Premium 100% Natural, Made-From-Scratch Artisan Soaps derived from historically researched ancient recipes! 

Read how we were inspired to create this line of soaps at: Ancient Alchemy Story

A bounty of botanicals!  Each of our Ancient Alchemy soaps is crafted from a well-researched antiquarian recipe, using all-natural vegetable & fruit oils, herbs, flowers (organic whenever possible!), pure essential oils, and other Earthly delights!  Some recipes were originally discovered as herbal healing poultices or tonics which we've  adapted into soaps!  

It's the infusions.....

 Each soap batch is made using a very important step.  What defines the exquisiteness of our soaps is we infuse our oils with precious herbs and botanicals, maximizing their benefits for your skin in the final soap!

We find.....as our wise ancestors found, that to know the individual soap ingredients, to take extraordinary time using Earth's extraordinary botanicals, indeed, ...creates extraordinary soaps!

These soaps weigh no less than 4.5 oz. Each is wrapped in a parchment wrapper, it's botanically magical ingredients listed, it's story-of-origin printed on an insert that goes under the wrapper!  Each soap priced as per ingredients used therefore some (2) are more expensive than the others.

  Aborigine

Australian tea tree oil--what a gift!  Captain James Cook and his party, upon landing in Botany Bay, New South Wales in 1770, came upon groves of trees thick with sticky, aromatic leaves they later used to make a spicy tea.  The "Tea Tree" as it was called by Cook, became a valued bush remedy used by European settlers.  It wasn't until after WWI though, that serious attention was given this plant's uses!  In 1923, the Australian government conducted studies and discovered tea tree essential oil to be 12 times stronger than carbolic acid (the standard then) as an antiseptic bactericide! 

But....long before Cook found tea tree, Australian Bundjalung Aborigines told stories of a magical lagoon into which tea tree leaves dropped.  Cuts, wounds and infections were magically cured!  Aborigines also inhaled vapors of crushed Tea Tree leaves to treat colds.  Tea tree oil is one of the strongest natural antiseptics known to man. It deeply penetrates skin, which explains its ability to sooth and relieve a large array of skin problems such as shingles, eczema and psoriasis, poison ivy, boils, cuts, insect bites, acne and minor burns, as an insect repellent - to name a few. Tea Tree oil has been examined by scientists and found to have nearly neutral pH - perfect for use on human and animal skin (I use it to wash and deodorize my dogs who tend to have very sensitive skin, and to help control fleas!). Pure Tea Tree oil is non-toxic. 

 Aborigine is 6% tea tree oil with the added tea tree leaves, and plantain and dandelion root herbal infusions.  We recommend you soap-up and let the lather sit on your skin 2-3 minutes before rinsing to gain full effects of these wondrous botanicals!

African Black Magic 

(also known as "African Black Soap")

This traditional African soap is made following the practices of the women of Ghana and other regions of west coast Africa who make this soap by-hand and have for generations.  They use a mixture called "black soap powder" which we follow, originally created by the village women. The powder (made into a paste) is created of burned palm leaves which are added to cocoa pod husks, burned plantain skins, African honey, and virgin African shea butter.   The soap is always unscented. The color of the soap is determined by how long the plantain leaves are burned.....don't be fooled by imitation ABS - African Black Soap, that is merely soap colored with a black colorant!  In true ABS, the plantain skins are the key ingredient and what creates the dark color of the soap!  From hand-pressing the oils, to burning the leaves, to forming black soap into paste for soap- this African black powder is handmade by age old tradition. Every African family has their own secret method passed down each generation. The finished soap is reknown for helping to heal lesions and alleviating many skin irritations and conditions. Here at Ancient Alchemy we studied, mimicked, and recreated African traditional methods, adding some of our own (for a soap not crumbly like most ABS's directly from Africa), and offer you this bar to soothe your skin whatever it's condition, and to honor the black magic of this wonderfully pure soap that originated in Africa!

Bog Bar 

 Surely you've heard of therapeutic mud baths.....but did you know bog or moor peat is extraordinarily nutrient-rich and excellent for the skin, especially for eczema and acne?   One of the main curative effects of peat is the heat effect when warmed-up  peat expands. This was long-ago discovered by the people in the Transylvanian region of Romania where peat bogs are abundant. Peat-effects consist of overall warming of the body and the organic-minerals help open pores and draw out impurities, decongesting skin for better blood flow and texture.  Best to lather up and let the suds remain on your skin awhile before rinsing!  We've scented this bar with an earthy-tangy scent blend of lime and patchouli essential oils We order our peat directly from Transylvania, and I must say, our shipment delivery guy is highly suspicious of what I am ordering from TRANSYLVANIA! 

