What's In Your Soap?

Have you ever looked at the ingredients on a typical bar of soap? Chances are you've only seen a few of those words in text books, and the others might as well be giberrish.

Do you read labels when you buy bath & body products? Or do simply you buy what's popular or on sale? Is that soap in your shower a product you've been using for years just because those TV commercials and magazine ads show healthy young models with flawless skin? You may be familiar with a common staple in many bathrooms: the Dove Beauty Bar. This is a moisturizing soap, and the label claims that is made up of 25% moisturizing cream.

What's in that beauty bar? Here's the list of ingredients:

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate - derived from coconut oil. This is used as a surfactant [foam booster].
Stearic Acid - a hardener which can be derived from animal fat as well as from vegetable fat/oil.
Sodium Tallowate - derived from hydrogenated tallow [animal fat] and sodium hydroxide, lye. All soap contains lye, but not all soap contains tallow.
Water - one of the few easily recognized terms.
Sodium Isethionate - contains cleansing properties and is a foam booster.
Coconut Acid - a blend of fatty acids derived from coconut oil.
Sodium Stearate - a sodium salt of stearic acid which is used as a foam booster.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine - another foam booster derived from coconut.
Sodium Cocoate or Sodium Palm Kernelate - coconut oil mixed with fatty acid salts or extract derived from the palm kernel.
Fragrance - can contain dozens of unknown natural and synthetic components - none of which have to be revealed by law.
Sodium Chloride - also known as rock salt.
Titanium Dioxide - a pigment which is used to whiten the soap.
Tetrasodium EDTA - a preservative and chelating agent.
Trisodium - cleansing agent.

Not only is animal fat used, but in many cases animals are used to test the ingredients before they go into the soap. For example, "It has been established that Cocamidopropyl Betaine (CAPB) is potentially irritating to the eye. Laboratory animals exposed to varying concentrations exhibited not only swollen eyelids, but also conjunctival irritation and mild to moderate corneal irritation in un-rinsed eyes."(Cosmetics Ingredient Review Compendium, Cosmetic ingredient safety assessments, Washington DC, 2003)

Friends of PETA would not be interested in using the above product, nor should anyone else who is fond of animals.

All soaps contain lye. This is sodium hydroxide chemically reacting to the oils, fats, water, etc. as it turns into soap. Soap makers may use the term "saponified oils of," followed by the ingredients. Here's what a bar of natural Lavender soap (with crushed lavender) sold at the EnvyMyHealth.com Store consists of:

Saponified oils (olive, rice bran, coconut, organic palm and shea butter)

Lavender essential oil

Ground lavender

Rosemary extract

Natural vitamin E

Now doesn't that look so much more healthy and natural?

This soap costs no more than commercial soap, and the natural, organic and vegan/vegetarian-friendly ingredients make it a superior product. This soap is made in smaller batches, and the range of exotic butters and oils from the savannahs of Africa or the rainforests of Brazil to the organic additives all add up to a product that is kinder and healthier for your skin!

For more information on soap and other hygiene products, visit the EnvyMyHealth.com Bath Channel

Return to the Wellness Guide

Return Home

DISCLAIMER: The information provided on EnvyMyHealth.com and its affiliates is not intended nor recommended as a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care professional regarding any medical condition or treatment. Nothing contained on this site is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment.