FACT FILES ON HANDMADE, PURE ORGANIC SOAP

If you’ve been following our blogs, by now you’d be becoming aware of the importance of reading ingredient labels on personal care products. You’d be conscious of the fact that most of those commercial products contain petrochemicals.

Making choices is easy, right? In response to this thought, my brain has automatically called up the classic diner scene from the movie “Five Easy Pieces” from the 70s, starring Jack Nicholson- link attached for those unfamiliar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wtfNE4z6a8

One of the main ingredients that personal care products and cosmetics are built around is mineral oil. In fact, roughly 98% of commercial personal care products contain mineral oil…leaving very little room for selective choice to the consumer.

Mineral oil is essentially a waste product of the petrochemical industry. It is a cheap, readily accessible resource from industry- being produced as a by-product of the distillation of gasoline from crude oil. Untreated or mildly treated mineral oils are classified by the World Health Organisation as being Group 1 carcinogenic to humans. Highly refined mineral oils, as in those contained in personal care products, are classified as being not suspected to be carcinogenic…but available information is not sufficient to classify them as harmless.

Hmm…that builds confidence over its use in commercial personal care products doesn’t it? Would you still feel confident slathering that baby oil on your precious newborn child if you read the label and realised that it was nothing more than fragranced mineral oil? That’s the problem- we don’t tend to read the labels, and assume that what is sold to us must be safe…think again! Research into chemicals used and their long term effects is a slow, laborious process, and restrictive actions then taken even slower- think asbestos, tobacco, BPA, DDT, Thalidomide…even leaded gasoline!

The use of petrochemical derivatives/mineral oils became necessary during the restrictions placed on natural resources during WW2. Thereafter, it just made economic business sense to find a useful purpose for them, rather than deal with the costs of waste disposal. The other advantage in using mineral oil over natural oils in personal care products became quickly obvious to industry. Mineral oil is non-biodegradable- providing products with a stable shelf life…more economic sense.

Mineral oil is used in three different forms as a base in products: in a liquid state…mineral oil, in a jelly state…petrolatum, in a solid state…paraffin wax. It gets listed as an ingredient under various synonyms like: liquid paraffin, mineral oil, mineral oil mist, mineral syrup, white mineral oil, white oil, hydrocarbon oil, petroleum hydrocarbons, petroleum, paraffin oil, paraffinic, soft paraffin, and petroleum jelly. The composition of these oils varies depending on the crude oil source, the refining process and the additives present.

The actual problem with using mineral oil on our bodies is that it forms a film on the skin that blocks the pores and the natural processes of the skin. It actually traps dirt and bacteria instead of them being naturally dispersed. The chemically based oil film then prevents the effective absorption of all those added ingredients that are supposedly included to benefit the skin…like those natural oils and vitamins added in minute amounts for marketing purposes. So more chemicals are added…like those to enhance the permeability to the skin.

As a consumer, you have the ability to decrease the number of chemicals your skin comes into contact with. All you have to do is make the simple choice of reading labels and purchasing personal care products with all-natural, organic ingredients instead. Of far more benefit to the skin are natural plant oils- offering all the nutritive qualities assigned to a plant oil. The plant oils are absorbed readily by the skin- benefiting and nurturing it.

Our pure organic soaps offer chemical, colour and fragrance free gentle care to reduce the chemical burden on your skin.

Back to the diner scene from “Five Easy Pieces”…quote, ”No substitution!” There are better options/substitutes available to us. Read those product labels. Become conscious of ingredients…informed people, make informed decisions.

FACT FILES ON HANDMADE, PURE ORGANIC SOAP

There’s my brain searching and sifting for relevant information again, and it’s fired back this children’s lullaby immediately…possibly as an appropriate parody- in that what you pay for, is not always what you get.

I raised the issue over dog shampoo effectively being a rip-off in my opinion, briefly last week. Product marketing has led us to believe that a dog’s skin is particularly ‘sensitive’. The pH of dog skin falls within the range of 6.2-8.62 (pH 7.3 average), depending on the breed of dog. A German Shepherd dog has a more alkaline skin than a Maltese Terrier dog for example- but for this purpose, we'll go with the average pH value.

