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Help with Natural Products soap, shampoo etc.

If by "natural" you mean something that is naturally occurring in nature, then soap is automatically disqualified. There is no such thing as natural soap because soap is made with lye.
 
Thanks to everyone for all of the good tips. I was looking for some assistance so that I didn't have to go to the bodyshop to get soap. I my thoughts were that guys using de razors would know where guys could get some good grooming products for men with manly smells. I was hoping to find some products without the harmful ingredients, and that was what I meant by "natural."
 
tom's. I love the lemongrass deoderant stick & the toothpaste is fantastic. For soap I bet you can find someone locally or dr. bronners is good stuff
 
Penhaligon's has some great soaps that compliment the shave soaps, deodorant and talc ect.. Shop London's carries many others.
 
If you have farmer's markets in your area you should be able to find a local handcrafter ......

As Matthew pointed out there is no such thing as a truly natural or organic soap because of the lye. No lye = no soap. You can also check out The Soap Guild... It will help you understand the differences between different soaps as well as maybe help you find a local handcrafter... Good luck!
 
If you have farmer's markets in your area you should be able to find a local handcrafter ......

As Matthew pointed out there is no such thing as a truly natural or organic soap because of the lye. No lye = no soap. You can also check out The Soap Guild... It will help you understand the differences between different soaps as well as maybe help you find a local handcrafter... Good luck!

Local handcrafted soap does not mean they are natural. They may use SLS/SLES and petrochemicals. Some soap makers buy the saponified soap and only add the scent, you don't even know what's in there.

If you want to go safe try Mystic Water Soaps or Chagrin Valley Soaps. Those are really pure for sure.

Just a word of caution about the Bodyshop. Bodyshop products are not natural or organic, they use lots of synthetic chemicals.
 
There is nothing more natural than petrochemicals which are based on dead organic matter and they were/are the foundation of organic chemistry.

Even the pretty flowers in the meadow that they put in the so called "natural" products are based on dead organic matter.

For some reason they can't both leave the flower or tree in the field AND put it in a bottle, they have to kill the little thing to put it in the bottle.

Petrochemicals used in cosmetics are highly refined and purified, just as all "natural" products are. I suppose if people wanted to really go natural they could stop bathing and stop the use of any cosmetic product. I saw someone on here one time buying two cups of natural shampoo for what amounted to $8 a cup for shampoo. It should be remembered that some people struggle to make ends meet (people with kids, unemployed people) and they cannot afford the luxury of paying $16 for two cups of shampoo.

More power to idea of maintaining choice in consumer products so people can afford them at many price points.
 
By the way, I'm not against the so called natural products and the OP has tons of choice today as there are "natural" sections even in the grocery store. I did a review on earthscience aloe/herbal AS which I really like last week I think. What I am against is the often unsupported marketing hype that surrounds these products.
 
Local handcrafted soap does not mean they are natural. They may use SLS/SLES and petrochemicals. Some soap makers buy the saponified soap and only add the scent, you don't even know what's in there.

Good point - they are however few and far between thank goodness. There are 3 different types of soaps that are easily found from handcrafters. Melt & Pour which is where they are using a purchased base which is mostly natural to which they will add the fragrance, colour and perhaps botanicals. Then there is the made from scratch soaps using Cold Process or Hot Process. These ones are made starting with raw ingredients and you will not find SLS, SLSa or preservatives in them. Glycerin soaps are often made using SLS or other surfactants because glycerin on its own can't be a soap since it is a by-product of soap and is a straight liquid.

I know that here in Canada all of the ingredients need to be listed in order of quantity and all detergents, surfactants, etc. must be listed. The exception is lye because you are listing what is in the product in its completed form so instead of saying tallow it will read as either Sodium Tallowate or Potassium Tallowate which acknowledges the lye process as well as which lye was used.

I recommend reading labels to know what you are really getting, unfortunately they don't tell you if they have stripped the glycerin out. Dr. Bronners doesn't and they state that on their site.

Cheers
 
Most of organic soap brands do retain glycerin. And there are fake-organic products, with Tetrasodium EDTA and other chemicals. Consumer needs to be aware.
 
You should look into 'Savon de Marseille', I use it for body and face. Completely natural.

For my hair I switched to John Masters Organics products.

For deodorant I use Aesop deodorant

For toothpaste I use himalaya dental cream
 
The paraben as a carcinogen issue is controversial, but I have a history of cancer in my family, so it is my choice not to use products with parabens. For a shave cream I also understand the need for a preservative, such as Phenoxyethanol, - an organic chemical compound, it is a bactericide (usually used in conjunction with quaternary ammonium compounds), often used in place of sodium azide in biological buffers as 2-phenoxyethanol is less toxic and non-reactive with copper and lead. (from Wikipedia)

As for scents - the essential oils smell great!
 
The paraben as a carcinogen issue is controversial, but I have a history of cancer in my family, so it is my choice not to use products with parabens. For a shave cream I also understand the need for a preservative, such as Phenoxyethanol, - an organic chemical compound, it is a bactericide (usually used in conjunction with quaternary ammonium compounds), often used in place of sodium azide in biological buffers as 2-phenoxyethanol is less toxic and non-reactive with copper and lead. (from Wikipedia)

As for scents - the essential oils smell great!

Phenoxyethanol it's not that harmless.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=704811

And also

Phenoxyethanol, glycol ether often derived from natural sources, is a popular antibacterial and preservative chemical. It also contains in many vaccines and bug repellants.

Even some of the greenest beauty brands use phenoxyethanol as a preservative, noting that it is derived from grapefruit. Well, cocamide DEA is derived from coconut but this doesn’t make it any less toxic!

Chemically known as ethylene glycol phenyl ether or ethylene glycol monophenyl ether, phenoxyethanol is an ethoxylated compound that may be contaminated with carcinogenic toxin 1,4-Dioxane.
 
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Ack! Is there a non-carcinogen skin care product preservative?

For me the best one is still japanese honeysuckle extract, which contains natural paraben (it hasn't the methyl tail). I don't know if tea tree extract can be considered as preservative, but it is a very potent anti-bacterial and anti-fungal stuff.
 
Not sure where the topic got derailed but after hearing all the responses, I am looking for products to purchase. I appreciate everyone sharing the knowledge of soap. I just want to expand my horizons with some quality soap that is less harmfull than a grocery store body wash like old spice or adidas. I am interested in the finer things in bath care....what products and where to get them. I think we can all agree that in just about everything manufactured there is certain potential hazardous products used. Some companies use less and try to put the best product forward. Products that are made with care.
 
Not sure where the topic got derailed but after hearing all the responses, I am looking for products to purchase. I appreciate everyone sharing the knowledge of soap. I just want to expand my horizons with some quality soap that is less harmfull than a grocery store body wash like old spice or adidas. I am interested in the finer things in bath care....what products and where to get them. I think we can all agree that in just about everything manufactured there is certain potential hazardous products used. Some companies use less and try to put the best product forward. Products that are made with care.

You can't go wrong with Mystic Water Soaps or Chagrin Valley soaps.
 
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