Coconut oil is a favorite ingredient for many artisan soap makers. It produces unbeatable lather, an excellent hard, long-lasting bar, cleanses well, has antimicrobial properties, and is sustainable and eco-friendly.
Most of our Dayspring Farm soaps contain coconut oil, with two notable exceptions: Honey Oatmeal, and Unscented. Why'd we leave it out? These are our gentlest soaps, geared toward sensitive skin that needs extra TLC. While coconut oil has many benefits, some folks find it drying (and obviously if you have a coconut allergy you'd want to avoid it!). These two soaps are designed to be extra-moisturizing, non-stripping, and anti-inflammatory.
You may find they lather slightly less than our other bars because they lack coconut oil. Interestingly, while most of us associate lots of lather with good cleansing, that's not necessarily accurate. Nice bubbly lather makes for a lovely sensory experience, but it isn't related to how soap cleans. On a molecular level soap is a surfactant, which means it interferes with the bond between oil, dirt, and surfaces, making it easier for water to wash impurities away. Gentler soaps can do this without a dramatic lather and are effective at washing without stripping skin's moisture away.
Try a fun comparison. Our most luxurious lather comes from our beer soaps, because they contain both beer and milk, sugary liquids that produce big, stable bubbles. Our goat milk-only soaps also produce a lovely lather, but the coconut oil-free bars lather with fine, small bubbles, not big suds. They'll all get you clean while producing different washing experiences.