Natural Soap: How many and What ingredients should natural soap contain?

...The answer is obvious... but is it? The truth about the "natural" soap industry in the USA

Today, health and beauty scientists design and develop a number of treatments to prevent and, as they say, even stop aging of our skin. "The science of ageless beauty" is the slogan for one famous and successful skin care company that promises miracle effects happening to your skin once you start using their brand. Companies like this offer numerous solutions for every inch or centimeter of our skin, and the only question I have for them is if the creams are so effective why are we still looking for new, more effective ways to keep our skin young and beautiful?

The answer is hidden beyond the simple and daily used body care product - soap! Surprisingly, but it all starts from the soap. If the cosmetic producers fail to put natural ingredients in this basic, but essential product, and instead fill it up with chemicals, then it is only left for your imagination to see what kind of "effective" and "quick restoring" ingredients they included in more complicated cosmetic products as anti - aging creams and serums.

I've been thinking about this topic for some time already. Before writing it, I have visited several stores that gained a solid reputation to be a source of natural products. They include "Trader Joe's" and the "Whole Foods Market." At the "Trader Joe's" market I did not find naturally made soap at all. There were detergents that included chemicals, artificial fragrances and foaming agents and for some unknown reason to me proclaimed themselves as a "natural soap." The "Whole Foods Market" had a few out of many brands that are based on the ingredients that can correlate with their name and so be called "naturally made soap."

When did US producers of body care products step over the line and nominate themselves (because obviously in reality it is not) as natural and organic brands? Apparently, it has been happening for a long time already, it is just now that a vivid number of consumers start to rely on the actual ingredients rather than the falsely made up description and name of the product. This article is about naturally made soap and what can/can't make it so "natural."

I would like to start with a question. Did you know that there is no requirement in the USA about the claim on where the soap was made? Producers of soaps in the USA proudly put "Made in U.S.A." label when it was made here, but what about the ones that do not put anything? I suggest to avoid soap brands that, for reasons only known to them, do not disclose such information. This is not the only question I have for producers and below are a few of my the questions I have for them.

Question # 1. Why are there so many ingredients?

When I purchased this soap (picture on the left) it looked and smelled as a good quality soap to me. As you can see, the ingredients in the back did not contain chemicals and fragrances (though producers are not required to disclose the trademark "fragrance" on the label in the USA), the outlook was fine - bulky square wrapped in a paper with essential oils smells. And yet, something did not feel right about it.

The fact that palm oil was there did not make the suspicious feeling better. Overall, I did not find any natural soap in the USA without palm oil! I felt I had no choice, but to mutually agree to cut down all palm trees in Indonesia and enjoy the "naturalness" of the soap. But this is not the question here - Why are there so many ingredients? I continued to ask myself.

To compare naturally made soaps produced in a different country I looked at the recently purchased label of the soap from Australia (picture on the right.) It was obvious to me that the soap from Australia had less ingredients. Why does this soap have far less ingredients than the soap I purchased in the USA?

Additionally it became more noticeable to me, and I am sure to you too, that the producers from Australia put one by one essential oils they used in creating their handmade soap, and the brand from USA simply summarized the essential oils as a "blend of 100% pure essential oils. Why?

Until these days I can't find the convincing answer to this question, but I decided to avoid this and any other "natural" soap brands that even though do not list chemicals as ingredients have a long list of "natural" ingredients. As the example from Australia shows, the soap making process does not require many ingredients to create natural and artisan effective soap!

Question # 2. Where on earth have Titanium Dioxide and Iron Oxide became "natural" ingredient for the soap?

Just by simply looking at the cover of this soap (the picture above), I immediately noticed several magic words that are commonly used by producers to draw our, customers, attention. They specifically were chosen for people who are seeking natural and healthy body care products.

What words drew your attention?

I noticed two reflective words: "naturals" and "handcrafted!" They both sounded that the producer appreciates the nature and personally had made the lovely soap for me. The mystical Indonesian patchouli and sandalwood descriptive made the soap even more appealing.

So now let us look at the ingredients. Oops, and here are major discrepancies between the promising naturalness and what it is in reality.

The first ingredient that caught my attention was "natural fragrance oils."

Handmade or, as the producer says here, "handcrafted" soaps, are always sentenced with pure essential oil and absolutely not with any fragrance oils. Why? Because it immediately defeats the purpose of the soap to be completely natural. Therefore this soap already can't be "natural!"

The second ingredient, or the ingredients that threw me out were Titanium Dioxide and Iron Oxide. Where on earth have Titanium Dioxide and Iron Oxide became "natural" ingredient for the soap?

Titanium Dioxide is a naturally occurring mineral and is mostly used in sunscreens, pressed powders and loose powders as a UV filter or whitening agent. What does it have to do with soap production?

Iron oxide is the chemical compound composed of iron and oxygen. What does it have to do with the natural soap? It is clearly a synthetic product!

There are many questions and not so many answers as to why this producer openly lies to customers by portraying their product as "natural and "handcrafted." I highly doubt that the titanium dioxide can be safely and carefully used without a lab specialist. And even so, this ingredient has nothing to do with the natural soaps. Iron Oxide is commonly used as a cheap sublet for color in paints! This is truly a warning! Avoid this and similar products for your skin and health safety.

Read more about natural products and trust your instinct! If it does not feel right, then this is not the product to buy and use!

Lastly, below is an example of the naturally made soap I luckily found at the local farmers' market. I use this soap and it genuinely smells, feels and looks natural!