The accepted neutrality point on a pH scale is water at 7- although be wary of bottled water brands, as tests have indicated readings as low as pH 4. Anything below pH 7 is acidic- anything above, is alkaline.

Human skin has a pH range of 4.5-6, depending on ethnicity, area on body and diet. Therefore, if you were to use a shampoo pH balanced for our use, the product would be too acidic for a dog’s skin and cause irritation. It’s not that a dog’s skin is ‘sensitive’ as such- as you’ve just seen, a dog’s skin is closer in range to being of neutral pH than human skin is.

This is why I believe that we’ve all been manipulated through commercial marketing. Commercial shampoos, soaps, body washes, dishwashing liquids, clothes washes etc are all based on petrochemical by-products. There’s not a hell of a lot of difference in the base product- it’s how they are then chemically manipulated for a desired purpose that achieves the end product. All of these products are synthetic detergent based.

What’s that…detergent based? Hmm…wonder what the pH of detergent/dishwashing liquid is? The pH values vary between brands, but the pH value of Palmolive dishwashing liquid happens to be 7.3. Isn’t that interesting…dishwashing liquid would be perfectly suitable for use on a dog’s skin (pH 7.3 average) as a shampoo! A commercial dog shampoo might have some other beneficial ingredients blended in, but you’re essentially buying dishwashing detergent at a dramatically increased price…the power of marketing and manipulation!

I’ve been manipulated by the marketing…spending a small fortune on dog products. I wouldn’t have considered paying the associated prices for our own shampoos…but for our dog, I did without hesitation because her ‘sensitive skin’ required 'specialised' care! Then one day, I was sold a neem oil based soap as the latest and greatest dog grooming product. It was expensive too- about three times the price for weight over our organic soaps…yet I handed over the cash on the premise of it being a specialised dog care product.

So I washed our dog Lucy with this neem oil soap. It was highly fragranced, didn’t lather very well, and did nothing to improve her irritated skin or coat condition.

By this time, I’d been making organic soap for a long time for our personal use. I took a step back and read the neem soap ingredients, and realised that I’d been manipulated into buying a cheap, commercial soap- no different to that sold for us at the supermarket- with a small amount of neem oil thrown into the mix. In fact, later I would realise- after making our own organic neem seed oil soap and becoming experienced with the strong odour of neem oil- that the percentage of added neem oil in the soap must have been very minimal, or an extreme amount of cheap fragrance compounds were added to mask the odour. Neem oil has a unique and strong odour...reminiscent of fried curry powder with onions!

It was at this point that I took a step back and actually researched the pH range of dog skin…and what an eye-opening exercise that was, as you’ve seen. A far superior product to wash our dog with would have been our organic soaps...any of them! Our neem seed oil soap has the maximum amount of neem seed oil added that is recommended in an oil blend for soap. Soap generally has a pH of 9- higher than that of dog skin…but that didn’t seem to be of any concern by the manufacturers of the commercial ‘neem’ dog soap that I’d purchased. There was nothing in the ingredients that would have altered the achieved pH of the soap. So they were hanging their claims on the benefits offered by the neem oil only in their marketing.

Given the above, I’d recommend using our ‘nimi’ organic soap as a dog wash for the natural properties that neem seed oil offers: antiviral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, antimicrobial, anti-septic, insecticidal and a skin soother through its various fatty acids. Following the bath and rinsing, I’d recommend applying a mix of 100 mL apple cider vinegar in 400 mL water in a nozzled sauce bottle, and working it through the coat evenly whilst the coat is still wet. This will reduce the final pH, and also act as a natural flea deterrent. The vinegar smell will dissipate when the coat is dry.

However, if you’d prefer to mix up a cheap dog shampoo, to 200 mL of water in an old squirter/shampoo bottle, add 1 tspn Palmolive dishwashing liquid and 1/2 tspn vegetable glycerine- shake well to mix. You could also add 1 tblspn of pure aloe vera gel as a skin soother. I don’t recommend this option though because the dishwashing liquid is a petrochemical…but your choice. Hmm…I’ve paid $20-30/200-250 mL for dog shampoos! Aren't you feeling incredibly manipulated through commercial marketing now?

Back to the lullaby, Hush Little Baby- I must have sung this lullaby to our children hundreds of times during their infancy…
”If that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama’s gonna buy you a looking glass.”
Indeed!

