want to sample various soaps without making a 'long-term' commitment. It is also the perfect size if you have company come to stay, or you are off gallivanting around the world (no need for excess baggage!). It is also a good size for little hands to hold, like our son's. Approximately 7 cm x 4.3 cm x 1.5 cm in size.

Why don't you make a liquid soap?
We know that many of you enjoy the convenience of a liquid soap. Truth is, we have not been able to formulate a liquid soap that is as moisturising, gentle, and pure as our bar soaps. Living with bar soaps can be an enjoyable, tactile experience. Pick up a bar, wet your hands, and roll the bar over a few times. The gentle soap will clean without stripping your skin. Some people also find our soaps good for their scalp and their hair.

How long does your soap last?
The Croft soaps are long-lasting if you keep them 'high and dry'. Use a soap dish to let the soap drain and dry out properly. Try to keep soap out of puddles, and let it dry out between uses. You can even alternate the soap you use to help let them thoroughly dry out. You will find, kept like this, they will last longer than most standard mass produced soap.

Is your soap organic (bio)?
The Croft Soap is primarily made with vegetable oils, 100% Pure Essential oils, lye, and water (except where we use beer and goat milk). While we believe in using organic oils where we can - for example our Palm Kernel Oil is all 100% Certified Organic - using all certified organic oils is prohibitively expensive. You may feel better to know that all our soaps are fully decomposable with no artificial additives, fragrances, preservatives, hardeners, or synthetics.

How do you make your soaps?
We use the traditional 'cold process' form of soap making, using natural ingredients like Extra Virgin Olive Oil and 100% Pure Essential Oils. For more information about our ingredients, please click on the 'Ingredients' link at the bottom of this page.

I use 'plain old normal soap.' Why should I change?
The Croft Soap is fully decomposable with no artificial additives, fragrances, preservatives, hardeners, or synthetics. The Croft's soap contains only vegetable oils and sustainable plant materials, and is gentle on your skin.

What's the best soap for sensitive skin?
We've had excellent feedback from many people with sensitivities that even our soaps scented with 100% Pure Essential Oils don't cause them a problem. However, everyone is different, so if you have extremely sensitive skin, you may want to start in our 'Sensitive Skin' category in 'Soap'. Start with the Fragrance Free, and expand from there. We offer 2 Castiles that are especially good for those who are highly sensitive: Fragrance Free and Lavender & Rosemary. These soaps are well suited for use on newborns, the fragile skin of the elderly, and chemotherapy patients (where scents may bother them at this difficult time). If you can tolerate these soaps just fine, then we suggest trying the 90% Extra Virgin Olive Oil/10% Coconut Oil soaps offered in this same section. We are confident we have a soap to suit everyone!

Why don't you have my favourite scent: Sandalwood?
The short answer is because it is an endangered species. The longer answer is better understood when you consider what Wikipedia says:
To produce commercially valuable sandalwood with high levels of fragrance oils, harvested santalum trees have to be at least 40 years of age, but 80 or above is preferred. However, inferior sandalwood produced from trees at 30 years old can still fetch a decent price due to the demand for real sandalwood.
Which means it is not a sustainable crop.

However, The Croft does use two species that are considered vulnerable. This means care must be taken with these important species, and we use a reliable and ethical supplier. The two species are Rosewood and Elemi. Just to make sure you are fully aware.

Why don't you make vanilla or lilac soaps?
The Croft uses only essential oils derived by steam distillation, water distillation, or cold pressed extraction from actual plants. We use no synthetic fragrances. Since many essential oils are prohibitively expensive for soap-making - such as rose and myrrh - we do not offer scents based on such ingredients. Many times, floral scents are lost or dramatically changed after undergoing the saponification process, resulting in a scent that is undesirable.

Which soaps are the most moisturising?
Soap is not a moisturiser as such, but it is a cleanser. However, those who have used The Croft Soap swear that it moisturises their skin, meaning they haven't felt the need to apply creams to their skin after use. In part, this could be because they all naturally contain glycerine. We even did our own anecdotal trial, where we used only soap for a week - for washing face, hands, and body. We were impressed and very pleased about how soft and supple our skin remained. All of our soaps feel like they moisturise you as they cleanse your skin. We also superfat our soaps, meaning some of the oils are present in their original form in the soap. For more information about our ingredients, please click on the 'Ingredients' link at the bottom of this page.

How long is the shelf life of your soap?
Kept cool, dark, and dry, soap can last past the 'best before' date marked on our labels. However, for best results, we highly recommend using The Croft Soap prior to the date indicated. As far as retaining the scents in the soap, the more powerful essential oils can be quite long-lasting. But, lighter scents such as citrus fade more quickly, normally within a year. Generally, the loss of scent is only on the surface, where the scent molecules have escaped. Use your soap several times, and the scent will be revealed. You may also find the soaps fade (or darken) over time.

Can I shave with your soaps?
Absolutely!

With so many choices, how do I choose the one bar I really like?
Why should you only use one? In our 'Gifts' category, under 'Sets', we have a 'Sample 5 Soap Set'. Why not choose to gift yourself a special little treat? If you are still stumped, then just ask our Soap Artisan to select several for you. You can email us at sales@thecroft.be and let us know a few details about yourself so we may select a suitable range for you.

Shouldn't I be using an antibacterial soap?
Simply washing one's hands with good old-fashioned soap and water is still considered to be an effective way to eliminate about 99.9% of all microbes (fungi, bacteria, and viruses) from the skin. Sometimes, simple is simply enough!