Essential oil hand soaps to keep you and your family healthy
There are no two ways about it, washing your hands is the single most important and effective way to reduce the spread of germs and to decrease the likelihood of passing along infection or illness to others.
We’ve learned so much this year when it comes to the importance of hand washing and the proper steps to take to ensure you’re washing correctly. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) shares on their site that hand washing with soap and water removes germs from hands, and this in part helps to prevent infections because:
- People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it. Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick.
- Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.
- Germs from unwashed hands can be transferred to other objects, like handrails, table tops, or toys, and then transferred to another person’s hands.
At Saje, we offer a number of 100% natural, safe and effective options when it comes to hand washing and hand hygiene, and we are offering some of these below.
Foaming essential oil hand soaps
Our Community-favorite foaming hand soaps are an important part of our collection of products to support hand hygiene. What we are certain to avoid in all of the products we offer, including our essential oil hand soaps, are synthetic or artificial fragrances, parabens, other synthetic preservatives, phthalates or alcohols, all of which can be irritating to the skin when used repeatedly and in large quantities.
The base of our foaming essential oil hands soaps is made of saponified coconut oil, which helps to moisturize and nourish the skin while promoting regeneration, rosemary leaf extract to act as a natural preservative and saponified sunflower oil and castor seed oil to soften while being rich in nutrients and antioxidants.
Our foaming hand soaps include:
Safe Hands: blended with cleansing and refreshing tea tree, floral and balancing lavender and earthy and comforting patchouli for a rich, lathering foam and a powerful cleanse
Tingle Mint: blended with stimulating and cooling peppermint, sweet and tingling spearmint and warming and soothing rosemary for an invigorating and refreshing cleanse
Lavender & Friends: blended with calming and soothing lavender and stimulating and fresh rosemary for a peaceful and gentle cleanse
Liquid Sunshine: blended with tart and invigorating lime, citrusy and uplifting grapefruit and bright and sweet orange for a fresh and zesty cleanse
All of our foaming essential oil hand soaps are sold in air pump bottles as well as large refill sizes to help reduce plastic waste.
Traditional essential oil hand soaps
For those who are more interested in traditional bar soap, at Saje we offer a number of different scents for every preference. What sets our bar soaps apart from others? We offer a 100% natural version of double milled soap, which means that our bars have been created, cured, re-ground, re-boiled and re-cured, allowing for the evaporation of lye and any other ingredients we don’t want in our final product. It’s during this second milling that we add essential oils and any natural coloring agents (like cinnamon, tumeric or wheat germ, for example) to our bar soap for a finished product that is skin-softening, hydrating and helps your skin retain its natural moisture.
Our bar soaps include:
Liquid Sunshine: revitalize your skin and awaken your senses with this zesty lemongrass, sweet tangerine and moisturizing coconut cleanser
Parisian Garden: purifying french green clay meets refreshing lemon and balancing geranium in this cleansing bar to wash away impurities and balance the skin, while leaving behind a freshly floral aroma
Peaceful Warrior: an earthy and herbaceous scent, helping you feel renewed and revitalized.
Moisturizers to complement essential oil hand soaps
Along with an increase in frequency to the number of times we are washing our hands throughout the day, we’re also experiencing side effects like dryness, redness and irritation. Though reducing and eliminating ingredients that are known as possible irritants like those we mentioned above can help keep your hands looking and feeling healthy, it’s also important to add moisture back to the skin. Lotions and body butters formulated to be deeply nourishing and rehydrating are an important part of a healthy hand hygiene routine as well.
Our top choices for moisturizing the hands:
Lavender & Friends body lotion: this lotion is formulated as an all-over body hydrator to keep your skin feeling supple and nourished with a sweet, lightly floral and herbaceous aroma. Skin-supportive base ingredients like aloe vera, shea nut oil and vitamin E help protect your skin's moisture barrier, leaving you glowing.
Carrot body butter: when you’re looking for an extra rich, thick and creamy option for providing deep hydration, Carrot body butter is our number one choice. A base of three soothing butters, cocoa seed, mango seed and shea are blended with antioxidant-rich and restorative carrot, skin rejuvenating patchouli and balancing geranium for a deeply nourishing treat for the skin. For soft and supple skin, apply after hand washing as needed.
Alternative products to essential oil hand soaps
Of course there are times when soap and water are not available to use, and we look to other options to support cleanliness. Though the CDC maintains that the first option should always be washing with soap and water when available, they share the following regarding hand sanitizer: “CDC recommends washing hands with soap and water whenever possible because handwashing reduces the amounts of all types of germs and chemicals on hands. But if soap and water are not available, using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol can help you avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.”
We’ve recently launched a brand new Hand Sanitizer here at Saje, that has been registered as both a Natural Health Product (NHP) in Canada and an Over The Counter (OTC) in the USA. We’re excited to share the following about the formulation of our newest product:
- 68% grain alcohol: antiseptic and effective at destroying and preventing the spread of harmful bacteria
- Aloe Vera juice powder: soothing and skin conditioning, protecting moisture balance in the skin
- Lime: a tart and invigorating citrus essential oil to freshen and enliven the senses
We’re offering two sizes of hand sanitizer, a smaller option to keep with you on the go and a larger option for your home, office or vehicle. Our hand sanitizer has been formulated for occasional and personal domestic use for adults and children 2+ years of age, and we recommend spraying, rubbing hands together for 20-30 seconds and allowing the product to dry thoroughly before moving on to your next task.
Other tips for using essential oil hand soaps in your daily routine
Finally, we want to share some tips when it comes to ensuring your hand hygiene routine is up to par. The CDC provides the following five steps to ensure you are washing your hands correctly and effectively each time:
Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from one person to another and throughout an entire community—from your home and workplace to childcare facilities and hospitals.
Follow these five steps every time.
- Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
- Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
- Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
- Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
- Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
Let’s ensure we’re all doing our part to prevent the spread of germs and infection whenever possible, by being mindful to keep hand washing a priority each day.