FACT FILES ON HANDMADE, PURE ORGANIC SOAP

Guess you’re wondering what the title has to do with soap. Nothing- it’s just how my brain associates things…sorting and sifting information- this time centred around numbers and pH values of personal care products…numbers being the associating factor.

The Thunderbirds TV series is a favourite from my husband’s childhood…that continues. A few years back, the series was being screened at 4.30 AM on Saturday mornings…so we’d go to bed with the TV tuned in. BAM...the minute the introduction countdown would begin, he’d be bolt upright and alert. This response was from a man who sleeps through our security system alarm blasting the neighbourhood…but to the sound of “5-4…”, he’d be wide awake in anticipation- imagining he’s Scott Tracy (TB1 pilot, modelled on Sean Connery). He sees me as Lady Penelope without question…a female puppet version of MacGyver in his eyes. I don't know whether I should take that as a compliment or not. I believe my husband’s dream job would have been as a set/model maker for this series.

We had a market customer on Sunday who bought our soaps for a neighbour’s son to try in the management of his eczema. “Eczema”…it’s a tag placed against a very broad range of largely unidentified skin rashes. Most skin irritations can be sourced back to metabolic issues- usually food allergies. Anything applied topically might assist in soothing skin irritations, but the problem will not be resolved until the source of irritation is identified through the skilled resources of a competent nutritional and environmental doctor.

Other factors leading to skin problems can indeed be irritations caused by personal care product ingredients. The customer above said that her neighbour was about to try ‘baby soap’ on her son. I mentioned in the last blog that I’d done an ingredient analysis of many commercial soaps- one of which is JOHNSON’S “Baby Soap”, as listed:
- Sodium Palmate- saponified palm oil
- Sodium Palm Kernelate- saponified palm kernel oil
- Mineral Oil- petrochemical
- Fragrance
- Titanium Dioxide- white pigment
- Water
- Tetrasodium EDTA- synthetic chelating agent- skin irritant, allergen & suspected carcinogen
- Etidronic Acid- bisphosphonate & chelating agent- skin irritant

Its main ingredients are cheap, harsh palm oils- in combination with the petrochemical irritant mineral oil- further enhanced by fragrance irritants of an unidentified source, to conceal the smell- with a potential carcinogen added, to combine the ingredients successfully. Hmm…does that really sound like something that you want to use on your baby now that you can identify what the ingredients actually are?

I don’t know if they still do it, but I remember being given a gift pack of baby products when leaving the hospital after having our children. I was told that these were the best and only products that I should use on my babies. Oh, to have the opportunity for an encore in life over that moment, knowing what I now know! We generally accept what we are told by those supposedly in authority of a subject. We accept, as they accept, nothing more than marketing blurb put forward by commercial companies- put forward by artful copywriters, to promote a product to the retail market. Oh dear- I started my career in Graphic Design/Advertising. One core subject of study was Copywriting- trust me, there’s nothing substantial to the process beyond the creative use of words…”secret ingredient XPY will…”

Marketing has led us to believe that baby’s skin is “delicate” requiring “gentle, mild” product ingredients. Shall we reflect on the ingredients in JOHNSON’S Baby Soap again? A very simple relevant fact is that baby’s skin actually has a pH 7…the same as water- the neutrality point on a pH scale. Adult skin has a pH range of 4.5-6 - depending on diet, ethnicity and the body area. So if marketing were to be true with reference to pH scales, a more appropriate statement to make with regards to personal care products would alternatively be “Harsh enough for use on adult skin”!

Other pH values to reflect on: human blood pH 7.4, dog skin pH range 6.2-8.62 depending on breed (pH 7.3 average), dishwashing liquid pH 7.3 (Palmolive), black coffee pH 5. Are you noticing something? Despite all the marketing claims used for baby and dog care products, dishwashing liquid would prove a good pH match to use on their skins. Hmm…guess that’s a bit alarming to promote- especially when two thriving, profitable industries have been built around specialist care products- promoting these skins as being sensitive and delicate.

