Soapmaking: a brief definition of "soapmaking" according to Wikipedia.com.

Q: Why should I use homemade soap instead of store bought soap?
A: Most soaps you get from a store are not soap at all. What you are actually getting is a detergent. The same type of detergent you would use for your dishes or laundry. It is very harsh on the skin and can cause all kinds of skin problems. There are very few soaps on the market today that are natural and don’t contain any other harsh ingredients.

Q: Why does homemade soap get mushy in the tub?
A: The soap gets mushy if you allow it to remain wet. You should keep your homemade soap out of the water or it will disintegrate. Allow the soap to dry and it will harden up again. You shouldn't have any problems with the soap getting mushy if they aren’t sitting in water. Even commercial soaps or body bars will eventually disintegrate if allowed to sit in water.

Q: Do you have to use lye to make soap?
A: Yes. Without lye there would be no soap. Lye is not your enemy... it's a fallacy to think you can make soap without it (or some other caustic base substance to turn the fat molecules into soap compounds). When correctly made and cured, homemade soap is milder than anything you can buy.
 
Don't let the lye thing put you off. The marketers out there who claim their soap has no lye have really confused the public. They are being misleading when stating this. It just means they didn't use lye in their portion of the manufactured product... but in the beginning, it was used to saponify the fats. Notice on the soap labels that word, "saponify" ... "sodium tallowate" ... "sodium cocoate" ... etc.? That means tallow or coconut oil have been made into soap with the use of sodium hydroxide (lye), that's the sodium part. I hope this helps to give you a better understanding of lye.

Q: Do you use animal fats in your soaps?
A: No. We use only vegetable oils and butters. We mainly use olive oil which is the most gentle on the skin. We do this to tailor towards those with sensitive skin.

Q: Why is homemade soap so expensive?
A: Because of the time it takes to make the soap, the ingredients, and the curing time. Since we make our soap in small batches, we don’t buy our ingredients in large quantities. If we did, we couldn’t ensure freshness and quality of the product that our customers have come to expect.

Q: Do your soaps contain glycerin?
A: YES! Glycerin is a natural part of the vegetable oils we use, so it is a natural part of our soaps - unlike most commercial soaps. Since glycerin is a valuable commodity, commercial soap makers remove it for sale, or they keep trace amounts for mention on their labels. Even smaller soap makers participate in this glycerin removal. "French-Milled Soaps" for example, have had most of their natural glycerin removed. Also, clear "glycerin soaps" are not more moisturizing than handmade, vegetable oil soaps. To maintain their clarity, "glycerin soaps" contain alcohol, which dries your skin.

Q: Will your soap help with my eczema?
A: Yes! We have many customers with eczema, and they all write to say the same thing: "Thank you!" Our soap does not heal eczema. However, it does minimize both the redness and the itching. Again, remove the synthetic ingredients from soaps and there is nothing left to bother your skin. After using our soap, you'll be surprised to see just how bad your eczema was before.