Soap and Anchor is located in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight, just 200 metres from the sea!

I learned to make soap many years ago when I lived in Canada. Since then it's grown from a hobby to this small business that I run today.

Over the years I've experimented with a number of recipes and soap-making techniques and I've learned that my preference is for a good simple bar of soap - which is what I make today. I use plant-based ingredients so all my soaps are vegan-friendly. I like to use essential oils with which to fragrance my soap as this means I can create blended fragrances, a part of the soap-making process I especially enjoy. I like to stick with natural ingredients so use clays and botanicals to colour and decorate my soap. As well as making my soap look good, these ‘additives’ bring their own benefits, such as gentle cleansing and exfoliating properties. And these truly are the only additives in my soap - there’s nothing in my soap that’s not needed to make natural, simple, good soap.

All soap is made using the traditional cold process method, which involves mixing a solution of sodium hydroxide (lye) and liquid - which in the case of my soap is water - with oils. No lye remains in the finished product. Soap is then cut by hand and cured for a minimum of 4 weeks to ensure that when you come to use it, it will have a rich, creamy, stable lather that gently cleans your skin without stripping it of its natural oils.

Further details about the ingredients used in my soap, as well as the ingredients used in the other products I make, can be found under the Products tab on this site.

If you've got any questions about any of the products on this website, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me at hello@soapandanchor.com.

Thanks for reading.

Jane