Come along with me on this tour of Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Bar Soap production! Making quality bar soap on this large of a scale is tricky business. Liquid soap is a cinch in comparison. With liquid, you functionally throw all the ingredients in a pot and out comes the soap. Bar soap is more complicated. The ingredients all go in as a liquid, but they need to come out as a solid! That takes a lot more doing.
That’s one of the reasons I brought you my tour of our Liquid Soap Production first, years ago, but put off attempting to explain to you bar soap production until now. Honestly, it’s a bit nerdy, but I have full confidence that you will appreciate it just as much as I do. After all, chemistry is gorgeous.
Because bar soap production happens inside a closed system, I can’t show you the chemistry in action, so I’ll have to describe it for you. Inside the tubular reactor in the video (does “tubular” make anyone else think of the Ninja Turtles?), I want you to envision a collision between oils and alkali which blasts apart all the molecules so that they reorganize as soap, glycerin, and water, with nothing leftover. It’s so efficiently beautiful! A few more ingredients get mixed in to the liquid before it begins the process of drying out.
The essential oils don’t get added until the finishing line. When you buy essential oils for home use, they usually come in a 1 ounce bottle, or possibly smaller. We buy them in 55 gallon drums, which is equal to 7040 ounce bottles, and can cost over $20,000!
So sit back and enjoy! Be hypnotized by the honeycomb screens. Get mesmerized by the stamper. I hope you’ll agree with me that soapmaking is really nifty!
For more on green cleaning & body care, including ways to use our family’s Castile Magic Soaps, visit my website at LisaBronner.com. Shop Dr. Bronner’s products online at DrBronner.com.
22 Comments
Wow!! Just got the rose bar soap from the store today and it makes me appreciate it even more after watching this video! All the hard work and love that’s put into it! Beautiful! This is the only brand of soap I have used since my crunchy, all natural friend from college told me about it. But, I’ve only used the liquid soaps for over a decade and now, finally trying the bar soap! Very excited! The rose smell reminds me of the good college days, very nostalgic! It’s like a treat to myself to use these high quality ingredients on my body!! Thank you Lisa for this wonderful tour!
Do you have a favorite scent?
WOW, fascinating process! I just adore your bars, such creamy lather. I am very curious when/how you add the hemp oil though as it isn't mentioned at all in this video and it's literally a big part of your labeling that it has US grown hemp oil. Please help us understand, thx
አንቺ ቆንጆ ሰላም ላንቺ
እንደዚ አይነት ድርጅት እንዲኖረኝ ምኞቴ ነው
ከቅድስት ሐገር ኢትዬጲያ
If we make the soap in the cold way, how many days will the soap be ready for use and marketing?
Country name?
Unfortunately we vote with our dollars now a days, if we can’t get government to listen we have to support the people who are doing the right thing in a country gone mad with greed. Thank you for maintaining your grandfathers ethos, this company is proof to all the naysayers that it is possible to be make money without harming the environment or our fellow humans. We shouldn’t have to prove it, but at every turn of their argument against going green or upholding human rights there’s been Dr. Bronners showing them that they’re wrong, there’s a better way, thank you for being a little light in a very long dark tunnel. I’m slowly converting my family, they’ll come around eventually, until then everyone gets an almond soap bar in their stocking!
This tour gave renewed strength to our dream. Thank you.
Sorry, I am like a cat I never take showers. 😅 Just kidding! This is a fascinating process and really complex machines there.
my favorite brand esp the peppermint!! its AMAZING at killing pests in plants. Love your for all this!
Lisa – What a cool video – your company looks like fantastic fun and very engaged employees – Well Done!!
I have a question…why are the soaps milled first
The deeper I dive into the Dr. Bronner rabbit hole, the deeper in love I fall. Thank you for making this video, Lisa!
Thank you for this virtual tour of your line! I’m just a small time soap maker, dreaming of the future. I’d say y’all have the process down to an art!
Hi
Marvelous 👍 I wold like see your factory
Really surprised how huge the factory is, very cool
I rushed here half way through your video to see how your grandaddy's bar soap is made
Why is salt water is needed yo make soap?
Happy new year from🇮🇳
I bet your grandpa didnt use Palm oil that is hugely contributing to the destroying the rainforests!
Hope they will never sell their company; it must remain with the family to maintain such amazing quality! ❤❤❤
I love your soaps …please make a patchouli one !✌🏼😀