Handcrafting natural soap with pure essential oils and other plant-derived materials.

Making reparations for three centuries of obliteration of New England's forests. It used to be a fact of soapmaking that in order to make a good bar of soap, you needed to burn a good patch of forest. This was because the ashes were processed into potash, an essential soap ingredient. (If you haven't heard about this, you need to go to A Timber Shortage: how colonial housewives obliterated New England's forest for the sake of a bar of soap). It's time for soapmakers and forests to reconcile. After all, we rely on trees for almost all of the oils that are used to make soap. As a matter of fact, palm oil and coconut oil are key ingredients in all forest karma soaps.

Liberating soap from its bad karma. All profits from the sale of forest karma soap are donated to forest conservation efforts.

Currently available from forest karma:

Old Growth Forest Soap
with shea butter and essential oils of cedar, eucalyptus and basil.
There are 43 old growth forests in Massachusetts. And, after having spent time there, I am convinced that old growth forests harbor a great diversity of vicious biting insects. This bar contains cedar, eucalyptus and basil essential oils that repel biting insects as well as shea butter, which leaves a protective layer of oil on the skin. Shea butter, also known as African karite butter, is expressed from the pits of the fruit of the African Butter tree (Pentadesma butyracea), which grows in Central Africa. This soap has been tested by conservationists in the old-growth forests of Massachusetts.

Fruit & Leaf Soap
with essential oils of sweet orange and petitgrain
There are an incredible variety of citrus trees utilized for perfumery and aromatherapy. Two different species of orange tree, sweet and bitter, lend their uplifting aromas to this soap. From the sweet orange tree (Citrus sinensis) we obtain sweet orange essential oil, which is cold-pressed from the peel of the fruit. (Another excellent use for the fruit is to eat it, and that we do, in large quantities). The bitter orange tree (Citrus aurantium), also known as Seville orange, surrenders not just one but three prized essential oils: neroli, petitgrain, and bitter orange (from the blossoms, leaves and twigs, and fruit of the tree, respectively). Petitgrain lends its scent to this soap. At one time, this oil was extracted from the unripe green oranges when they were still very small, hence its name. The harvesting of the immature fruit for petitgrain oil, however, greatly reduced the yield of mature fruit which was used for the production of bitter orange oil, so petitgrain is now steam distilled from the leaves and twigs. So, here we have scents of both the fruit of the sweet orange tree and the leaf of the bitter orange tree, combined into one exquisite soap. Not to be overlooked is the fact that sweet orange and petitgrain are both reputed to relieve stress, anxiety, and tension. Lather up, Sunny!

Sweet Birch Soap
with essential oils of birch, clove and ginger
This soap is formulated to ease muscle soreness while enhancing circulation, with essential oils of sweet birch, clove, and ginger. Sweet birch oil, extracted from the bark of the Sweet Birch tree (Betula lenta) which grows in the woods of eastern North America, contains a significant amount of methyl salicylate, making it effective in relieving sore muscles. As an added bonus, sweet birch is reputed to soothe skin afflictions such as eczema. Scandinavians are rumored to flog their bodies with birch twigs after taking saunas, and then jump into icy water to trap the oil into their pores. Clove oil, extracted from the unopened sun-dried flower buds of the Clove tree (Syzygium aromaticum), stimulates the human circulatory system. Ginger oil has the same effect.

Bergamot Grove Soap
with essential oils of bergamot, lavender, lemon and lime
The Bergamot tree (Citrus bergamia) is a citrus tree that flourishes in lush groves that run along the coast of Italy in the province of Reggio Calabria. The tree grows elsewhere in the world, but only in Calabria does it give us the essential oil, which is cold-pressed from the aromatic peel of the yellow fruit. The tree has been called “nature's gift to Calabria” and so prized is the oil of the fruit that a consortium, Consorzio Del Bergamotto Reggio Calabria, has been formed to preserve the purity and quality of bergamot essential oil. The oil is an essential component of the original Eau de Cologne (circa 1709) and gives Earl Grey tea its distinctive flavour. The oil remains indispensable to the international perfume industry, adding its unique aroma to a wide variety of beauty products, including this very special soap, which is scented with an essential oil blend of bergamot, lavender, lemon and lime.

