FAQ

I make two sizes for everyday ordering: a full bar (about 5 oz) and a sample bar (about 0.5 oz). Both are made for full-body use, and samples are a nice way to try a scent before committing to a full bar. I also offer gift sets: four bars, about 2 oz each, gift wrapped in a handmade custom box.

I collect payment when your order is ready, not when you place it. You can pay with Zelle or Venmo, and I'll send a payment request when everything is ready. If you're picking up locally, cash works too.

Yes! Since every bar needs 4–6 weeks to cure, please plan on at least 6–7 weeks from start to delivery, depending on the size of the order. Email me at hello@wildmariposaco.com and we'll talk through what you have in mind.

Of course. Just email me at hello@wildmariposaco.com as soon as you can. Unfortunately, orders that have already shipped can't be changed or canceled.

Shipping is $10 anywhere in the US. Fill a box and it's on me: 6 full bars, 2 gift sets going to the same address, or $70+ in soap. Local pickup is always free.

Yes! I offer free pickup in the Phoenix metro area. Choose Pickup at checkout, and I'll reach out when your order is ready to set up a time.

Soaps marked Ready now ship from Arizona by USPS and usually arrive within 3–5 days of shipping. Soaps marked Coming soon are still curing, so they'll ship once they're ready. To keep shipping costs down, I send your whole order together once every bar is ready, and each soap's listing shows its estimated ready date.

Yes. Once your order ships, I'll email you the USPS tracking number.

Yes! At checkout, choose Ship and check "This is a gift." Then add your recipient's address and a personal message. I'll print your message on the thank you card inside the box. No prices or receipts are included, so it's a surprise from start to finish.

Curing is the resting time handmade soap needs after it's made. For 4–6 weeks, my bars sit on an open rack while the extra water slowly evaporates. That's what turns a soft, fresh bar into a firm, long-lasting one with a rich, creamy lather. It's also why some soaps are listed as Coming soon: they're made, just not quite ready yet.

Essential oils are distilled from plants: lavender from lavender flowers, cedarwood from wood, and so on. Fragrance oils are blended scents, which let me make scents nature can't easily provide, like oatmeal, milk and honey. Most of my soaps use essential oils. A few use fragrance oil, and I always say so on the listing and the label, so you'll never have to guess.

Every color in my soap comes from natural ingredients like clays, botanical powders and spices. French pink and green clay, spirulina, nila powder, turmeric, cocoa powder and activated charcoal all add their own tones, and I never use synthetic dyes. Some fragrance oils also slowly warm a bar's color as it cures. Meadow is one, deepening to a soft tan over time.

Every batch is made by hand, so no two are exactly alike. Natural colorants can shift a little from batch to batch, swirls land differently each time, and some bars soften or deepen in color as they cure. The recipe and scent are the same. It's just the handmade part showing!

As soap cures and sits, the scent on the surface can soften a little. Don't worry, the scent is still there inside the bar, and it comes right back once you start using it. Keeping your bars somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight helps them hold their scent longer.

Handmade bars last longest when they can dry out completely between uses. My soap is best used within a year, but I hope you love yours so much it's gone well before then!

• Keep it out of the shower stream so it isn't sitting in running water.
• Use a soap dish that drains, so the bar can dry completely between uses.
• Store extra bars where air can reach them, like an open shelf, an uncovered cardboard box or a wooden crate, with a little space between bars.
• Avoid airtight containers. They trap moisture, which can cause mold.

I list every essential oil and additive on each listing and label so you can check before you buy. My soap base is made with coconut, olive, sunflower and avocado oils plus cocoa butter, and some bars also include honey, oats, seeds or botanicals. Fragrance oils are blends whose individual components aren't listed. Soaps containing essential oils that are more likely to bother sensitive skin, like cinnamon, clove, cassia, citrus and peppermint, are marked with a sensitive-skin note. If you have allergies or sensitive skin, please review the ingredients first, and a sample is an easy way to try a soap.

Sodium hydroxide, also called lye, is what turns oils into soap. Every true soap is made with it. When lye and oils are mixed, they react and become soap and glycerin, a process called saponification. By the time a bar has fully cured, no lye remains, and I check each batch before it goes up for sale.

Sodium lactate is a salt made from lactic acid, often produced by fermenting plant sugars. I add a small amount to the lye water to help my bars set up firmer and release cleanly from the molds.

For safety reasons, I can't accept returns of used soap. But if anything isn't right with your order, I want to make it right, so please email me at hello@wildmariposaco.com.