Cruelty-Free, Vegan Bath and Body Care
Being a writer for the cruelty-free beauty blog, My Beauty Bunny, I come across a lot of brands while doing research for my articles. A lot of time is spent on Instagram going through hashtags discovering new brands and their unique products. It was there that I came across the California based company, Love Craft Soap Co., a small business that specializes in handcrafted cruelty-free, vegan bath and body products.
The founder Shaunna created Love Craft Soap Co. in 2012 after finding a personal need to use gentle but effective bath care products for her son and his delicate skin. Many commercial soaps either proved to be too harsh, filled with chemicals or simply had a vanity “eco” labeling that did nothing for her son. It was time for her to take matters into her own hands and create products that would nourish and cleanse the skin while giving her peace of mind.
Shaunna was nice enough to send me out a handful of samples to try, and was most pleased that she sent me something for acneic skin. She had noticed on my instagram that I was trying several different products to help heal my skin and suggested that her Charcoal Facial Bar would be just the thing to try! Along with that, she sent me some hand/body bars: Love Spell (type), Perk Up, Beach Blanket Bimbo, and a sample of her soon to be released Citrus French Clay mask.
The Rejuvenating Rose Charcoal Facial Bar was the first item I tried. I was a bit hesitant as it was a bar soap and I haven’t used a bar soap on my face in ages, but I am very interested in charcoal based skincare products and their detoxification properties. First, I should note that this is definitely a soap you can display next to your sink. It has bits of rose petals that make it so pretty and don’t interfere with using the soap! It is also made with a 5 clay mixture and essential oils (like tea tree oil) that tone the skin and help draw out impurities that cause those pesky pimples. The bar was a good size to roll between my hands and produce a good lather. I used this soap with my Soniclear for a good deep down cleansing. After rinsing clean I found that my skin felt SUPER soft and very clean. I followed with a simple moisturizer to balance my skin out. There was no irritation, no dryness, just soft, clean skin. This soap is PERFECT for my husband who has oily skin and I immediately suggested he try it out since he is always hoping I can suggest something to keep his pores tight and clean. Because my skin is combination, I found that using this just a few times a week served me well, and someone with oilier skin could use more often.
The Perk Up Soap is one of their top sellers. The blend of lemongrass and tea tea oil smells amazing and mixed into a olive oil based soap to moisturize, cleanse and awaken the skin. Teesy apricot kernels pepper the soap to gently exfoliate too! Out of all three body bars, this scent was my favorite. A perfect addition to your guest bathroom or morning shower!
Next up, Beach Blanket Bimbo. haha! Such a cute name, which would make me think it’s for women, but it’s actually a unisex scent that can be left in the shower for anyone in the family to use! Finely ground pumice make this a great gentle exfoliator for rough spots while pink himalayan salt has detoxification properties and contains trace minerals that nourish the skin. The soap has a clean scent to it, that makes me think of sun-bleached driftwood, and sea air. It’s beautiful.
Lastly, Love Spell (type) soap is the most feminine out of the bunch. The blend of jasmine, cherry blossom, peach and orange balance each other out for a beautiful scent that blooms when lathered. The base of this soap also is made with olive oil, coconut oil and palm oil to moisturize and nourish the skin.
Each of the Love Craft Soap Co. products I tried lathered wonderfully and did not dry out my skin. Shaunna did a wonderful job fragrancing each product that makes you keep sniffing the bars and wanting more. All of her products are cruelty-free, vegan and handmade with love. And she doesn’t stop at soaps! She also hand crafts lip balms, body oils and (soon to be released) facial clay masks. I haven’t tried the facial clay mask yet and will most likely share about that on my instagram exclusively so make sure to follow me on instagram on details of this mask made for combo/oily skin.
To find out more about Love Craft Soap Co., you can visit their website, and follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates on shows they attend and newly released products.
