Store Bought Soap: When it comes down to it, store bought soap is filled with a lot of chemicals that you'll never find in hand made soap.

- Sodium lauryl sulfate (used in laundry detergent)

- Sodium laureth sulfate (a harsh foaming agent)

- Triclosan (an antibacterial which is classified as a pesticide)

This is also why it is common to feel irritated or dry skin after using a store bought soap bar, and often need to moisturize after showering. Above all, if the soap doesn't list sodium hydroxide (lye), that "soap" bar can not be classified as soap. Lye is the one ingredient needed to make true soap.

Hand Made Soap: On the opposite end, hand made soap is made using any combination of animal fats and vegetable oils as the base. This makes it so that glycerin is in the soap, which helps keep moisture locked into the skin. It is also common to add different essential oils, depending on what scent or what beneficial properties you want the soap to have.

"What kind of beneficial properties?", you could be asking yourself. Depending on which ingredients are being used, you can have a bar that is beneficial for those with eczema, or that can help those with dealing with acne, just to name a couple of examples.