Last year, a woman came up to my stall at one of the Christmas markets and asked:
“Are all these soaps natural, yeah?”
My response was “Well, it depends what you mean by natural”, hoping that would open up a conversation about ingredients etc. But no, she gave me a disdainful look and walked away, mumbling something about only using natural stuff…
Here at The Soap Mine you won’t ever find me describing my bars as ‘natural’, which might seem a little odd for a business making soap from lovely oils and butters. So why’s that then?
What does ‘natural’ actually mean?
Well, that’s the problem, really. Ask ten people what they mean by natural skincare and you might get ten different answers.
- Does it mean every ingredient comes directly from a plant?
- Does it mean nothing has been manufactured or processed?
- Does it mean a product contains no synthetic ingredients?
- Or does it simply mean something that feels wholesome and environmentally friendly?
It’s a word that sounds reassuring, but without a clear explanation it doesn’t tell you very much about what’s actually inside a product, and there IS no industry-standard definition of the word.
Natural doesn’t automatically mean better
I know I bang on about this quite a lot, but it’s worth repeating. Just because something comes from nature doesn’t automatically make it harmless, gentle or suitable for everyone’s skin.
Poison ivy is natural. So are stinging nettles. Essential oils, lovely as they can be, contain naturally occurring fragrance compounds that some people are sensitive or even allergic to. Equally, an ingredient made in a laboratory shouldn’t be something to be frightened of. What actually matters is what the ingredient is, how it’s used and whether it’s suitable for the finished product.
Soap itself is the result of chemistry
Traditional soap is made through a chemical reaction between oils or fats and an alkali. I start with oils and butters such as olive oil, coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter, then combine them with a carefully calculated sodium hydroxide solution. That sodium hydroxide has been created in a lab, and 99.9% of makers* of solid soap** in the land use it.
The resulting reaction, called saponification, transforms those ingredients into soap and glycerine. Which means the finished soap is not simply a mixture of untouched plant oils in their ‘natural’ state
It’s a brand new product, created through chemistry. And that’s an important distinction because rubbing olive oil and cocoa butter onto your hands wouldn’t have quite the same cleansing effect!
I’d rather tell you what’s actually in it
Some of my soaps are scented with essential oils, others with fragrance oils. I use cosmetic-grade colourants, usually mica, to create the designs. My soaps are vegan-friendly and palm-free, and I formulate them using carefully chosen oils and butters.
These are specific things I can explain. I’d much rather tell you exactly what I use and why, than rely on a broad description that could mean something different to every customer.
Oh and while we’re here, there’s no such thing as ‘chemical-free’ soap either. Water is a chemical. Oxygen is a chemical. Everything around us is made of chemicals.
So when I describe my soap, I prefer to talk about the ingredients, how it’s made and what you can expect from it. It might not sound quite as romantic as promising something completely natural and chemical-free. But it’s waaay more accurate.
And I’d rather give you accurate information than a lovely-sounding claim that doesn’t really mean anything.
Vicki x
*There is a tiny group of niche soapmaker who make their own lye from ashes, but it’s extremely difficult to get certification to sell the soaps made from it as it’s difficult to ensure uniformity of product. If a soapmaker is making their own lye, believe me, it will be their USP and you’ll know about it – they’ll be shouting it from the rooftops. In all my years making soap I’ve never found anyone certified to sell soap made with lye they’ve created themselves.
**Liquid soapmakers use potassium hydroxide rather than sodium hydroxide, but the point still stands – the potassium hydroxide is created in a lab.