Shampoo

• Which shampoobar is suitable for my hair?
  Both of our shampoobars are mild and nourishing for your hair and headskin. The honeyshampoo contains neem oil, propolis and honey, which makes this shampoo extra suitable voor a (over)sensitive skin. Quickly suffer from flakes, eczema, itching, oily hair? Then this is a good startingpoint. 
  The herbal shampoo is 100% vegan, which makes it a perfect option for vegans. It contains lots of nourishing extracts of hop, nettle, nasturtium and calendula. This makes the herbal shampoo the perfect fit for long of thick hair.

   

  My hair has been dyed, can I also use the shampoos?
  
  That differs per type of dye and hair. People with highlights, natural colours or henna usually use the shampoos to their full satisfcation. They often go less wel with bright (synthetic) paint pigments. Ofcourse this differs per person and kind of hair. Are you in doubt? You can always use it on a small piece of your hair to try it out!
  
  

  What is the difference between a shampoobar and soapbar?

  Just like all our other soaps, the shampoobars are pure natural soaps, made of high quality vegetable oils and healing herbs. On a few points, the recipe is specifically aimed at hair care, such as the type of base oils we use, the fat ratios and the plant extract we add. Each base oil produces a different kind of soap. Hard or soft, more or less foamy, and so on. The combination of base oils in the shampoos makes them the most suitable to clean your hair in the mildest way. Next to this we use specific plant(extracts) in both of the shampoos, to keep your hair in super condition.

• How many washes does a shampoo bar lasts?

  This depends on how often you wash your hair, how long it is, if you use the shampoo also for the rest of your body, and so on. Usually a shampoo bar replaces two bottles of liquid shampoo. Not only because a shampoo bar is way more concentrated then the liquid variant, but also because most of the people don't have to wash their hair so often anymore when using a shampoo bar.

• Help, my hair feels very different after washing it!

  A shampoo bar is a totally different product dan liquid shampoo. As a result, most people go through a 'set-in period', during which the hair and scalp gradually adjust to the soap. In general such a period lasts from 2 to 4 weeks, sometimes a little longer. If you hair continues to feel very oily, it can help to wash your hair twice during one showerturn in the starting period of your use of a shampoo bar. Rinsin with apple cidre vinegar can also be very helpful during the transition period. In this blog you can find more information about rinsing with apple cidre vinegar. 

  Even after the transition period, my hair feels completely different, why is that? 

  Most liquid shampoos contain sulfates and silicones. Sulfates are (very hard) cleaners that strip your scalp not only for dirt and grease, but also from the fats that your scalp produces naturally and needs. Silicones then ensures that there is a layer around you hair, making your hair feel healthy, smooth and soft. We emphasize that it feels that way because underneath that layer your hair itself doesn't necessarily have to be healthy. 
  Our shampoo bar cleanses in a much milder way; some of the fats and oils are being washed away, but not all of it. Next to this our shampoo bars are rich in glycerine and caring oils that nourish the hair. This, together with the lack of silicones, makes your hair feel different, even after the adjustment period.

  Even after two months, my hair still stays oily after washing it.. now what?Z

  Every's hair and scalp are different, sometimes it just doesn't match! Luckily our shampoo bars are also perfectly suitable to use as nourishing shower- and hand soaps.

• How to use a shampoo bar?

  You can use a shampoobar the same way you would use a regular soapbar: rub it over your wet hair until you have enough soap and foam to wash it. It works bests if you hair is wet, then the foam will appear. You can also choose to foam the soap in your hands and then go through your hair with your hands. We wrote a extensive blog about the use of shampoo bars.

Range & use

• Are your soaps vegan?

  Except for the honey soap, honey shampoo and Savannah soap, all of our soaps and products are vegan. In addition, none of our soaps or ingredients are tested on animals and we never will.
  
  Also our shaving brush is vegan. The shaving brush can absolutely compete with the quality of badger hair. The bristles dry even faster than a brush made of animal hair and are hypoallergenic. This is extra nice for people with a sensitive skin. 

• Which soap do I use for a sensitive skin/ my child?

  For a irritated/sensitive skin we recommend the calendula soap. This is our mildest soap, to which we often hear good reactions from people with skin complaints. Also the shea butter soap can be a suitable soap, because of the high amount of creamy shea butter. This last soap also does not contain essential oils.
  
  The calendula soap is also very nice to use with young skins. You can use all of our soap with (younger) children. Soap naturally stings the eyes, so make sure they are well protected.

• Is there a refill for the shaving bowl?

  Yes there is! Our shaving soap fit perfectly in our shaving bowl. You can wet the soap and leave it to dry in the bowl. 
  When the soap has dried, it sticks well and you can use it as you are used to. 
  
  Do you want to know more about the use of our shaving soap? In this blog you can read all about it. 
  
  

• Do you also sell conditioner/deodorant/liquid soap?

  Werfzeep has been specializing in making and producing handmade blocks of natural soap for 12 years. Ofcourse we have thought of other products (in the beginning Evelien also made creams, for example), but we chose early on to dedicate ourselves to robust, solid soap made from plants. 
  
