Natural soap is all the rage these days, but what exactly is it? Natural soap does not contain any synthetic detergents or additives like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), parabens, phenoxyethanol, petroleum products, artificial colors or fragrances. This blog post will discuss how to shop for natural soap and why you should make the switch. Read on to learn more.
What is natural soap?
While some people believe that natural soap ingredients must be easily pronounced, easily procured, and easily recognizable, this is not always the case.
Under this definition, olive oil would be considered a natural ingredient while Pentasodium Pentetate (a chelating agent used in cosmetics and beauty products to prevent various mineral components from binding together and negatively affecting the formulation) would not be considered a natural soapmaking ingredient.
Even natural soapmakers do not always agree on what constitutes a “natural” ingredient. This is because the term ‘natural’ and its derivatives (e.g., naturally-derived, natural source, etc.) are largely undefined in US law or regulation.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, an organic ingredient is defined as follows:
Organic ingredient certified to have grown on soil that had no prohibited substances applied for three years prior to harvest
Companies that make the claim “natural” soap often try to be more natural than they actually are. These so-called Natural Soaps can still contain harmful chemicals like Propylene Glycol which is not good for your skin. It’s up you as a consumer decide what term best suits them and their products
The truth about these marketing schemes will surprise many people: Some major brands use “ Campaigns promoting environmentally friendly cleaning materials have been launched by big companies including Unilever NV (a Dutch multinational producer), Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G, part of the U.S. company Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble) and L’Oréal SA (the largest worldwide cosmetics company headquartered in Paris).
These campaigns are intended to boost sales by responding to what they describe as ‘consumer demand’ for natural products derived from renewable resources and manufactured by environmentally benign processes.
Are goat milk products natural?
People are becoming more and more health conscious, and with good reason. There are many products on the market that tout themselves as being natural, but what does that really mean? What makes goat milk soap different from other soaps?
One of the primary reasons that goat milk soap is considered to be a natural product is because the goats that provide the milk for the soap are allowed to roam freely and eat a natural diet. This results in milk that contains high levels of nutrients like vitamin A, D, E, and C, as well as minerals like potassium, calcium, and selenium. All of these nutrients are beneficial for human skin.
The question of what is natural soap often comes up when it comes to goat milk soap. Goat milk soap doesn’t contain Chemical preservatives, Artificial colors (dyes), Propylene Glycol, Triclosan (used in anti-bacterial products), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and other foaming agents, Parabens, Phthalates. With all these ingredients stripped out what is left? The answer: clean skin!
What about the added colors in soaps?
Things like oxides and ultramarines, which are pigments, can be mined from the earth. But because there’s a risk of contaminants being present when mining them, we get them from a chemist to make sure they’re pure. Other ingredients in handmade soap are what you’d expect to find in nature. Oils, butters, herbs and spices, clays, crushed seeds and flowers—soap making is an ancient art that uses what’s on hand.
Color comes from what is added from herbs and spices, clay, crushed seeds and flowers. The colors you see in soaps are plant or mineral pigments that have been ground into powder form. When the dry pigment is placed on top of the melted oils, what happens next depends on what kind of pigment is used. Ultramarines tend to melt into the soap, while oxides can create what soapmakers call a “splotch” of color.
Are fragrance oils in goat milk soap natural?
Soapmakers usually achieve fragrance this by using essential oils to give their soaps a scent. Essential oils are derived from plants, and are therefore considered “natural.” However, not all essential oils are created equal – some are much more expensive than others because they’re harder to extract. A good example of this is lavender oil.
Lavender does have a wonderful, soothing smell, but the process of obtaining it from lavender flowers is tedious and can be very expensive. Therefore, some soapmakers will actually use what’s called “fragrance oil” in their soaps instead of essential oils. Fragrance oils are what come to mind when most people think of “synthetic” fragrances. They’re what give commercial soaps their artificial scents – things like cotton candy, or tropical fruit!
The difference is that essential oils are naturally occurring extracts from plants, whereas fragrance oils are synthetic chemical mixtures created in a lab. While it’s true that fragrance oils don’t contain any animal products, they are not what most people think of as “natural.”
Conclusion to Natural Soap
So what is natural soap? It’s made with ingredients that come from nature. Things like oxides and ultramarines, which are pigments, can be mined from the earth. But because there’s a risk of contaminants being present when mining them, we get them from a chemist to make sure they’re pure. Other ingredients in handmade soap are what you’d expect to find in nature. Oils, butters, herbs and spices, clays, crushed seeds and flowers—soap making is an ancient art that uses what’s on hand. These ingredients are what gives handmade soap its color.
Hello, my name is Alicia Hurst and I am the founder of goatmilk.health. I created this website to provide information about the benefits of goat milk for health and wellness. I am passionate about helping people learn about the benefits of this amazing food source, and I hope that you find the information on this website helpful!
