"Soap is a surfactant, which means that it helps water to wet things more evenly. Soap molecules have tails which attract dirt and pull it away from the surface that it is on. The soap then suspends the dirt in a lather until it can be washed away. Soap is made by combining an alkaline solution with animal fats or vegetable oils, which are acidic. When mixed under the right circumstances, they neutralize to form a new compound, which we call 'soap'. Saponification is the technical term for this reaction." (Handmade Soap by Tatyana Hill)

Nope. Lye will burn your skin off and disfigure you. Lye is the alkaline solution necessary to make soap, but once the chemical reaction between the lye and the fatty acids in the oils and butters takes place, a completely different substance remains: SOAP! Really, what you end up with is "neat soap," water (which evaporates as you "cure" the bar), and a wonderful amount of natural glycerin, that essential ingredient that protects, moisturizes, and softens your skin.

So in short, lye is NOT in the final soap which we sell on our shelves, but it is used to make the soap.

Shampoo, Body and Facial full-sized bars are just over 5 oz in weight, with dimensions of 2.75"H x 3.4"W x 1"D.

Salt full-sized bars are 8–9 oz in weight, with dimensions of 2.75"H x 3.4"W x 1.25"D.

Round Shampoo and Shaving soaps are 4.7 oz in weight and over 3" in diameter.

"Soap is made commercially in huge vats by a process called 'continuous method', in which ingredients are continuously added to one end and removed from the other. During this process, the emollient glycerin that naturally exists in soap is removed and sold separately for its moisturizing qualities. Commercial soap is nearly always made from tallow (animal fat) and usually contains a variety of synthetic chemicals. Because of the lack of glycerin as well as the inclusion of poor-quality ingredients and additives, commercial soap can often irritate and dry the skin, or can cause an allergic reaction. Sadly, even many hand-made soap companies use synthetic fragrances, preservatives and colors in their products." (Handmade Soap by Tatyana Hill)

One slight update to Tatyana's explanation of commercially produced soap is that now most are synthetically made. However, some brands contain the salts of tallow, and others like Ivory contain animal fats including tallow. This may sound natural, but when combined with ingredients such as Tetrasodium EDTA and Sodium Isethionate, these soaps do more harm than good. The traditional methods of making soap included animal fats such as tallow and actually had many benefits to the skin, but unfortunately, when tallow is used in mass production today, it is combined with other additives and synthetics which, as mentioned, do more harm than good.

Apple Valley Natural Soap is carefully hand-crafted in small batches using the cold process method of soap making. We use only high-quality botanical oils and butters as well as all-natural herbs, milks, juices, essential oils and spices to scent and color our soaps. These ingredients not only impart sensational fragrances and beautiful, rustic colors, but also add their own exceptional nourishing qualities. Once you try an all-natural soap, you will wonder why you ever used anything else on your skin!

All of our soap is cold processed, which means we make it at cooler temperatures to preserve the integrity of the ingredients so they offer the most nutritious benefit to skin and hair. Many producers of cold process soap want their soaps to go through the gel phase, as this brings a beautiful depth of color, enhancing any color variations and natural characteristics. 

However, sometimes we may choose not to let the soap go through the gel phase, or the soap itself, for one reason or another, doesn't completely go through the gel phase (even if we want it to). When this happens, the soap looks more opaque and flat, and it doesn't have the generally desired shiny finish. This doesn't change anything about the soap other than its appearance. When soap starts going through the gel phase but doesn't finish, you may see what looks like a circle of deep, shiny soap surrounded on the edges by the more opaque soap. Again, this doesn't compromise the soap, just the look.

The pH of our soaps ranges between 7.5/8 and 9.5, depending on the ingredients used and length of cure.

A pH-balanced cleansing product is created with a pH of 7. However, skin is not pH balanced. Skin has an acid mantle, which is a thin, protective layer on the surface of your skin made of a combination of sweat and sebum. This acid mantle typically has a pH of around 5, and its main purpose is to prevent bacteria from penetrating the skin. Anytime you wash your skin, no matter what you wash with, this protective layer is disturbed.

But here's the good news: your skin is resilient. Our bodies are created to heal, and that means your skin will quickly rebalance itself unless there is an underlying condition that prevents it from doing so. This is why the ingredients you wash with are actually more important than the pH of the product you use. Rest assured that when you use a product from AVNS, it will not strip or damage the skin, but nourish the skin with safe and natural ingredients while giving an effective cleanse.

For more information, read our blog post "Do You Need to Use a pH Balanced Soap? Here's What We Think."

We use fresh ingredients in our soap and add rosemary oil extract to all of our soap batches, as this is a natural and powerful preservative.

Soap is one of those things that actually gets better with time. This is why we cure our soaps for a full eight weeks, so you'll get a hard, long-lasting, mild bar. We even have some soaps which are cured for over 6 months due to their ingredients; we want to make sure you have a soap that lasts a long time. Your natural soap needs to breathe in order to prolong its life and maintain its hardness. If you plan to store your bar for a while, leave it exposed to air rather than in a tight wrapper, which will prevent moisture from evaporating. You can leave your bars in their wrappers, as they have both ends open to the air. Tip: if you store them on a closet shelf, they will add a lovely scent to your closet!

Make sure you allow your all-natural soap to dry out between uses. If it sits in a puddle of water, it will disintegrate. We sell affordable Eco-Friendly Soap Mats that will keep your bars dry and help them last a long time.