However, we would not recommend using dishwashing detergent in either scenario, mainly because of its toxic petrochemical ingredients- but that is essentially what you are buying as the ingredients in these products. If I told you that instead of paying $20 for that 250mL bottle of dog shampoo, that you could make your own at a cost of lets say 10c a bottle maximum…you’d be feeling a little manipulated, cheated and angry- more on that next week!

Soap has a pH 9…alkaline in range. There are two outlooks with regards to the pH value of personal care products. Adult skin is in fact acidic. Most argue that any higher variation to this range creates a breeding ground for bacteria. Others argue that bacteria can’t breed within a more alkaline range. I’m a supporter of alkaline ranges for health generally.

Very simply, commercial products that have been “pH adjusted” have had other chemicals added to reduce the end pH value…further adding to the chemical cocktail. One chemical produces undesirable side effects, so another is added to buffer it. Those 'gentle' baby shampoos that don't sting 'sensitive' eyes have another chemical buffer added to do so. Somehow, I find it alarming that products are produced that intentionally negate the natural instinct to protect one's eyes from a chemical element by closing them. No matter what the pH range of a product is, the skin will regain its natural pH again within 2 hours of use.

Here’s an ingredient list of another commercial product, frequently recommended for use on irritated skin-

REDWIN “Sorbolene Body Wash”, as listed:
- Water
- Sodium Laureth Sulphate- synthetic foaming agent & surfactant- skin irritant
- Ammonium Lauryl Sulphate- synthetic foaming agent & surfactant- skin irritant
- Glycerin- synthetic petrochemical
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine- synthetic surfactant
- Sorbitol- sugar alcohol & humectant
- Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate- synthetic surfactant- skin irritant
- Cocamide DEA-synthetic surfactant
- Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer-polyester resin- skin irritant
- Sodium Chloride- salt
- PEG-7 glycerol Cocoate- synthetic binder- skin irritant
- Citric Acid- organic acid & chelating agent
- Triticum Vulgare (Wheat Germ) Oil- but at this end of the descending listing, it's an insignificant amount to achieve any benefit
- Tertasodium EDTApolyamino carboxylic acid & chelating agent- organic pollutant
- Methylchloroisothiazolinone- preservative- skin irritant
- Methylisothiazolinone- preservative- mutagenic neurotoxin that can change DNA structure- 100% skin absorption

After reading that list, do you really think there is benefit to be gained through its use on an irritated skin? Yet go into a pharmacy and ask for guidance- you’ll be offered this or a similar product. Sorbelene…that’s purported to be mild, right? That might have been the case many years ago in its initial formulation, but the ingredients drastically changed over the course of time. Once you start reading labels and understanding what the ingredients actually are, you’ll begin to think very differently about products, marketing and advice given at pharmacies.

Commercial soaps are fairly harsh- being made from cheap oils and/or petrochemicals. Our handmade soaps are mild, moisturising and offer the beneficial qualities of the organic plant oils used. All of our organic soaps are chemical, colouring and fragrance free...the primary irritants used in most personal care products. Because we superfat our soaps- whereby not all of the oils are converted into a solid soap salt- a layer of the suspended oils used is applied to the skin with use. Our soaps are rich in natural glycerine content, as a by-product of the cold process method of soap making used. Glycerine is the most regarded moisturising ingredient in the cosmetic industry- being a humectant, attracting moisture to the skin.

It is not the pH range of a product that is generally an irritant to the skin, but more so the ingredients used. Our bodies were very simply never intended to process petrochemicals. The use of petrochemicals has developed through economics…a cheap waste product of the petroleum industry being put to use.

By caring for your skin with the natural nutrients of the organic plant oils that we use in our soaps, instead of synthetic chemicals, your skin will become healthy, naturally balanced and moisturised through the one simple daily task of bathing.

The resounding message is that our organic soaps are “F.A.B.”...the Thunderbirds' affirmative radio code for 'fabulous'!

FACT FILES ON HANDMADE, PURE ORGANIC SOAP

It’s an incredibly eye-opening experience to start reading ingredient labels on personal care products. A few years ago, I assembled details of the ingredients in several commercially available soaps- for my interest and that of our customers.

Now I’m back hearing Shakespeare’s Macbeth again:
“Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,…”

It’s not surprising that those words should spring to mind when examining the ingredients of a popular “Beauty Cream Bar” with its 26 ingredients- repeat, 26! Its marketing dares to claim: “Soap is Harsh…Dove is Different”. I dare say it is different…at least to our organic soaps.

