Island Soap & Candle Works factory is located on the “Garden” Island of Kauai just a short walking distance from the ocean. With tropical coconut palms swaying in the trade winds nearby, we hand make many types of handmade soaps and other body care products. At Island Soap & Candle Works we’ve perfected our soap recipes over the years. We use quality ingredients and pristine manufacturing techniques with the goal of crafting some of the finest handmade soaps in Hawaii.
How our Hawaiian coconut palm oil soaps are made
Our soap maker begins by combining pure coconut and palm oils and heating them together in a large steel kettle; in fact this is the same way we handmade soap over 25 years ago. Once the Coconut and Palm oils have been thoroughly mixed and have reached the optimum temperature the soap maker adds in a precisely prepared lye water solution. It is the careful combination of coconut and palm oils, lye water solution, temperature control and thorough mixing that form the basis for all of our handmade coconut palm soaps. After mixing for a period of time this solution begins to transform into soap thorough a process called saponification. At just the right time the soap maker adds in natural pigments for color and infuses the solution with a tropical fragrance. Once the tropical fragrance is fully mixed into the soap solution it is then poured into molds and set out to harden and cure for up to 3 weeks. After curing they are hand inspected for quality and packed.
What makes our handmade coconut palm oil soaps special
Through the process of saponification the pure coconut and palm oils not only become soap but also produce a beneficial and valuable natural byproduct, glycerin. This naturally occurring glycerin is so valued for it’s moisturizing properties that many larger commercial soap companies extract the glycerin from their soaps to be sold separately. However our handmade soaps remain pure with all the natural moisturizing glycerin intact. We have also carefully crafted our handmade soap recipes so that a portion of the coconut and palm oils remain in the soap. These oils, along with the glycerin, make our soap exceptionally gentle and moisturizing for the skin.
Fresh Tropical fragrances and memories of Hawaii
Experience, memory and fragrance are often closely tied together. To evoke and capture the experience of visiting Hawaii, Island Soap & Candle Works has carefully chosen five of the most popular tropical Hawaiian fragrances in our handmade soaps. For example; the Plumeria flower is so common in Hawaii that it’s soft, slightly sweet fragrance often permeates the warm Hawaiian air when they are in bloom. It is commonly made into leis which are given as greetings and welcome. Another of our tropical floral fragrances is the small but very fragrant Pikake jasmine flower which was named after the peacocks that roamed the gardens of Hawaiian Princess Kaiulani in the 1800’s. Another well liked tropical fragrance blends the essences of two of Hawaii’s more popular fruits, mango and guava with the sweet nutty scent of the coconut. Of course a Hawaiian experience must include pineapple which we blended with another island favorite, passionfruit. Finally, no trip to Hawaii would be complete without the familiar smooth creamy fragrance of pure coconut.
Come Visit Us
If you are curious to see how we make our coconut & palm oil soap, we invite you to come see us at one of our shops when you visit the Hawaii. We are proud of our natural coconut soap and other quality bath products, and will gladly show you how real coconut & palm soap is made. In the meantime, order some today and see what you're missing!
