Do You Know the Worst Ingredient in Store Bought Soap?

 

Maybe I am biased (ok, not maybe, I  am), but goat milk soap is the best soap I have ever used.

Where to begin? 

As Mary Poppins would say, the beginning is a very good place to start.

Let’s start with the ingredients in your typical store bought soap. 

Contrary to many of the commercials seen on TV, soaps and cleansers are reeking havoc on our skin.  Your skin is the largest organ in your body and is the first barrier to pathogens.  Therefore, we need to take just as much care of the outside of our bodies as we do the inside.

To begin with, many commercial, and even some hand-made cleansers contain vegetable oils like soy, corn, and rapeseed.  These are some of the most highly processed and GMO containing oils on the market.  I do realize that this is a highly controversial subject, and I won’t get into it here, but needless-to-say, we have decided to avoid GMO’s whenever possible.

GMO’s are just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. 

Most soaps actually should be called detergents because they contain lathering and sudsing agents.

While our soaps to lather and suds VERY well, we do this through the natural soap making process.

Words that are hard to pronounce like, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) shouldn’t’ be put onto our bodies.  I tell my nutrition clients that if they can’t pronounce the food on the ingredient list, you probably shouldn’t eat it.  The same goes for what you put ON your body.  SLS is a widely used and cheap chemical which acts as a detergent and surfactant.  In addition to being a known skin irritant, SLS has been linked to cancer.

They also contain parabens, phthalates, and petroleum products.  Parabens mimic female hormones and contribute to breast tumors and phthalates are a plasticizing ingredient linked to birth defects [1].  These lathering agents, along with cheap oils, strip the skin and leave it vulnerable to free radicals, not to mention tight and itchy.

No, your skin is NOT supposed to feel like that.

Do I have you worried yet?

Now let’s switch to the ingredients in our soaps (ingredients will vary with the “recipe”).  These include saponified (this is done through a chemical process with lye) coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, shea butter, mango seed butter, castor oil, avocado oil, essential oils, oil infused herbs and botanicals either foraged or homegrown.  We also use natural colorants like matcha, iron oxides, and turmeric.

That’s it besides the raw goat milk, the star of the show.  But what does the goat milk contain that makes it so beneficial?

1. Alpha-hydroxy: According to Dr. Axe, goat milk soap can actually help you look younger and who doesn’t like that? Goat milk contains alpha-hydroxy acids such as lactic acid which help remove dead skin cells from your skin’s surface. This leaves new cells on the surface of your skin that are smoother and younger looking.
2. Vitamin A: Vitamin A is necessary to repair damaged skin tissue, and maintain healthy skin. There have been several medical studies showing that creams made with Vitamin A reduce lines and wrinkles, control acne, and provide some psoriasis relief.
3. Cream: Fat molecules are an important part of making good soap. The cream, called butterfat, that is present in goat milk helps boost the moisturizing quality of the soap. Our soaps are especially creamy because of the breed of goat we have, Nubian.  Nubians have a butterfat content of four percent, which is higher than many other dairy breeds (Nigerian dwarfs have a butterfat content of five percent, but with less milk produced).
4. Help Treat Acne Prone Skin: goat milk contains antibacterial properties that can eliminate and even prevent acne, and it can even help reduce swelling and itching that acne can cause. Our soaps also contain essential oils and herbal infusions that help to soothe and calm irritated skin.

   

 

These are just a few of the benefits.  

 

So who can benefit from our soaps? 

 

Really anyone will do well to switch to an all natural soap.  However, it’s great for people with eczema and psoriasis, or people with dry and sensitive skin

 

So are you ready to give my goat milk soaps a try?

Here is what people are saying about them:

“I have very sensitive skin and after just one night of using the lavender soap, I could tell a difference. I slept very good because I wasn’t itching my legs all night. I also have a poison ivy rash that I’ve been fighting all week. After two nights of the soap I can tell it’s drying up, finally.” –A Hughes

“This weekend we bought several bars of the raw goat milk soap! And we absolutely loved it! My husband loves the man bar!”-B. Garcia

“Bought 4 bars of soap and am using the banana bread and rosemary mint. We’re loving the smell and the feel. It washes clean but doesn’t dry out our skin. Very creamy. Thanks Stephanie! Great job” –M. Wilson

 

If you have tried our soaps, I would LOVE to hear what you think about them.  Leave a comment below, or write a review on our Facebook page.

 

And, if you haven’t tried them, What are you waiting for? 

 

Give us a call, drop us an email, come to the local farmer’s market,  or stop by the farm.  It’s time time for your skin to thank you!

Sources:

1. http://healthforallwomen.com/goatmilk-soap/
2. http://www.natural-goat-milk-soap.com/goats-milk-soap.html