Scentual Soap III
with essential oils of rosewood, lavender and cardamom
Trees the source of some of our favorite fragrances. Rosewood and cardamom, which scent this bar, are tree-derived oils. Lavender, another oil used extensively by the perfume industry, has also been added. Rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) is a tropical evergreen tree native to Greater Amazonia. While all parts of the tree are fragrant, the trunkwood is traditionally harvested and distilled for the oil, which is widely used in perfumery. Brazil is now the only supplier of rosewood oil to the world market, which includes some of the finest perfumery houses. In gathering information about this oil, we learned that rosewood oil is not a sustainably produced forest product. The older, more accessible areas of the tropical forests which have been utilized by the rosewood oil industry are effectively devoid of mature trees and there is no significant natural regeneration. This, together with the general problem of tropical deforestation for other purposes (commercial logging is the single largest cause of rainforest destruction), has led to a loss of genetic diversity of Aniba. Until we can be sure that rosewood is sustainably harvested, we will no longer use rosewood oil in our soap. And we urge our customers to purchase only sustainable forest products. The Cardamom tree (Elettaria cardamomum) bears fruit which is oblong shaped and grey in color. This fruit holds the seeds from which the oil is extracted. Cardamom grows in the Cardamom Mountains region in southwest Cambodia. This wondrous place, which has an exceptional degree of biological diversity, including many globally threatened species such as Indochinese tiger, Asian elephant, and Siamese crocodile, is being lost to logging (legal and illegal), the hunting and poaching of wildlife, and land-clearing. The Cardamom Project is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit devoted to the conservation of the Cardamom Mountains region.

Free the Trees Soap
with flax oil, ground flaxseed and essential oils of lavender, rosemary and allspice berry
Forests are essential to many species of plants and animals. Scientifically speaking, forests are habitat, providing a comfy home and a place to be fruitful and multiply. Here in America, we destroy on the order of 12,430 square miles of forest—one billion trees—every year to produce paper. Trees are not an essential ingredient in paper. Fibers from non-wood plants like flax (as well as hemp and cotton) make high quality pulp that can be used for everything from toilet paper to money. As a matter of fact, flax, hemp, and cotton rags were the prime ingredients for paper making for 2,000 years. It wasn’t until the 19th century, when paper mills were faced with rag shortages, that wood pulp from trees surfaced as a raw material for paper. There is vast potential for a paper industry based on flax and other nonwood fibers that would minimize the environmental impact of paper production and spare tree (and forest!). This bar contains both the oil and seed of flax. Flax oil is very is rich in nutrients and moisturizing to the skin. The seeds are ground into a fine meal which acts as an exfoliator, gently rubbing away dead cells which accumulate on the surface of the skin and stimulating the production of new cells. It is beautifully scented with essential oils of lavender, rosemary and allspice berry.

Special Blend Avocado Soap
with avocado oil, spirulina & essential oils of lemongrass, lavender, Litsea cubeba and benzoin absolute
Two ‘special’ ingredients, avocado oil and spirulina, have been added to this soap to create a bar that is exceptionally soothing and rejuvenating. Avocado oil, from the pulp of the fruit of the Avocado tree (Persea americana), has an extraordinarily high fat content and contributes to a superfatted soap that will moisturize and nourish the skin. It is purported to regenerate skin cells and heal scaly skin. Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) is a freshwater, single-celled blue-green algae that grows wild in lakes and is cultivated in ponds. It is a complete, high-quality vegetable protein and contains a multitude of nutrients including beta-carotene, vitamin B-12, vitamin E, iron, and chlorophyll. Chlorophyll, the green pigment that gives all plants (including trees) their color, is a cleansing and detoxifying phytonutrient that draw toxins out of the body. Spirulina’s high chlorophyll content that make it a spectacular colorant for soap. Essential oils of lemongrass, lavender, Litsea cubeba and benzoin absolute add an uplifting scent to this beautifully green, nutritious bar.

New Forest Karma Soaps!

Frankincense & Myrrh Soap
with essential oils of frankincense, myrrh, Litsea cubeba, coriander, cardamom and allspice & ground frankincense

Maple Soap
with organic maple syrup, oats and essential oil of cinnamon

Tree & Grass Soap
with lemon zest, kaolin clay, and essential oils of lemon, Litsea cubeba, lemongrass and benzoin

Temple of Green Soap
with organic fair trade gunpowder green tea and essential oils of clary sage, spearmint, lime, fir, vetiver, labdanum and lavender absolute

Sink Soap
with shade grown organic fair trade coffee and essential oils of bitter orange and mandarin

Roots Illuminée Soap
with essential oils of sweet basil, bergamot, bitter orange, benzoin, labdanum and vanilla

Wind in the Trees Soap
with essential oils of lavender, ylang ylang, cedarwood and marjoram

Past Favorites from forest karma

Note: Because these soaps contain essential oils, patch test them on your inner arm before using on the rest of your body. Do not use if a reaction occurs.

Contact forest karma Soap Co. to make an inquiry or place an order.

Free bicycle delivery to customers in the Boston Massachusetts (USA) area