Let’s take a closer look at Dove's ingredients list, and see what all those 26 goodies are:
- Sodium Lauroyl Isenthionate- synthetic foaming agent, emulsifier & surfactant- skin irritant
- Stearic Acid- fatty acid from animal fats in this instance- common allergen
- Sodium Palmitate- saponified palm oil
- Aqua- water
- Lauric Acid- fatty acid in coconut oil
- Sodium Isethionate- synthetic amphoteric detergent
- Sodium Stearate- synthetic surfactant
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine- synthetic surfactant, allergen
- Sodium Palm Kernelate- saponified palm kernel oil
- Parfum- fragrance, endocrine disruptors
- Glycerin- synthetic glycerin from petrochemicals
- Sodium Chloride- salt
- Zinc Oxide- synthetic binder- insoluble in water, soluble only in acids- skin irritant
- Citric Acid- organic acid & preservative- skin irritant
- Tetrasodium EDTA- synthetic chelating agent- skin irritant, allergen & suspected carcinogen
- Tetrasodium Eldronate- water softener & chelating agent- aggravates eczema/skin problems
- Alumina- aluminium- amphoteric oxide & abrasive
- Alpha-isomethyl Ionone- binder- a restricted irritant & allergen- banned from use in perfume industry
- Benzyl Alcohol- organic peroxide compound
- Butylphenyl Methylpropional- sensitizing fragrance- restricted use in perfume industry
- Citronellol- acyalic monoterpenoid- sensitizing organic fragrance & allergen
- Coumarin- sensitizing chemical fragrance
- Hexyl Cinnamal- synthetic fragrance- Class B allergen
- Limonene- cyclicterpene synthetic fragrance
- Linalool- terpene alcohol synthetic fragrance
- CI 77891- titanium dioxide- white pigment

By law, ingredients must be listed in descending order of content. After looking at that list, I’m now wondering where the “1/4 moisturising cream” supposedly contained in each bar is. The only ingredients that could contribute to being moisturising are the Stearic (from animal fat waste = tallow, in this instance) and Lauric acids (from palm oil), and petroleum-based glycerin. All three are cheap and harsh ingredients…hidden from obvious disclosure of their source. If you were aware that you were buying a soap made from largely animal fat waste, and palm oil, would you consciously buy it on principle? Unilever- who manufacture Dove- buys 3% of the world’s palm oil…alarmingly contributing to the destruction of our environment. Are you feeling a little bit different about that “Beauty Cream Bar” yet…made from waste products and petrochemical derived synthetic detergents?

In comparison, our organic soaps generally contain four natural ingredients…we’ll never manage to compare to that grand list above, thankfully.

Our soaps are made with quality organic plant oils. They are expensive- without question. Our ‘vari’ soap- which also forms the base of our ‘cofi’, ‘hemi’, ‘nimi’ and ‘salti’ soaps- contains organic extra virgin coconut and olive oils, and organic castor oil. It therefore contains the following beneficial and moisturising fatty acids from those oils: Lauric, Linoleic, Myristic, Oleic, Palmitic, Ricinoleic and Stearic Acids.

‘vari’ also contains around 12% natural glycerine produced from those organic plant oils, as a by-product of the cold-process method of soap-making that we use. We also ‘superfat’ our soaps- meaning that our recipes are calculated to retain a proportion of the oils in free suspension within the soap to further increase the moisturising qualities.

Hmm…what was that marketing line again- “Soap is Harsh…Dove is Different”? Nothing more than a bit of deceptive, creative copywriting- the ingredients tell the true story.

Continuing Shakespeare’s Macbeth:
“…For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.”
Who knew all those years ago, that one day Shakespeare would finally find relevance in my life!

FACT FILES ON HANDMADE, PURE ORGANIC SOAP

Blokes love our organic soap! It never ceases to astound us that men are the biggest users of our organic soap range. It certainly wasn’t something that we were expecting…not by any stretch of our imagination- but there it is!

Most men wander up to us at the markets- a little embarrassed to begin with- but the conversation generally runs like this:

Us: Hi! Have you used our soaps before? Would you like us to explain the soaps to you?

