Goodbye dry skin, Burlington-based Skinlicious Soaps has the recipe

Canadian winters can wreak havoc on the skin. The combination of low temperatures and a lack of humidity, both indoors and outside, makes it hard to retain moisture, resulting in flaking, itching, cracking, and rough, dry skin. There’s an overabundance of skin care options, all promising smooth, supple skin, but how do you know which products actually work?

Skinlicious Soaps started in 2003 and has become one of Canada’s largest handmade soap makers. When owner Ashfa Qureshi developed eczema, she began researching online recipes that would work for her skin type. Co-workers loved her soap too, and once Ashfa realized people were willing to pay for it, she knew she was onto something. For almost 22 years the orders have been non-stop.

“Dry skin always starts at the soap level. If you’re using a soap that’s drying out your skin, then no amount of lotion or cream is going to help,” says Ashfa. “You’ll see some compulsive cream users; they’re constantly putting it on their hands, and it’s not doing anything because the soap is what’s drying out their skin.”

You want a soap that cleanses without removing the skin’s natural oils and destroying the skin layer responsible for retaining moisture. Skinlicious soaps are very high in shea butter and coconut oil. According to Ashfa, when these two oils are mixed together, they are absolutely unstoppable when it comes to moisturizing the skin.

“Shea butter is an excellent moisturizer. Very, very rich, and you don’t need a lot of it in order to make a nice hard bar. The biggest complaint we get is that people are hesitant to use natural soap because it’s gone in a couple of days because it’s just not hard enough to sustain itself in the shower. Ours lasts about five weeks of daily showering,” said Ashfa. “Because it’s natural soap, it’s not a detergent like many store brands that strip the skin of its natural oils. Our shea butter soap is made with 20 per cent extra shea, and it’s got a lot of coconut oil in there as well. It has no palm oil, no colour, no dye, and once people use it, they’re hooked. They never go back to using any other bar of soap.”

Once you use a good soap, you want to finish it off with a moisturizer that will keep your skin hydrated all day. Skinlicious offers 30 different body butters infused with the aromas of 100% pure essential oils made with high-quality shea butter, coconut, jojoba, and safflower oils. Shea butter and coconut oil deliver deep moisture, while jojoba and safflower oils help retain hydration and support skin health.

Skinlicious Soaps also makes lip balms, body scrubs, bath milk, shampoo bars, conditioner bars, and massage bars right in Burlington. They’ll also customize their creations. For example, if you want a shampoo bar in a scent they don’t offer, they’re happy to make it for you.

If you’ve never heard of the company, it’s because they white-label a lot of their products. “When you go to a gift shop, whether you’re here or in Disneyland or Niagara-on-the-Lake, and you happen to see Mary’s Soap or Sue Ann’s Soap, we probably make it for those people and they just add their label onto it. We’re massive wholesalers here in Burlington,” said Ashfa. 

In the next few months, the entire 1254 Plains Rd. E. location is being revamped and they will be adding a retail space where people can come in and browse. All Skinlicious Soaps products will also soon be available on Amazon.