How it started
Azur started as a traditional soap factory from Groningen. Inspired by the beautiful Côte d'Azur, with a passion for both the skin and the environment, Azur came to life, founded by Eline. As a young girl, she was intrigued by the deep purple, fragrant lavender fields, the beautiful azure Mediterranean Sea, the sunflower fields, all the different shades of green, the nice natural scents, and of course the 'savonneries'. Years later she decided to make her own cosmetics, including the nourishing Azur soaps. Unique to our soaps is that a certain percentage of nourishing oil does not react with it in the chemical reaction, so that our soap does not dry out but nourishes, and you can feel it!
The soap workshop
All our soaps are still made according to Eline's recipes and designs. In our workshop in Groningen we produce our soap and skin products in a traditional way with great love. Everything is done by ourselves: from production planning to purchasing raw materials. We also do everything by hand. Think of weighing ingredients, pouring, cutting and packing.
Making soap is our passion. Each soap has specific characteristics and a unique appearance. Piece by piece jewels!
Our workshop is located in Groningen. Would you like to get acquainted or are you curious about how things work in our kitchen?
The process of artisan soap
In short, making soap is a chemical reaction. Vegetable oils, such as shea butter and sweet almond oil, react with a strong base (high pH, opposite of an acid). This creates a new chemical compound: the soap molecule. The reaction continues, creating a kind of custard-like substance.
Now comes the creative part!
We enrich the 'soap batter' with beautiful colors and scents. Fragrances are unique combinations of pure essential oils. Colors come from dried plants and clay. By pouring the soap in different ways, we create our unique designs.
We let the soap batter harden in the moulds, while the chemical reaction continues in the meantime. After 24 hours we cut the soap into the well-known blocks. We then let these blocks dry for at least 4-6 weeks. Water present in the soap evaporates, so that the soap ripens and becomes nice and hard, so that it lasts extra long. This is an essential step to ensure the quality of the soap. Truly a craft!
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NATURAL
We work with 100% natural and safe oils, fragrances and colors.
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SKINLOVING
Skin care and improvement is our passion, and that in a natural way.
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SUSTAINABLE
We pack our products in recycled paper, glass or bamboo.
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PLANT BASED
We work with plant-based ingredients that are completely vegan.
