Frequently Asked Questions


  • Is your soap safe for sensitive skin?
    • Our soap is completely free of synthetic fragrances and additives, and is completely plant-based. You will find that our soap is much gentler than typical commercial products from big name brands. We even go so far as to ensure that the essential oils and extracts we use are steam-distilled or CO2 extracted, and never solvent extracted. Essential oils derived via solvent extraction contain traces of chemical solvents, which can cause adverse reactions. So if you've had problems with other "natural" products on the market, it's possible you've reacted to hidden chemical solvents. Our products are as pure and natural as you can get. That being said, whether or not you'll have a sensitivity to any one of our products depends on what you're sensitive to. Therefore, we strongly encourage spot-testing any of our products before you use them for the first time. Choose an inconspicuous spot, such as your inner forearm, and test the soap on a small area of your skin. Wait a few hours and watch for any reactions.
  • Why is there maple syrup in your soap?
    • We include pure NH-made maple syrup in our soap formulations partly out of New Hampshire pride, and partly for practical reasons. Natural maple syrup is great for the skin, as it is high in antioxidants and other beneficial minerals and compounds. It's a great vegan skin care alternative to honey, and is easy to source locally. Also, the sugar helps produce a bubbly lather in our soaps!
  • Are Black Maple Glen products organic?
    • We take our natural formulations up a notch by sourcing as many organic ingredients as we can. While certain ingredients are difficult or impossible to source organically, our products do contain a high percentage of certified organic ingredients, minimizing your exposure to GMO's and contaminants, as well as their environmental impacts.
  • Do you have soap specifically for dry skin or oily skin?
    • We do not have separate formulations for dry or oily skin. So far, we've found that our soap is great for both! We've struck a fine balance between cleansing and conditioning. You won't be left feeling oily or overly dry. If you have extremely dry skin, you may want to avoid soaps containing some of the more drying essential oils, such as peppermint, and go for more balancing essential oils, such as geranium.
  • I have concerns about palm oil sustainability. Is the palm oil in your soap responsibly sourced?
    • We only use organic, RSPO certified palm oil. For more information about what the RSPO is doing to ensure responsible palm oil production and what this certification entails, please visit the RSPO's website.
  • Are Black Maple Glen products safe to use on children?
    • While we are very careful to formulate gentle and all-natural products, we generally advise against using products containing essential oils on children under the age of 12. However, we encourage you to do your own research and determine the best choice for your child. We have unscented varieties of all our products, which provide the gentlest effect possible, and are generally safe for use by children. As always, we strongly advise spot-testing our products before using them for the first time to check for sensitivity.
  • Do you have any lye-free soap?
    • You may notice that some all-natural soap companies don't list lye in their ingredients - usually, this is because they are listing the chemical products (end results) instead of the reactants (original ingredients). We choose to list our original ingredients for the sake of making them easily understandable to everyone. Lye is a necessary in order to convert oils into soap - no lye, no soap! Basically, lye - a strong alkali, reacts with the oils, which are naturally acidic. Without getting too technical, the result is saponified oils (oils that have been turned into soap) and glycerin. Many products you find at the grocery store, such as "beauty bars" or "moisture bars" are not actually soap - they're detergents comprised of a mix of synthetic chemicals. Also, when real soap is produced in a large commercial operation, the naturally resulting glycerin may be extracted and sold separately for greater profit. We only use food grade lye to make our soap. You've probably eaten foods that were made using lye, such as soft-baked pretzels. Chemically speaking, just like the pretzels, our soap is free of lye by the time it reaches your hands. The only point at which the lye we use in our soap is dangerous is before it's done reacting with the oils and turning them into soap + glycerin. The resulting soap in our formula is gentle, safe, and delightful!
  • How do I make my soap last longer?
    • To make your soap last as long as possible, avoid placing it directly under a stream of water, and allow it to dry between uses. We highly recommend using a wooden soap rest to allow for proper drainage while in use, and store your soap on the soap rest outside the shower between uses. If you have multiple scents, as with any bar soap, it is best to avoid storing them in an enclosed container - store them in the open to avoid mingling scents.
  • How are your products tested?
    • First, we research our ingredients before incorporating them into our products to ensure they are generally regarded as safe for our intended application. One benefit of using all-natural ingredients is that they have been in use for ages by countless people, and each ingredient's common uses are well-documented (this also means you have the opportunity to thoroughly research the ingredients in all of our products and make informed choices). Once we have a formula we're happy with, being a small operation, we of course first test them ourselves before recruiting friends and family members for feedback. It took a few years to settle on a base recipe back when soap making was just a hobby, and we continue to be conscious about all of the essential oils and other plant-based ingredients we work with.