Soy Milk Soaps? Safety Question

[Sunkawakan]

I've been doing research the past few days on soy milk. I've found both good (moisturizing) and bad (possible cause of some cancers).

I'm now coming to everyone here to ask for your thoughts. I think I'd like to start soaping with it - I havent even done test batches and may not based on research, I'm still in research phase. I'm really questioning if its safe to use on the skin/hair. While I realize many people offer soy soaps & shampoos, are they offered because people will buy them or are they really safe. And, if they are safe what are the benefits of using them or are there any?

Any thoughts on this matter would be appreciated.

 

[Sunkawakan]

No one?? Is this too much of a controversial question? ANY assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[dagmar88]

I don't think any question is too controversial.
Rubato makes her soaps with soy milk; here's her website with pictures of her soy milk soap:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/VeganSoapKitch ... id=6375578

Here some more info on the benefits:

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewto ... hlight=soy

And here an interesting article about soy:

http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm

My target market isn't vegan and I don't use soy oil in any of my soaps; so I never did much research on the subject.
But, from the information I have Asian women (who have a lot of soy in their diet) have less change of breast and uterus cancer, decalcification, heartdisease and severe discomfort during menopause.

If you're planning to sell; just make sure you label properly cause a lot of people are allergic to soy and it can be harmfull for people with dysfunctional thyroids.

 

[Cuckoo Bananas]

My info might be slightly out of date as it was a couple of years ago when i looked into all this stuff but i got the impression that soy in asia is very different to soy in western countries. When people would use the studies and benefits of soy used in traditional ways it in no way compares to the mass produced and highly processed variety used in the west. Just the same with peanuts, apparently peanut allergy is almost unheard of in asia but its huge in western countries because of how we process them. HTH

 

[carebear]

I"m sorry, but I don't get it.

I've read NOTHING reliable about soy causing cancer. I read some stuff a while ago saying that highly processed soy seemed to accelerate the growth but even that wasn't really very definitive at all if memory serves. I think the recommendation was to avoid soy supplements and instead incorporate soy into the diet.

Which sounds like a much better option anyway.

 

[Maria]

My first question if I were a customer and saw any soy on the label would be isn't that genetically modified since almost all soy grown in this country is unless marked organic. I would never knowingly support the franken food industry.
Someone was selling pies at the same green market and I asked about several genetically modified ingredients. She replied it cost too much to buy non GMO or organic. Personally, I would have been happy to pay extra.

 

[carebear]

By the way - one day doesn't mean your post is being ignored. Not all of us LIVE here LOL.

 

[Sunkawakan]

Thanks everyone. I still need to think about this some, I'm really not sure how I feel about this. The last thing I want to do is offer something that might be potentially harmful. My Daddy always told me "When in doubt, don't." So, for now, I'm tabeling it until the time comes when my soul is more comfortable using soy. However, I'm going to run a few test batches and just see what happens from there. At this point I don't even know how it reacts in soap and haven't started "playing" with it yet, maybe tomorrow after I make some others (I love 1lb batches and can always use them for laundry soap if I don't like the results.

I do appreciate everyone's input.

BTW - Carebare- I agree with your comment about soy causing not cancer. I haven't been able to find much on soy that seems to be reliable, either for or against. However, with all the stuff out there, sometimes its tough to tell what is hype and what is reliable anyway. Best to table it for now.

 

[beerfish]

Personally, I would have been happy to pay extra.

The problem is, most people aren't happy to pay extra. As a business, you can't afford to spend money on all organic if it will force you to out price yourself to 90% of your patrons.

I'm a beer snob, and am happy to pay more for handcrafted beer. I've spent as much as $40 on a bottle. The craft beer market share is still less than 10% though, as most people would buy 3 cases of Bud for what I spent on one bottle.

As far as the soy debate... Everything under the sun gives you cancer nowadays (actually the sun does too)... so while I would avoid tossing asbestos in your batch, I wouldn't worry about soy without some seriously conclusive research.