There are no soaps as totally organic. Each soap consists of chemicals for the process of saponification. But as per US FDA, soaps are products, that are made using oils and fats, and are saponified using lye. All other commercial soaps come under bathing bars, but people around the world refer to bathing bars using soap only.
This means, technically all soaps are kind of organic in parts or have some natural ingredients. Let's understand a bit more about the same.
Organic soaps are soap products that are formulated with little or no artificial ingredients. Depending on any regulations regarding the branding of products within a given country, a soap product that is composed of at least 70% natural ingredients may be marketed as organic soap.
Where to buy organic soaps?
These soaps are available in the same forms as any commercial soap product. Organic bar soap is one of the more popular options, as the product is ideal for bathing. thewiki Cosmoline also have their own brand of organic soaps made up of oils like;
These soaps come in a wide variety of variants like;
You can purchase the same online using their website. These soaps are really good at locking the moisturization.
Why is Organic Soap better? or What are its benefits?
There are several benefits of using organic soaps:
Organic Soap vs Natural Soap
With so many terms used in the cosmetic industry, sometimes it can be hard to differentiate between what you think you are buying versus what you are actually getting. "Natural" & "Organic" are often thrown around to tout the property of many beauty products - soaps especially - but the two terms mean very different things.
Organic is a term that can be used for soaps, which are made up of organic materials, oils, fats, and have a very little percentage of chemicals in them. But when we talk about natural, it is a vague term, because, we cannot have a purely natural soap or cosmetic. There will be some chemical in any cosmetic production especially soap making.
Organic Soaps are also certified as per government standards and require licensing. So, you can actually go for organic products.
Are Organic Soaps Edible?
There are several things that internet users search for, and the above question is something that is also asked by one of the internet users. To give a simple answer,
No ... A Big No ...
No soap should be eaten. These are used to clean ourselves and not eat. Although organic soaps are made up of things that might be edible, the way the saponification process works make it absolutely no for eating.
As we have already discussed, organic soaps also consist of a little number of chemicals, therefore, it is not edible at all. Also, there are several other things that go into organic soaps, fragrances, colors, some kind of active, etc, which are an absolute no for eating activity.
Can organic soaps be made without lye?
Yes, organic soaps can be made without lye also, but that doesn't mean we will get a soap that is purely organic or natural. We will have to substitute something in place of lye like an ingredient to help in foaming, or helping to create an emulsion, etc.
Are organic soaps antibacterial?
It makes sense that a lot of people might want the germ-killing boost of antibacterial soap, but they don't want the synthetic or harsh additives of commercial mainstream "soap". So are there any organic antibacterial soaps out there?
Before we dig into this question, let’s first look at how antibacterial soap works. Antibacterial soap usually contains one or more ingredients designed to kill bacteria and fungi. The most common of these ingredients are triclosan and triclocarban, and some others are benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, and/or chloroxylenol. Triclosan is used as a disinfectant at hospitals, where sterilization is really important. Needless to say, triclosan and its cousins are not organic compounds.
I suppose you could make soap out of good old olive oil and shea butter and then throw in some chloroxylenol just for kicks. But that would seem sort of backward, right?
The good news is that most organic soaps already contain natural antibacterial ingredients. What I’m talking about are essential oils. May of the same essential oils we put in soap to make it smell good also kill bacteria and other microorganisms. Let’s take a look at a few essential oils:
Lavender
Lavender is a shrub-like flowering plant in the mint family. Lavender essential oil smells floral and calming and is one of the safest essential oils. Unlike most essential oils, it can be applied undiluted, directly to the skin. Herbalist James Green of The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook carries a small bottle of lavender essential oil to use as a disinfectant when he is out in the field.
Cedar
Cedar essential oil has almost too many benefits to list, helping with arthritis, acne, dry scalp, and yes, it is an antiseptic. Three major components of cedar essential oil are alpha-cedrene, beta-cedrene, and cedrol. While cedar essential oil has the ability to kill microscopic critters, it can also be used to repel insects.
Cinnamon
The cinnamon essential oil may come from the cheaper cassia trees or the more expensive true cinnamon. The antiseptic compounds in cinnamon essential oil are cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid. Besides its disinfecting properties, cinnamon can also be used as an astringent, as an aphrodisiac, or as a pain reliever.
One question you might be asking at this point is whether organic soap contains enough essential oil to be an effective antibacterial treatment. The short answer is that it doesn’t matter. To date, according to the FDA, antibacterial soap hasn’t been shown to be any more effective than regular old soap. So go ahead and just buy the one that smells the best!