As teens, we have a lot going on. We balance school, sports, and clubs; jobs and volunteering; homework and secretly—or not-so-secretly, this is a judgment-free zone—binging the latest episode of Riverdale.

All this may leave our social lives suffering, but that doesn’t mean our skin should have suffer along with it.

The secret to great skin isn’t overpriced creams, an extra hour of sleep, or a super-healthy diet. Ew.

The secret to great skin can be summarized in two words: Buying handmade.

What does handmade soap offer that store-bought soap doesn’t?

Handmade soap is crafted with you in mind. First, let’s talk about glycerin. Biology class probably forgot to mention its incredible moisturizing qualities, which draw water into the skin and push unnecessary skin oils out. Because glycerin is so highly effective and therefore highly desired, mass-production soap companies actually remove it from their soap bars in order to put it into more expensive products—cheating you out of the skin you deserve all to make an extra buck! That’s totally unfair, and, if I were you, I’d be pretty upset. Even worse, though, is how they replace that now-missing glycerin...WITH CHEMICALS.

Look at Dove Soap’s ingredient label and be honest: Unless you’re some kind of chemist—which, I guess, if you are, props to you—the only ingredient you’ll recognize is water. You’re literally bathing with laundry detergent, and yet you still wonder why your skin is dry and flaky. Now take a look at the ingredients for Turner and Addie’s soap. BIG DIFFERENCE. Five different kinds of oil mean 5x the glycerin content, which means 5x the moisture, which means 5x BETTER SKIN. Doesn’t that make you happy?

Handmade soap gives you exactly what you pay for. Some of us—okay, most of us—are tight on money. Why should we pay $6 for a bar of handmade soap when we could pay $3 for an SB alternative? Besides having nasty chemicals, do you want to know what the first ingredient in most liquid hand and body washes is? WATER. Literal water. Like the stuff, you can get from your tap. I CAN RINSE MY HANDS WITH WATER FOR FREE. Turner and Addie’s soap, on the other hand, is quality stuff. Revisit that label and take note of the first ingredient you see: Saponified oils. That’s the REAL DEAL. They’re not skimping on what makes your skin look and smell good, so do yourself a favor and don’t skimp on personal hygiene. Nobody wants to smell your watered-down BO. That’s gross.

Handmade soap uses essential oils, not artificial fragrances. Turner and Addie don’t use “fragrances”. They use “essential oils”—wait, no, essential oils. Stuff like peppermint extract—a natural energy booster, lavender—a natural stress reliever, and, most importantly for our oily teen skin, tea tree extract—a natural pore cleanser. Did I mention that essential oils are all-natural?

Handmade soap is way more eco-friendly than otc soap. When was the last time you recycled your shampoo, conditioner, or body wash bottle? Okay, because same. Little did I know that by throwing these bottles in my bathroom trash can, I was unintentionally adding to the 150 million tons of plastic already in our oceans. Handmade soap rarely ever uses plastic packaging, and Turner and Addie’s handmade soap never does. Instead, they use fully-recyclable, fully-biodegradable cardboard packaging. That’s because they care about sea turtles, dolphins, even blobfishes. No, especially blobfishes.

Alright, what now?

You have the information, you have the motivation, now all that’s left is trash your store-bought soap and buy handmade! Don’t know where to begin? Don’t worry, I got you covered. Turner and Addie handcraft soap for teens just like yourself, and because they’re teens too, they know exactly what you want out of a soap. With a variety of bars to choose from (AND MORE COMING SOON!!!) they know that they’ll have something you need. So what are you waiting for? Go get the skin you deserve!

#SAVETHEBLOBFISHES

Stay clean,
Gracie Mika, age 15