Sunday, May 27, 2012
How To Make Organic Soap - Are Your Soap Products Natural Or Really Organic?
There always to seems to be some confusion when I talk to people who are new to making their own bath products whether they are natural or organic. They seem to get the two confused. A bath/body product can be natural but it does not make it organic. In this article on Article Trader by Annie, Are Your Soap Products Natural Or Really Organic?, she talks about the difference in making soap. But some of this information can also be applied to other bath and body products. Would anyone like to chime in on this subject? Any additional information to clarify would classify what an actual bath and body product is would be most helpful to those newbies.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I found the article to be poorly researched and written.
"Based on my experience, the most convenient method to be used in how to make organic soap is the melt and pour, because you do not have to use lye"
What is she really trying to say here? That melt and pour soap is organic?
However, I do agree with making a clear distinction between organic versus natural. From the readings that I have been doing, natural does not mean organic. Organic means that the raw materials used came from a source that used no synthetic enhancers. For instance, the carrots used in the organic meal came from a farm that used no pesticides or herbicides during its growth.
The term natural has a different meaning from organic. Synthetic replicas are considered to be natural. For example, dl alpha-tocopherol is the synthetic version of vitamin E that is available in plant oils. They share identical chemical structure but their sources are different. So it can be said that vitamin E from plant oils would be considered both natural and organic, provided that the plant was not sprayed with DDT.
Natural is a very broad term that the FDA doesn't even regulate. It can be used if most of the ingredients come from natural sources, regardless if pesticides are used or chemicals in the extraction process. However, you do want your products to AT LEAST be natural because this means no parabens or SLS (surfacants) and detergents are used. My soaps are all natural, but this also means that they collect moisture a lot more than the usual variety and are a bit softer by nature when choosing a glycerin soap. For hot and cold process soaps, it's easier to control the hardness of the bar.
Being organic is also tricky because in order to be certified organic, it takes a lot. If a company makes less than $5000 a year, they don't have to be certified, so they can slack on sourcing fully organic materials. Also, those that don't get certified can still claim being organic, but you should always ask what the term "organic" means to them if you don't see a certified organic symbol on your product.
Thanks for your input. I agree that the author made an strange comment that M&P might be organic because you do not use lye. How was the base made? All soap needs lye to be made it is just that M&P is already made so the person is not in direct contact with it. There are two different types of soap bases out on the market. If you get your soap base from a craft store ie Michaels then you are getting a soap base with SLS and other detergents. Then there is the pure vegetable glycerin soap base which is sold at more, how do I want to put it, soap making supply soures.
Post a Comment