Some of that depends on the user. With long hair, we estimate at least 40+ washes; with short hair, 70+ washes. One customer told us it took her 6 months to use up a bar. Not knowing everyone's bathing habits, it's hard to predict how long a bar will last for each person, but we do know that they are an economical choice. Due to their large size and long curing time, our shampoo bars are a much more cost-effective option compared to liquid shampoo, especially when looking at comparable shampoos with natural and organic ingredients. Our shampoo bars last about twice as long as a standard bottle of shampoo. As we've mentioned in other articles, after switching to shampoo bars, many customers find that they can go longer between washes and have no use for conditioner, or use a very small amount once in a while, which is another cost savings.

If you do a Google search, you'll discover that we price our soap right in the middle of the pricing spectrum. Not only that, compare our ingredients, and you will discover that we use a FAR greater percentage of expensive, high-end oils, butters, organic herbs and spices, clays, milks and essential oils than our competitors. Frankly, we are amazed at the cheap ingredients much of our competition uses (soy and tallow, for example) and the high cost of their products. You can be confident that at Apple Valley Natural Soap, you are getting the highest quality soap at the most affordable pricing.

To ensure that all our products are free from contamination, whether it be bacteria, mold or viruses, we have procedures and systems in place to protect the product from the time of its creation to shipping. This includes, but is not limited to, biodegradable gloves worn by employees when creating and working with products, sanitization of areas used for packaging orders, and sanitization of areas used for production. When you order our products, rest assured that we are taking all necessary steps to keep producing nourishing and effective products that are safe and beneficial.

CRUELTY FREE: We are certified by the Leaping Bunny organization and are excited to be in partnership with them.

ORGANIC & SUSTAINABLE: We aim to use as many certified organic ingredients as possible in our products, but have chosen (at this time) not to pursue organic certification due to expense. Using sustainable ingredients is also very important to us. Read more about our stance in our blog post on certified organic ingredients and sustainability.

GLUTEN FREE: There are many products in our store which do not contain gluten, but as we do not have a gluten-free facility, we cannot guarantee there will be no cross-contamination. We therefore define these products as "gluten sensitive." Learn more on our Vegan & Gluten Free Information page.

VEGAN: The majority of our products are vegan, and we have labeled these items as such. Learn more on our Vegan & Gluten Free Information page.

We are always looking for ways to improve the way we do business, and reducing our carbon footprint and becoming more eco-friendly is important to us. Here are some of the ways we are being conscientious about our environment:
• Soaps are wrapped in paper wrappers or boxes.
• All our products are biodegradable.
• ALL samples (soap, hair rinse, toner, sample packs, etc.) are mailed in clear bags made from plant material, which are certified compostable.
• First-class packages are mailed in 100% recycled padded paper mailers.
• Brown paper is used to package orders, and sometimes recycled air pillows or other packaging we have received in purchases for the store.
• Cardboard is used for all shipments above first class; some shipments will also have a USPS recyclable padded envelope.
• Glass is used where possible for products (and more products are transitioning away from plastic to glass).
• Where we do use plastic, we make sure it's 100% recyclable and PCR where possible.

We are happy to help you add or remove an item from your order as long as it has not been processed yet. Once it has been processed, it cannot be changed. Please contact us as soon as possible with your order number.

1. Click the account icon at the top of the page to go to the login page.
2. Click "Forgot your password?"
3. Enter the email address associated with your customer account, then click Submit.
4. Within a few minutes, you should receive an email with a link to reset your password. Click the link in that email. (Be sure to check your spam or junk folder.)
5. Enter your new password and confirm it to finish.

Our in-person shopping location is:
AVNS Boutique
3825 Cedar Grove Parkway, Suite 1102
Eagan, MN 55122

Near Jensen's Supper Club and the Eagan Outlet Shops.

Boutique Hours:
Wednesday & Thursday: Noon – 6pm
Friday & Saturday: 10am – 5pm

Then YOU have the option to pick up your order at our store and avoid shipping charges! Simply select the "Local Pickup" option at checkout. We hold orders at the store for up to one week from the time of purchase. You can pay by credit card online during checkout, OR you may pay by credit card, cash or personal check made out to Apple Valley Natural Soap at the time of pickup.

PLEASE NOTE: We will send you an email when your order has been filled and is ready for pickup. Please wait for that email before coming to the store in Eagan. Order turnaround is 2–3 days (longer during holidays), so plan accordingly when you place your order.

Sign up for our newsletter to join our community! You'll be among the first to receive news about sales, new products and any other special announcements.

Join our Loyalty Program and collect points to receive free products and discounts. Not sure how to redeem points or access your loyalty account? Visit our Loyalty Program page for details.

FREE SOAP PROMOTION! We periodically run a promotion where customers can save when buying multiple bars of soap. When the promotion is active, add 8 full-sized bars of soap to your cart and 1 will be free at checkout. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to find out when these promotions are active, as well as other special events and sales!

Yes, we do! Please reach out to us with your military or veteran ID info, and we'll set you up in our system to receive a 10% discount every time you order from us, no coupon necessary. And thank you from all of us at AVNS for serving!

We used to sell a wonderful line of highly effective CBD products, but unfortunately we needed to discontinue them due to processing costs. However, our supplier, Pure Spectrum CBD, has generously offered 15% off to all our customers who order directly through their website, purespectrumcbd.com.

Use coupon code APPLEVALLEYNATURAL for 15% off your order.

With so many CBD producers on the market, how do you know who to trust? We chose to sell Pure Spectrum CBD after a lot of research and found that they had some of the highest quality CBD on the market. All of their products are created in a facility which rigorously evaluates every stage of the process. From soil to oil, the process is standardized and controlled to produce highly rated and effective products. Every batch is tested for potency and purity, and their website provides current third-party lab test results. Their products also use a whole-plant extract, which includes not only CBD but many of the other phytocannabinoids, creating the synergistic effect of all the compounds working together.

AVNS is a Pure Spectrum ambassador, which means we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.