Soap Is Not Moisturizing?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
How did we go from moisturizing soap to peppermint p3n!s? Someone needs to steer this bus out of the gutter!
View attachment 37336
Seriously, Im reconsidering the “conditioning” property on account how soft my skin feels after washing with AO/CB soap. I always considered HO filler but now I’m having second thoughts. I think I may be returning to the lab...
View attachment 37341

Dean, I am often abbreviation-challenged. I can't figure out what AO/CB soap, even though I read back through this thread. DUH, please be kind.
 
I find soaps really good for my skin. I have chemical sensitivities and using most of the liquid hand cleansers from the supermarket makes my hands dry and my skin cracks. I started soap making because I discovered the soap I was using contained palm oil.
I made my first hand soap and gave some to friends. They liked it so much they now buy my soap.
 
How did we go from moisturizing soap to peppermint p3n!s? Someone needs to steer this bus out of the gutter!
View attachment 37336
Seriously, Im reconsidering the “conditioning” property on account how soft my skin feels after washing with AO/CB soap. I always considered HO filler but now I’m having second thoughts. I think I may be returning to the lab...
View attachment 37341
But I loved that story! I just shared it with my husband. Although, it makes me wonder about people who bathe in rivers with soap. I know, I did it when I was young, but being almost 70, I have to say, very few people were addressing the ill effects of river bathing at the time. Now I think of what would I have done if I knew then what I know now of the ill effects of river bathing on all things down-river from the bather.
 
@earlene - Dr. Bronner's soap is on the list of "approved" items to take into The BOundary Waters (according to my sister) so they must have decided it has minimal (or at least far less) effect on those downstream. They are pretty doggone strict up there.

I know, I know, OT, I just thumped myself upside the head.

Having given myself the thump, however, I would like to point out that I brought it back to moisturizing :)
 
@earlene - Dr. Bronner's soap is on the list of "approved" items to take into The BOundary Waters (according to my sister) so they must have decided it has minimal (or at least far less) effect on those downstream. They are pretty doggone strict up there.

I know, I know, OT, I just thumped myself upside the head.

Having given myself the thump, however, I would like to point out that I brought it back to moisturizing :)


But not just the soap, the possibility of bacterial, fecal, and other contamination from the human would be a concern, as well, right?

I know, I know, not on topic, but the point I was really making, not just about soap in our waterways.
 
@hungryhawaiian I can tell you WHY they jump on you - many of the people in the FB groups and in the US, aspire to sell their soap. Unless you're going to consider your soap a cosmetic, (Which comes with many other conditions, like FDA rules & regs that soap alone does not have) you legally cannot call soap anything other than cleansing.

@Marilyn Norgart Similar to the above, shampoo is a cosmetic, and soap is not.

From Marie Gale (who wrote the book on labeling requirements for soap),"soap must be the alkali salt of fatty acids (that is, made with lye/oil/water – not a synthetic detergent) AND it must be marketed and sold as “soap”. That means the only claim can be that it cleans – no claims that could make it a cosmetic (moisturizing, soothing, otherwise changing the appearance) … for the product itself OR any of the ingredients. (For example, you can’t say that it contiains “moisturising” shea butter. (Shea butter, yes, but not “moisturizing”)."
 
Ok people, what’s the deal with the term “moisturizing” in soaps? I’ve been scolded and seen other noobs get scolded for associating that word with soap. Apparently soap cannot be moisturizing?

In an FB soap group I was dang near burned at the stake for saying it a couple times. They’d say that soap is not moisturizing, but in a lot of the readings I’ve done and are currently doing, they all seem to have no problems saying that this recipe is moisturizing or that soap is moisturizing or add this to make it more moisturizing or take away that to make it moisturizing....

I mean, handmade soaps, as we all know, retain glycerin, which we also know is a humectant. Glycerin, as a humectant, draws water from the air and into your skin. So how isn’t soap moisturizing based on that alone?

This thread is probably more a rant than a question, because as far as I’m concerned, that FB group has never been helpful to me and if anything, I’ve only seen them severely deter noobs like myself from even wanting to post questions or maybe their finished products for constructive criticism or just a pat on the back for taking a leap.

Y’all SMFers have been nothing but helpful and understanding since day one for me, and I’m thankful for you all!

/endrant
It all depends on the individual's skin type and the fact that most soaps do not moisturize. Leaving soap on your skin will only dry it out, unless the person is using my Aleppo soap. I always recommend to my customers to pat dry their skin after cleansing. Anyhow, the FCC states that if you make a statement such as "moisturizing" about your products that you are required to conduct clinical studies to prove it.
 
Ok people, what’s the deal with the term “moisturizing” in soaps? I’ve been scolded and seen other noobs get scolded for associating that word with soap. Apparently soap cannot be moisturizing?

In an FB soap group I was dang near burned at the stake for saying it a couple times. They’d say that soap is not moisturizing, but in a lot of the readings I’ve done and are currently doing, they all seem to have no problems saying that this recipe is moisturizing or that soap is moisturizing or add this to make it more moisturizing or take away that to make it moisturizing....

I mean, handmade soaps, as we all know, retain glycerin, which we also know is a humectant. Glycerin, as a humectant, draws water from the air and into your skin. So how isn’t soap moisturizing based on that alone?

This thread is probably more a rant than a question, because as far as I’m concerned, that FB group has never been helpful to me and if anything, I’ve only seen them severely deter noobs like myself from even wanting to post questions or maybe their finished products for constructive criticism or just a pat on the back for taking a leap.

Y’all SMFers have been nothing but helpful and understanding since day one for me, and I’m thankful for you all!

/endrant

I thought that if you claim your soap is moisturizing, then you get into the realm of cosmetics which entails a whole different set of laws.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I thought that if you claim your soap is moisturizing, then you get into the realm of cosmetics which entails a whole different set of laws.

In the US, the regulations for labeling cosmetics (moisturizers are cosmetics in the US), so that is true. But regulations elsewhere may be different, so it matters where the the seller (IF they sell) is selling their soap.
 
@hungryhawaiian I can tell you WHY they jump on you - many of the people in the FB groups and in the US, aspire to sell their soap. Unless you're going to consider your soap a cosmetic, (Which comes with many other conditions, like FDA rules & regs that soap alone does not have) you legally cannot call soap anything other than cleansing.

I wish that was the case, but after being in that group for a while now, seeing all the comments on various posts, I highly doubt that’s the reason they did it. Without being too blunt, I just don’t think most of them have the capacity to think that way.

I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll say it again, in the FB group’s, majority are less than helpful and downright disrespectful and/or ignorant. Opinions get thrown around as facts and if you don’t agree, get ready for a gangbash!

Here on SMF, majority are extremely helpful and willing to educate with full disclosure of the credibility of said education. People can disagree here and still be civil. It’s awesome!

I’ve definitely learned quite a bit about the “moisturizing“ properties of soap and how it plays into both selling and using. Very glad I made this thread.
 
Back
Top