Bloke: Yeah, that’d be good. My skin gets really dry. My wife buys those damn body-washes. I hate them! I hate pumping the bottle- I hate the flowery smell…I just hate them! I just want to grab a cake of soap & have a shower…but she insists body-washes are better…yet my skin never used to be dry.

We explain our organic soap range- that we don’t use chemicals or fragrances, and that our organic soaps are naturally moisturising.

Most men usually choose our ‘coci’ soap on the basis that they can use it for shaving and as a shampoo as well. They walk away with their purchase in our brown paper bag- hidden under their armpit. The whole scene is vaguely reminiscent of the embarrassed purchase of condoms from a female shop assistant. Ah- but then they come back saying that they loved our soap- their skin has been great- and the next purchase is completed with confidence.

Then we have females who are shopping for soap for their husband or son…either with dry skin or eczema. The conversation generally goes like this:

Woman: I’m looking for soap for my husband. He drives me nuts…he’s hung up on the past and wants to use soap. He reckons that the body-wash makes his skin dry and irritated.

Us: I take it that you don’t have dry skin yourself then?

Woman: No…well I do…everyone does, particularly in winter- but I use moisturiser after I’ve showered. He can’t be bothered! Anyway, I think he just doesn’t like the smell of the body-wash…and he’s stubborn- says he hates fiddling with it all.

So we explain our organic soap range, and that body-washes can be harsh on the skin because of the petrochemicals, and preservatives used to provide a shelf life, and that we don’t add fragrance to our soaps because they are common irritants to the skin. We explain that our soaps are highly moisturising because of the naturally achieved glycerine content…the most moisturising ingredient used in the cosmetic industry- and because of the organic plant oils that we select…which gently nurture the skin without stripping it.

The woman begrudgingly usually buys a ‘coci’ soap then utters a complaint about the extra cleaning she’ll have to do…because soaps are so messy. We comment that in fact there won’t be any difference…that it’s the chemicals used in commercial soaps that cause the residual scum.

We usually wonder afterwards…has the woman in fact ‘heard’ anything that we’ve said? We think blokes are pretty damn switched on to soap with good reason.

FACT FILES ON HANDMADE, PURE ORGANIC SOAP

Why don’t we add fragrance to our soaps? As ilo ORGANICS is producing soaps to cater for sensitive skins, we consciously chose to omit fragrance compounds from our products. Most fragrance compounds, whether synthetically or naturally derived, are known skin irritants or allergens- yet they are used profusely in commercial products. It’s become our accepted expectation that our olfactory senses will be stimulated by every personal care product we buy. How did that happen? When and why did manufacturers begin to saturate our senses with an overload of fragrance?

There in lies the clue- commercial manufacturing and marketing rule our lives in order to attract sales...manipulating our senses for profit.

We started making our organic soaps out of necessity to address our daughter’s skin sensitivities. She reacted to everything- commercial and other handmade soaps, hand and body washes, shampoos and conditioners, creams, detergents, washing powders…an extensive list of products. If she uses a hand-wash in a public toilet, her hands become instantly red and painfully irritated for 3-5 days. If she stays outside of our home, she reacts with rashes to the washing powders used by others on sheets and towels. We know she is allergic to yellow colouring, and that’s used commercially in most products to stimulate visual appeal. Beyond that, we don’t know what specifically causes her reactions. So we set about making the purest soap product we could- using the best organic ingredients we could source, to ensure a chemical and irritant free product.

After researching ingredients, fragrance compounds became an obvious exclusion…even most essential oils are known skin irritants with their concentrated forms.

The essential oils that are known allergens and irritants to avoid skin contact with are: balsam, basil, benzoin, birch, black pepper, cassia, clove, cinnamon bark, citronella, costus, divaret pine, elecampane, eucalyptus, fennel, ginger, lemon, lemon balm, lemongrass, lemon verbena, oregano, peppermint, pimento berry, pine, savory, tagetes, red thyme and wintergreen.

The essential oils that are known photo-sensitizers to avoid skin contact with are: angelia, bergamot, bitter orange, cumin, lemon, lime, opoponax, rue and verbena.

That’s quite an extensive list. Are you recognising common fragrances used in your commercial products, and still wondering why you suffer skin irritations...despite changing products?

