Alter/native by Suma (healing soaps and cleansing bars)
Alter/native by Suma is a brand of soaps from a wholefood collective set up in the 70s, owned by its 200-strong workforce (there are no bosses or shareholders) in Yorkshire. It’s also widely involved in tree-planting projects in Upper Calder Valley.
Choose unscented for pregnancy/nursing. We don’t recommend soaps that contain palm oil or fragrance oils.
Alter/native Bar Soaps (and soap dishes)
These are mostly based on coconut and olive oil (to avoid palm oil) and sold in paper packaging. Inspired by the natural power of plants, everything is vegan and not tested on animals. Made in Yorkshire, the range includes the following (allow bars to dry between uses):
To use, just shake off excess water and place on the draining shelf inside the tin. Drain any excess water, then pop the lid on to keep the bar dry.
The rust-resistant aluminium soap dish is ideal to store your soap bars, with drainage holes to stop the soaps getting soggy.
Earthbound all-in-one bar is ideal for face and body, and can also be used as a shampoo. It’s scented with lime, lemongrass and tea tree oil.
We do not recommend the ‘far and away’ body bar, as it contains artificial fragrance oil.
Cleansing Bars (pink clay or charcoal)
The cleansing bars are zero-waste alternatives to plastic pots of cleansing lotions. The pink clay bar has a light floral scent.
The charcoal version is more for oily or clogged skin, and is slightly exfoliating, and scented with lime, lemongrass and tea tree oils.
Coffee Cedarwood Shaving Bar – ideal for a creamy lather, if you use a reusable shaving brush. It’s scented with essential oils of orange and black pepper, so not too feminine!
The soap bars are for all-over body-use and sold in a range of scents:
- Aloe Vera (fragrance-free)
- Cinnamon Orange
- Lemongrass Chamomile
- Rosemary Lavender
- Rose Geranium
But Don’t Bar Soaps Dry Your Skin Out?
You’ve been reading silly beauty magazines! Real soap (made with caustic soda – don’t try this at home!) is then ‘cured’ for weeks. Which results in ‘proper soap’ to clean your skin, but retains the moisturising glycerine.
Most commercial soaps (which nearly all contain palm oil, contributing to deforestation of habitats for endangered orangutans) takes out the moisturising glycerine, and sells it to industry.
Or uses it to make fruity ‘transparent glycerine’ soaps for extra profits. Which don’t dry skin out, but won’t clean it either (because they are not soaps!
So seek out proper handmade soaps to find pure bars that both clean and moisturise your skin. Try using one on your face and nothing else for a month. And notice the difference!