  Conditioner is a entirely different product than soap. Due to its composition, it is susceptible to perishability, unless you add certain chemical ingredients, that we do not feel comfortable with from our view of natural skin care. Instead of conditioner, we recommend rinsing with vinegar; your hair becomes wonderfully soft, shiny and tangle-free. 
  
  Also deodorant is to far off from soap. We do have a recipe on our blog to make your own natural deodorant!
  
  The making of solid soap bars is a conscious choice: by ommiting water (the liquid) soap is virtually non-perishable. In contradiction of liquid soap, nothing has to be added to make it non-perishable. In addition, solid soap works just as good als liquid soap and it, mits it can dry evenly, just as hygienic.
  By leaving the liquid, a soap bar takes less space, which makes it more sustainable in transport and shipping. Finally, our soaps comes in paper wrappers, not plastic bottles. Another reason why solid soap bars are more sustainable, and why we continue to focus on it with love.
  
  

• How do I use your cleaning soap?

  You can use our cleaning soap for the cleaning of your entire home. Next to this, you can use it to do the dishes and make laundry detergent from it. 

  You can 'beat' a soapy water with a soap beater, or by using your hands (foam it up first in cold/lukewarm water and then add hot water). You can dissolve grated soap in hot water; grating is very easy with a Bubble Buddy. Simply rubbing the soap with a wet scouring pad or dish brush is also possible. This way you can also wash your dishes properly. 
  You can find more information about environmentally friendly cleaning here.
  
  To use the cleaningsoap as laundry detergent, we recommend to dissolve the soap in water. This works best if the soap is grated or cut into pieces. A extensive explanation about making laundry detergent from our cleaning soap yourselves, can be found here.
  
  

  Cleaning soap on holiday

  A nice tip: cut a small piece of cleaning soap to take with you on holiday! With this you can do the dishes and clean and it barely takes up any space in you luggage. Our soap is bio-degradable, so it can be used in nature. You can read exactly how that works in this blog. 
  
  

• How do I preserve your soap?

  It is important with solid soap that it can dry properly in between uses. The most convenient is a soap holder or something similar with holes, so that excess water can drain away. Then do not place your soapholder inside the shower cabin, but outside it. 
  
  If the soap is not yet in use, then store it in the wrapper in a dark and cool place.
  
  

  Help, my soap feels snotty!

  Glycerine is created in our soaps during the soap making process. Glycerine is something amazing! Our skins naturally contains glycerine as well and it needs it to stay supple, soft and hydrated. It is a substance that is capable of retaining and attracting moisture; this is the great advantage but can also be a disadvantage. If you do not properly dry the soap after using it, it will attract all the moisture it comes into contact with, making the soap soft and snotty. The solution is very simple luckily: leave your soap to dry in between uses and you won't be bothered anymore!
  
  

• Why are your soaps packaged?

  The short answer: because you have to! The longer answer is as followed: we use a losse wrapper on the outside because it is obligated, for the European Commodities act, to state our name, adress, and the so-called batchnumber of the soap. If anything ever goes wrong, the soap can be traced back to us. The brown 'wrapping paper' itself completely surrounds the soap to ensure that the soap does not make contact with the aire. This way the quality is better preserved. Then there is another smaller, grease proof paper in it, to ensure excess fats and/or the 'sweating' of the soap (for example during heat) is collected. This also contributes to a better quality and longer shelf life of the soap.
  
  The entire packaging is made of recycled paper and can be completely reused. 
  

Ingredients & process

• Do you use palm oil? And animal products?

  We have never worked with palm oil and obviously we never will. For the same reasons we do not work with mica, rosewood or Indian sandelwood oil. 
  
  Except for the honey, beeswax and propolis that are in the honey soap and honey shampoo, our soaps are vegan. These products come from our regular beekeper: organic certified beekeeping De Oase. Also the Savannah soap contains honey and is therefore not vegan. This honey comes from the same area where we get our shea butter: the Sahel.

   

• What is sodium hydroxide and why is it in the soap?

  Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is made of table salt (NaCI) (through electrolysis). Sodium hydroxide in dissolved form also belongs to the family of salts. It reacts very easily with liquid and a lot of heat is released. It also likes to react with the outside world (because oxygen also contains water), so it must be kept airtight and watertight.  We use medical grade sodium hydroxide for our soaps. We dissolve the sodium hydroxide in water to a caustic solution.
  
  For some people it is miraculous that we use NaOH in our soap production, but we can be brief about this: no soap without lye. The good news: the end product is lye-free. The lye is an aid that ensures that the fats turn into soap. At the end of that process, all of the lye and most of the fat has turned into soap. A small percentage of fat remains 'unsaponified'; this ensures a wonderfully mild and nourishing soap.

   

• What is the pH value of your soap?

  Natural soap is naturally slightly alkaline and had a pH value of around 8. This however, does not affect it's effect on your skin and hair. The pH value is just one of many properties of a product. Other aspects are of a greater influence on the quality of the soap: the quality of he oils, the fact that it is a extra fatty soap, the naturally present glycerine, the quality of the essential oils, and so on. That is the reason the soap feels nourishing and your skin does not feel tight, even though it is a slightly alkaline soap.

