Do you know what's in your "Soap"? Yikes!

Natural vs. Synthetic

Wow, have you read the labels on products that you've bought lately? Anytime I'm in a store, I tend to pick up random items and read what's actually in them. This weekend I came across a lotion that I will admit I was using up until a few years ago when I really started to look into what ingredients were in it. YIKES!!!! Here's the list off the label...do you even know what most or any of these are? I didn't and had to look them up!

Brand "X" Lotion: (Synthetic ingredients or chemicals are colored Red)

"Water, Glycerin, Isohexadecane, Niacinamide, Dimethicone, Isopropyl Isostearate, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Sucrose Polycottonseedate, Aloe Leaf Juice, Chamomilla Recutita (Chamomile) Flower Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vit. E), Polyacrylamide, Panthenol, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Dimethiconol, Ethylparaben, Sorbitan Stearate, Titanium Dioxide, Polyquaternium-10, Cetearyl Glucoside, Propylparaben, Laureth-7, Peg-100 Stearate, Stearic Acid, Disodium Edta, Sodium Hydroxide, Stearyl Alcohol, Benzyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ammonium Polyacrylate"
(Of the 31 ingredients, 16 are synthetic chemicals! Over 50%!)

Compare this to our all natural Acai Berry Facial Moisturizer (I use this one every day since it's an all natural choice, smells yummy and works like a charm!)...

Acai Berry Facial Moisturizer: (Do you see any Red ingredients?)

"Water, Aloe vera, Shea butter, Grapeseed Oil, Jojoba oil, Fractionated Coconut  Oil, Olive Squalane, Glycerin, E wax, Vegetable Stearic acid, Acai berry powder, Bilberry powder, Blueberry powder, Pomegranate powder, DL-Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B), Honey, Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Green Tea Extract, Silver Dihydrogen Citrate, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Natural Berry Scent"
(Of 22 ingredients, 0, yep, ZERO are synthetic chemicals!)

Taking the 2 lotion samples above, remember that 60% of what you put onto your skin is absorbed. Which lotion do you think is safer?

Soap...and chemicals...ewww!

All Natural Ingredients

Synthetic chemicals

Reading the labels of your products that you use can really be an eye-opener! We use the list on the left in our Cold process soap line (plus a bunch of other all natural choices!) since we believe that our world is so laden with unwanted, unnecessary and harmful chemicals. 

So what soap are you using? Take a look at the package and read the ingredients. If it is a "real" soap, it will have "Soap" on the label and ingredients such as Olive oil, coconut oil, Shea butter, cocoa butter, etc. If you only see a "Beauty bar" or other similar wording, then you have a bunch of chemicals in your hand and not real soap. (Check out the previous post on our "real" soap line if you missed what soap really is). Soap or the chemical substitute is used and rinsed off, but some of those ingredients can and do remain on your skin. Trying to avoid as many unnatural ingredients will increase your chances of not being exposed to unwanted chemicals that can be dangerous to your health over time.

It's easy to assume that items we use every day are safe....but it doesn't take much time or research to realize that even though products are deemed "safe", they really aren't the best choice and can be quite dangerous over time. These ingredients are used simply because they are easy to acquire and are lower in cost than natural ingredients. Reading the labels on the products you use and becoming familiar with the ingredients can help you make safer buying decisions for you and your family.

Until next time...thanks for reading!