Deconstructing Commercial Soaps

SOAP-We use it every day, but what's it really made out of?

Soap by definition is made from a mixture of the sodium salts of various fatty acids of natural oils and fats.  Commercial "soaps" are actually a detergent made from a cleansing substance that acts similarly to soap but is made from chemical compounds rather than fats and lye.   But isn't lye a chemical as well?  Yes, but only until it is saponified (to convert (a fat or oil) into soap).  There is no lye left in the final product....No Lie!

Today  we deconstruct and demystify the most well-known soaps in America, (which isn't technically soap) so you know just what all those weird ingredients are and what they do. So, without further ado- I introduce to you the ingredients of most commercial soaps available en masse today:

Sodium Lauryl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Tallowate Or Sodium Palmitate, Lauric Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Water, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate Or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium Edta, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Titanium Dioxide -Say THAT five times. What is all that stuff? Essentially, it boils down to fillers and surfactants that will probably just dry out your skin so you will need to buy lotion with more fillers etc., and then buy more and more and more .......a zero sum game.

let's break down those ingredients:

15 ingredients, 3 recognizable

1) Water-nice, the ingredient of life

2) Sodium Chloride- Yep, that's salt, ok by me

3) Fragrance- everybody likes a nice scent, but is it Phthalate-free? 

(phthalates are carcinogenic)

4) Sodium Lauryl Isethionate : does not appear to have any beneficial properties for your skin (aside from cleaning it), and may dry it out. This creates lather.

5) Stearic Acid:  does not appear to have any beneficial properties for your skin, and may sensitize you to allergens. This makes a hard bar.

6) Sodium Tallowate: This cleanses and moisturizes your skin, it is the fatty tissue (or tallow) of animals...eew ( thats where all the toxins in an animal build up), and may worsen or cause acne.

7) Sodium Palmitate: cleanses your skin, but may dry it out.

8) Sodium Isethionate:  mild on the skin and non-drying, but still sounds "chemical."

9) Sodium Stearate: does not appear to have any beneficial properties for your skin.

10) Cocamidopropyl Betaine: This ingredient cleanses your skin.  A synthetic surfactant; it has been associated with irritation and allergic contact dermatitis, ...

11) Sodium Cocoate: This ingredient cleanses your skin. Its like Frankenstein's child..a synthetic version of coconut oil.

12) Sodium Palm Kernelate: cleanses your skin. Farming this can cause clear cutting of rain forests and displace orangutans.

13) Tetrasodium EDTA: This ingredient does not appear to have any beneficial properties for your skin. It makes hard water become soft.

14) Tetrasodium Etidronate: This ingredient does not appear to have any beneficial properties for your skin. It binds trace metals and  prevents color, texture and fragrance changes in the product.

15) Titanium Dioxide: This ingredient does not appear to have any beneficial properties for your skin. It may cause skin irritation and makes the product look white and creamy.

Need I go on?