   

• Is your soap biodegradable?

  This is kind of a complex question. In the base our soap is 100% biodegradable, the soap is made from vegetable fats and a lye-solution, that saponify together. The only adds are homemade plant extracts and organic essential oils. In terms of molecular structure, the end product can be completely broken down again. So the short-cut answer is 'yes'.

  If you look at the practical situation, for example if you wash in a lake, the soap does (temporarily) disrupt the balance of aquatic life and it has an effect. If you shower and the water flows into the soil, this is less the case, because the organisms in the (forest) soil know better what to do with soap. In the end, the soap will be broken down 100% anyway and the balance will be restored.
  All in all, I would say that it doesn't hurt to shower here and there in nature with our soap, as long as you don't do it in a lake (unless that is already bathing water, of course).
  
  More information about this subject can be read in this blog.

   

• Isn't liquid hand soap more hygienic?

  Solid soap is alkaline and therefore naturally not a breeding ground for bacteria. Also it has a more stable structure and lasts longer than hand soap. Liquid soap spoils faster due to a high water content. In addition, the 'pump' of liquid soap is often the largest source of bacteria. If your soap can dry properly in between washes, bacteria don't stand a chance and a bar of solid soap is therefore just as hygienic. We recommend using a bar of solid soap with a good soap holder.
  
  
  

• What does 'cold-process method' mean?

  We make all the Werfzepen according to the cold process method. This means that we do not warm our base oils and fats above 45° degrees Celsius. On the other hand, there is the 'hot process method' in which the fats and the soap are boiled until all the water had evaporated. The advantage of the hot process method is that the soap is ready for use much faster, namely after one night, where our soaps have to lie about 4-6 weeks before it can be used. So why use the cold process method? This way the nourishing and beneficial properties of the ingredients remain intact much better. This is ow you end up, after waiting a little longer, with a much more nourishing and caring soap.

  If you want to know more about the soap making process, we have a beautiful Zeepboek! 2 kg of beautiful photo's and all the information that is needed to make your own soap.

   

• Why is there benzyl/benzoate/linalool/geraniol in your soap?

  It is correct that some of our soap contain one or more of these ingredients; this is a natural component of the product. It is not a raw material that we add in pure form, but part of some essential oils. Ylang ylang essential oil, for example, contains a small part of benzyl benzoate (just like linalool and geraniol - all part of the fragrance composition of ylang ylang flowers). Because these components of the fragrance are officially allergenes, we are obliged to list them separately. If someone is allergic, they can avoid the substance. This applies to a very small part of the population.

  In larger quantities the substance may not be very good for us, but then you are dealing with chemically isolated substances, not a fraction of a natural fragrance composition. Our essential oils (also those containing benzyl benzoate) are organic and food grade certifies by the Soil Association. In the ratio in which we use them, they are completely safe.

   

Other questions & contact

• Workshops & visiting Werfzeep

  We have enjoyed giving soap making workshops for a long time. In early 2020, Covid-19 threw a spanner in the works in that regard. We reallt wanted to resume the workshops when it was possible again, but unfortunately it is no longer workable in our current studio due to crowds and staffing. If we ever start giving workshops again, we will of course announce this big and festive!

  Would you like some help with your start in the wondrous world of soapmaking, we have our fantastic Soap book! A soap bible of almost 2 kilograms full of beautiful pictures and all the information you need to start making your own soap. You can order your book in our shop. Would you rather browse it first? There are several points of sale where this is possible, like Koffie Leute in Utrecht. It can also be down digital here.

   

  Can I visit Werfzeep?

  The studio is rather small and our soap makers need all the space and quiet; also the rest of our team need all of their focus. Spontaneous visits are therefore not possible. 
  We are thinking of a way in which it is possible for us to invite curious Werfzeep-fans in our studio! For now, there are no concrete plans. To take a look behind the scenes, it is best to follow us on Facebook and Instagram; In this and this blog we also have tried to give an idea of how we work. 
  
  

• Working at Werfzeep

  At this moment we do not need any new team members. If we are looking for new colleagues, we always share this via social media and our newsletter, so keep an eye on these!

   

• Selling Werfzeep and custom soap

  Do you own a store and would you like to sell Werfzeep? Nice! You can send an email to [email protected] and we will send you all the information you need. 
  
  

  Custom soap

  At Werfzeep we find it amazing to develop a custom soap! We do not offer a white label option, but develop a unique soap that suits you in collaboration with you. Previous collaborations have included Burgers Zoo, Naturalis, Into the Great Wide Open, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Nationaal Park Hoge Veluwe and de Vogelbescherming.
  For more information, please send an email to [email protected]
  
  

  Loose mini soaps

  Would you like to order a large amount of our mini soaps, as promotional gift or for a wedding? That is possible, please send an email to [email protected] with your request.  

• Contact

  Is your question not included? Feel free to contact us!
  
  You can email us at: [email protected]
  We aim to respond your email within 2 working days.

  We can be reached by telephone every Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. 
  Our telephone number: +31 614 615 010