Frequently Asked Questions

1. The essential soap bars are made with the core ingredients: Olive Oil, Sustainably Sourced Palm Oil, Coconut Oil, Beeswax, Lye.

2. The vegan soap bars are made with the core ingredients of: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Canola Oil, Lye.

Our soap is handmade using the cold-process method. No extra heat is used to cause saponification of the oils. This method is one of the oldest and purest forms of natural soapmaking. We begin by blending together plant-based oils and sodium hydroxide (Lye). The reaction between these two ingredients creates soap. Our sustainably sourced, high quality oils create nourishing soap that is suitable for all skin types, even the most sensitive. Each soap bar we create is unique based on the additional ingredients we mix in, (for example, lavender, essential oils, or Yukon wild rose petals). After a couple days, it is cut into bars (very satisfying to watch, check out our Tik Tok/Instagram). It is then set on our shelves in our soap studio for four weeks to cure. Curing helps any excess water to evaporate, leaving the hardened, beautiful, long-lasting soap our customers love!

When Joella took on the company in 2012, she wanted a way to connect people to culture and to land. Her way of doing this was to create soaps that included plants from the Yukon boreal forest. Elders in our community always shared the importance of connecting with the land. Each plant chosen for our soaps offers their own benefits including vitamins and unique healing properties. They are harvested by our local community following respectful cultural protocols and teachings passed down to us for generations. We give thanks to our Elders for their knowledge and we are proud to continue the tradition of caring, sharing, teaching, and respect.

No. We do not add any artificial fragrances to any of our products. Instead, we use high quality essential oils or flower petals to achieve various scents. Essential oils are compounds extracted from plants (leaves, stems, peel, root, flower, bark, etc). They can be used for therapeutic purposes and are often included in natural self-care products to provide a sense of calm, energy, relaxation etc. depending on which essential oil is being used.

Natural soap takes more time, labour and high quality ingredients to make versus commercially manufactured soap that you may find at your local grocery store. Handmade soaps use natural ingredients, such as essential oils, plant-based oils, and natural colorants. These ingredients are more expensive than the harmful synthetic chemicals and additives used in mass-produced soaps and we do not use any toxic detergents to make our soap. Our customers are willing to pay the extra cost for the added benefits, such as superior ingredients, customization options, and supporting small businesses that prioritize ethical and sustainable practices. The process of making handmade soap requires skill and craftsmanship. We spend time carefully crafting each bar, ensuring that it meets our quality standards for happy, returning customers!

Sustainably sourced coconut oil and shea butter take this natural soap to new heights of luxury. The source of our shea butter is Baraka Shea Butter, a small Canadian/Ghanaian family-owned business. The women who make Baraka Shea Butter in Ghana do everything by hand, using age-old techniques passed down through generations. Yukon soaps chooses to pay higher prices for these ingredients to help support their communities. This line of soap also contains plants that are hand harvested by women in our own community. Their time and labour collecting these plants is also factored into our pricing. Lastly, this line of soap is packaged in beautifully designed recyclable boxes, adding more cost to the development of these high quality soaps.

Our vegan line listed in the homepage are 100% vegan. (aka The Grandmother Collection). This collection is also Palm Oil Free. All others (Essential Soap Bars) contain beeswax.

All soaps should be used within one year of purchasing.

Yes, our natural shampoo bars are safe for all hair types including colour treated hair.

We offer three different types of packaging:

1. The essential soap bars do not contain any packaging, only a small transparent sticker listing the name and ingredients.

2. The vegan soap line (aka Grandmother soaps) are packaged in beautifully designed recyclable boxes inspired by 'granny hankies'.

3. Soap samples, soap trios and shampoo bars are all packaged in reusable muslin bags stamped with our logo.

Yes! We are an Indigenous AND Woman owned brand. We hire local youth and community - we encourage our team to uphold our values of caring, sharing, teaching, and respect. We also meet with our Elder's Circle to translate words and phrases into our Northern Tutchone language as well as learn traditional teachings such as plant knowledge and harvesting practices. Many of our products feature our Indigenous language on the packaging to help promote language revitalization in our community.

Yes, our unscented (no essential oils) options are:

1. Yukon Pure Soap Bar

2. Cornmeal & Honey Soap Bar

3. Bean in the Bath Soap Bar

No we do not, nor will we ever test on animals! 

We are located in many stores across the country. Visit our 'find us in stores' page to locate a store near you!

Yes! As long as our packaging team hasn’t yet shipped your order, you can contact us to make changes to your order. Send us an email at orders@yukonsoaps.com

Yes, we always welcome new retailers (U.S. & Canada) to sell our products. We are available on both Faire and Bulletin, or if you choose to purchase directly from us, visit our wholesale page to request a catalogue. The minimum wholesale order is $250.

We offer discounts of 10% when you join our newsletter. Feel free to sign up below! A discount code will be automatically sent to you via email for you to use.

Yes, whether you are seeking a keynote, panel, MC, or online guest, Joella Hogan offers a range of speaking topics including:

Entrepreneurship: Starting and running your own business is a journey, sharing the realities learned.

Northern Culture: Celebrate and educate on the beauty of northern culture.

Indigenous Wellness: Natural wellness products based on Indigenous knowledge and traditions.

Joella Hogan comes from a long line of strong, vibrant, Indigenous women. Her matriarchs are teachers, healers, bush women, social advocates, and cultural leaders. Joella is a business owner, business development program mentor, and community builder who brings fun "auntie" energy wherever she goes. She has owned The Yukon Soaps Company for over ten years. Through her business, Joella shares Indigenous language and stories with the goal of empowering her community and others.

Visit our contact us page to request our fillable form.

Yes, you can find our gift card here.

We LOVE collaborating/partnering with new brands. Send us an email at orders@yukonsoaps.com to discuss your ideas!

Yes! You can find our list of workshops here.

For bulk/custom/special orders, visit our custom order page to learn more.

Yes! If you would like to place an order simply add your gift recipients address in the “shipping address” section at checkout and if you would like to add a special message with your order please add the message in the “note” section or email us at orders@yukonsoaps.com with your request. We have a standard 'thank you' business card we can add as well.

We are located in a small Northern remote community. One barrier we face as a Northern business is the cost and time of shipping. Unfortunately, this is out of our hands. Shipping from our area can take up to 14 days depending on where you are located in relation to us. (Up to 17 days during Christmas). We promise you it will be worth it! Our team thanks you for your dedicated support.

Yes, we also ship to the U.S. Please allow up to 14 days to receive orders outside of Canada. Please note, tracking is only available for Canadian residents.

The only shipping provider available in our small northern community is Canada Post.

The cost of shipping for small businesses in the North is a huge barrier we face as Northerners. We are located in a small, remote community in the Yukon. We do not have the option to use FedEx or UPS. Our only option in our community is Canada Post. We recommend stocking up and buying in bulk. Shipping is free for all orders over $95.

Once your order has been shipped from our soap workshop in Mayo, Yukon, you will receive an email with your parcel’s tracking information. Please note that orders outside of Canada do not contain tracking although they typically arrive within 14 days via Canada Post.