The Best Commercial Soap

I know that I post a lot on this blog about organic soaps, making your own soaps, buying organic, locally made soaps, but rest assured that I am compassionate to situations and I am honest with myself as well. These options just aren't feasible for people on a moderate to low income, especially in this economy. Soap-making is no easy task either, which makes it a bit difficult for the already over-scheduled woman to do.

I get that, I really do.

If you want a glimpse into MY life, there are a lot of organics that we don't buy simply for money reasons. I know that you cant put a price on good health, as they say, but if I can't grow it or make it myself, we usually don't buy it organic. I'm sure a majority of my readers can understand. :-)

SO, It has been laid on my heart to bring to you the best commercial options for soaps and shampoos for those on a non-organic budget.

First we will look at bar soaps:

There are SO MANY dangerous ingredients in soaps today that it is downright scary! Enough to make one (like me) want to wash with just hot water! Let's look at a popular commercial soap first:

The Dove Beauty Bar.

White is the most simple form of this one. It's their "regular" bar soap. The ingredients are questionable. For those looking for a vegan soap, this is not the soap for you. It has Sodium Tallowate in it which is a rendered animal tallow. That's not bad in my eyes, but vegan shoppers be aware. They do not advertise this.

The complete ingredients list is as follows:

"Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Coconut Acid, Sodium Tallowate, Water, Sodium Isethionate, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate, Palm Kernelate, Fragrance (Parfum), Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA, Trisodium Etidronate, BHT, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate"

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate is a fatty acid/coconut oil mixture. It's basically safe. It cleans the skin and hair by helping water to mix with oil and dirt so that they can be rinsed away, basically like a binder.

Stearic Acid is another fatty acid derivation from animal and vegetable fats that is "found commonly in many foods" and is added to soaps as a cleansing and emulsifying agent.

Sodium Isethionate is a biodegradable and high foaming detergent used in soaps to make it lather up well. It is not classified as having an adverse health effect on humans.

Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a synthetic detergent added to the soap to make it a little milder on the skin, but it poses no great risk in itself.

Fragrance (Parfum) is a BIG deal that looks so small. Fragrance can be ANYTHING added to get the smell that they want, ANY chemical, synthetic ingredient, or chemical combination. There is a lot of undisclosed gray area in that labeling.

Sodium Chloride is salt, plain and simple.

Tetrasodium EDTA is a questionable ingredient. It's "proper" name is Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and it is synthesised from ethylenediamine (1,2-diaminoethane), formaldehyde, and sodium cyanide. WHOA! Formaldehyde?? "Formaldehyde has been classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency" Sodium Cyanide??? Sodium cyanide is "a white poisonous salt (NaCN) used in electroplating." It is a poisonous chemical used to cause one metal to bond to another metal! Ever heard of cyanide poisoning? Look it up. Do you really want to expose yourself regularly and repeatedly to formaldehyde and cyanide?

Trisodium Etidronate is a preservative and a chelating agent also used in water softeners. This ingredient in particular has caused many adverse reactions in people with Eczema because it is a skin and mucous membrane irritant. Even a lot of "all natural" or "organic" soaps have this ingredient, so read the label! And don't get it in your eyes or mouth when using it.

BHA is another questionable ingredient here. It is a preservative used to prevent the tallow and fats from spoiling, and it is used a lot in foods, so check your food labels too. Even Jello. BHA and BHT are used closesly and interchangeably in a lot of formulations. These two closely related chemicals are added to oil-containing foods to prevent oxidation and retard rancidity. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, consider BHA to be possibly carcinogenic to humans, and the State of California has listed it as a carcinogen. Some studies show the same cancer causing possibilities for BHT. Do your own research on this, I encourage, but DO the research. Your skin is like a sponge, absorbing everything that is put on it, and rubbed into it. That's why our fingers get pruney when we swim or bathe too long. Our cells absorb until they can't absorb anymore, and all of this can pass directly into the bloodstream. 

Titanium Dioxide is a naturally occurring compound, and for that reason many think it is safe, but arsenic is also a naturally occurring compound, would you bathe in it? From the MSDS: "WARNING! MAY CAUSE IRRITATION TO SKIN, EYES, AND RESPIRATORY TRACT. MAY AFFECT LUNGS. SUSPECT CANCER HAZARD. CONTAINS TITANIUM DIOXIDE, WHICH MAY CAUSE CANCER. Risk of cancer depends on level and duration of exposure. Health Rating: 2 - Moderate (Cancer) Chronic Exposure: Titanium Dioxide may cause cancer in humans." Do the research, and use at your own risk.

Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate is classified as harmful. I will let you look into that one yourselves.

There is a lot more in soaps that we originally are led to believe, huh? It's a crazy world.

Now, that Dove is a picture of MOST of the commercial soaps on the market. Some (Like Tone, Zest, and Dial) have waaay more dangerous ingredients in them, but that's when you come in and do your own research. Seriously, just Google "MSDS (whatever ingredient you are looking up)" and you will have a wealth of information at your fingertips. Just make sure you get your info from non-cosmetic sources. Never get info from a site trying to sell something. Common sense, I know. :-) If you are on a REALLY tight budget, and you can stand to overlook the fact that Tetrasodium EDTA has possible cancer-causing agents in it, I would recommend the Simply Ivory bar. It has fewer "bad" ingredients in it, the only one really being Tetrasodium EDTA.

 NOTE:  there WILL be a price difference buying soaps to avoid all of these dangerous carcinogenic chemicals.

Now, in my opinion, sometimes buying the best commercial soap comes down to the "lesser of two evils" type deal, so in my past three or so years of research, I have found what I think is the best choice. Well, two choices actually. These companies are getting bigger and are showing up in more places, even Walmart and local grocery stores. The first is:

Dr. Bronner's All-One Hemp Pure-Castile Soap

The ingredients are so simplistic that it is almost funny! 

"Saponified Organic Coconut, Palm, Olive Oils ([Organic] with Retained Glycerin), Water, Hemp Oil (Organic), Jojoba Oil (Organic), Salt, Vitamin E" 

These bars  usually run close to $4.00 each, but that is a small price to pay, I think, and cheaper than some (okay, most) organic options. This particula Dr. Bronner's bar has eight different scents you can choose from: Tea Tree, Rose, Peppermint, Lavender, Eucalyptus, Citrus Orange, Baby-Mild, and Almond. And they smell GREAT if I do say so myself. :-) The Baby-Mild is the unscented bar, and all fragrances are natural. No "parfum". :-)

Runner up goes to: 


Kiss My Face Organics Olive Oil Bar Soap

The ingredients are:

"Saponified Olive Oil, Water, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender), Sodium Chloride, Fragrance (Parfum)"  

While this one does contain artificial fragrance, that is basically personal preference. Compared to the rest "out there" this is a soap worthy of the runner up position for best commercial bar soap. Kiss My Face Organics usually run about ten cents cheaper than Dr. Bronner's, but they are in more places than Dr. Bronner's as well, I have discovered. It's about availability to most people, am I right?

So, there you have it, my take on commercial bar soaps. Remember, don't take MY word for it, read labels and investigate yourselves. You may find some things in your own regular soaps that will shock you!  Especially Johnson and Johnson baby soap and shampoo, if you use that on your babies. 

I will do shampoos in a later blog. Stay tuned! :-)