We’d hate to say how many times we were asked at the markets on Sunday alone, if we have a lemongrass soap. Dried lemongrass in the quantities that would be added to a soap would offer little fragrance. The fragrance would need to be boosted by the addition of a synthetic fragrance or essential oil…but check those lists above. Lemongrass essential oil is an established skin irritant.

Do you even contemplate the plethora of fragrances that you’re applying to your body every day through personal care products? There’s the body wash or soap, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, moisturiser, hand-cream, toothpaste, hair product…and then perfume/aftershave. What on earth do we smell like at the end of all of that…with most fragrances never meant to be compatibly combined with the others.

We intentionally seek out fragrance free products for our use. We embrace the natural odours of the organic plant oils that we use in our soaps. They’re subtle, yet simply refreshing…as our senses have re-engaged after the removal of the fragrance overload in our lives. We do “…smell the blood of an Englishman…” more readily and happily these days…and embrace the fact!

FACT FILES ON HANDMADE, PURE ORGANIC SOAP

Were you thinking that your skin is an impermeable protective shield against the world? It's not- it's a semi-permeable membrane that acts as a natural barrier against infection entering the body. The skin is essentially water resistant, so that nutrients aren't washed out of the body- but the skin does absorb many substances that are applied to it. The applied substances can have just as much impact on your health as the foods you eat.

The skin is the largest organ of the body- covering about 2 sq m on average, with a variable thickness of 1-3mm depending on location. It's made up of four layers. The deepest layer- the Basale layer- is where skin cells are made, and they gradually migrate to the outermost layer- called the Stratum Corneum. This is the layer that you see- a layer of dead, shedding skin cells that form a protective barrier, much like a brick wall. These cells are surrounded by a natural oil layer called lipids, acting much like the mortar in a brick wall. These surface skin cells- the comeocytes- don't have a blood supply and are held together by proteins. These proteins disintegrate over time and release the dead skin cells- exposing, and replaced by the skin cells underneath in the next two skin layers- the Stratum Granlosum and Stratum Spinosum. The dead skin cells detach irregularly- making your skin look and feel rough and patchy. 

Applied skin creams can act like a buffer- filling and smoothing the gaps left between the intact skin cells. However, what gets absorbed through the skin is not fully established. It's estimated that 60% of what is applied to the skin is absorbed- with some compounds being 100% absorbed through the skin and systemically entering the bloodstream. Absorption rates of chemicals vary tremendously depending on the molecular size of the substance, the concentration applied and the length of exposure. Chemical absorption is then further affected by other variables- such as variances from person to person, age, gender, race and the general condition of an individual's skin.

Our skin layers form a flexible shield against our environment. If the molecular sizing of a substance is too large, it simply won't pass through the Stratum Corneum and systemically enter the body. However, the cosmetic/personal care industries rely on various substances to allow ingredients to permeate the skin effectively- providing an enhanced pathway into the body. Not only are the desirable compounds assisted in this pathway, but also the highly toxic, undesirable chemicals- like the preservatives used (listed in post 02.07.14). 

The shedding of skin cells is a natural process, but it can be disrupted when the natural skin oils are depleted through the use of harsh skin care products, excessive exfoliation, ultraviolet radiation, climate factors, dehydration and even hormonal levels. Disruption to this precious protective layer can make skin more permeable to pathogens, allergens and dehydration, and lead to a variety of skin problems.

ilo ORGANICS soaps are free of any chemicals, colouring agents or fragrances, and are made with selected organic plant oils to nurture and moisturise the skin, whilst gently cleansing it. The molecular sizing of the selected plant oils readily permeate the skin to nourish it with the natural beneficial qualities of the oils. The soaps are made using the cold process method of soap-making to retain the natural, organic oil qualities. ilo ORGANICS soaps are fragrance free, as fragrance ingredients are up to 100% absorbed through the skin. Many are known skin irritants and allergens- causing many skin reactions, but rarely investigated as the cause.

Reduce your daily chemical exposure through personal care products...become conscious of what you apply to your skin- read those ingredient labels. Our bodies were never meant to process petrochemicals. Would you prefer to nurture your skin with a quality organic plant oil, or spray your suit of armour with WD40? It's a simple choice.