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Curandera Jabon

(means "Healing Soap", in Spanish)

Hispanic and South American curanderas (healers/medicine women) know the value of all that Mother Nature provides us, including the long used yucca and marshmallow roots in cleansing and soothing skin and for washing hair.  Yucca root has naturally occurring saponins in it; you can actually crush the yucca plant, mix with water, and create a lather from these saponins if you were out in nature!  (I sometimes wonder why the players on the TV show "Survivor" don't seem familiar with some of these nature-given tricks!) Yucca root works especially well on hair. Marshmallow root possesses amazing anti-inflammatory properties and is used widely in poultices for skin irritations and infections.  We've combined both along with a refreshing herbal scent blend of lemon verbena, rosemary and eucalyptus essential oils, excellent for problem oily or congested skin.

 D'Artagnan 

(Pronounced "Dar-tan-ian")

This rich, spicey soap is offered to you in a double puck shape (2) and replicates classic shave soaps used in the Victorian Era and made in the tradition of an ever-popular recipe that proved to be the favorite of swashbuckling Forth Muskateer - D'Artagnan, Napoleon, even Queen Victoria, and generations of leaders to follow!  We've re-created the Brown Windsor Soap recipe, a full-bodied soap enriched with French white and Moroccan rhassoul clays that yield bountiful fluffy lather ideal for the delicate art of shaving one's face.  Extremely skin-soothing avocado oil and vitamin E oil is added to moisturize and accelerate healing of nicks, should any prince-of-a-guy become inadvertently distracted while shaving. 

Need a bowl for your shave soap? 

(3" diameter soap puck fits perfectly!)

French Way

(But made in the USA!)

In the world soap making capital of Marseille, France, in 1688, the Edict of Colbert was decreed, stating all soap must contain at least 72% olive oil to bear the coveted title, "Savon de Marseille" ("Soap of Marseille").  The edict also decreed that no colorants and no scent may be added to the soap.  Savon de Marseille fine soaps remain popular today for those who trust only this recipe for purity on their baby's or their own sensitive skin, and for fine linens and laundry.  Reputedly, only five soap makers remain in the world who adhere to the strict edict formulation!  We've joined those ranks in producing "French Way", which contains 75% extra virgin olive oil, plus copra and palm oils....no scent, and no colorants.  However we go the extra mile and infuse our oils with calendula for soothing & healing attributes! 

Kyphi

An ancient scent recipe recreated from Egyptian hieroglyphics off the actual walls of the temple of Idfu where the most famous of all Kyphi  incense was made,  and also found on Egyptian papyri.  Kyphi produces a full-bodied, multi-layered bouquet with a warm, relaxing, sweet, yet spicy, and sensual aroma.  Over 14 natural ingredients make up this fragrant bouquet including frankincense, myrrh, sandalwood, cassia & more.  A TOTAL Egyptian experience! 

  Tahitian Secret

With Monoi de Tahiti Oil!

 In this exquisite moisture-rich soap we use 100% pure, tiare-scented Monoi de Tahiti oil (with *Appellation of Origin) added to create a divinely distinct soap!  Tiare blossoms (Tahitian gardenia) are picked fresh in Tahiti as has been done for centuries, they are macerated and left to soak in pure Tahitian coconut oil for a minimum of four weeks, imparting not only their lovely delicate scent, but also unparalleled skin-moisturizing properties.  An exotic & ancient islander treasure for skin beauty...a gift for dry skin!

* Authentic MONOI DE TAHITI® is easily recognized by it's Appellation D' Origine logo.  This ensures both high manufacturing standards and protects the consumer against widespread counterfeits and imitations. Indigenous to Tahiti and found nowhere else in the world - the Gardenia Taitensis blossom, one of the unique components of authentic MONOI DE TAHITI® is renowned for it's exotic potent fragrance and it's special moisturizing properties.

Order the 8-Bar Set for $54.00!

(You get one bar FREE!)

What a fantastic gift to give any skin problem sufferer looking for purity and relief, or ANYONE wanting to return to the simplicity of ancient wisdom and an environmentally green product! Pass the Wise Woman knowledge of Ancient Alchemy on to your loved ones!  Enjoy!

Copyright protected and registered © 1994- Carol Ochs, Simply Soap.  All rights reserved.  The name Simply Soap is registered trademarked in the USA, Serial Number 75686743, Registration Number 2379053.  The word mark "Ancient Alchemy" is register trademarked to Carol Ochs, Serial No. 78219177.All others in the U.S. using this name are illegal infringers. 

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