A to ECO

A to ECO is where you will find everything we think you need to know about the ingredients inside your freshly handmade & natural soap bars. Please bare with us though as there's a lot to explain, and if we haven't quite got to the ingredient you're looking for then please use our Contact Form. 

We have highlighted here what we receive most questions about.

Activated Charcoal

Activated Charcoal has been used traditionally to help absorb toxins within its millions of tiny pores. Within natural soap bars it will absord grease & dirt from your skin helping to reduce acne & greasy skin. Super cleansing we wouldn't advise drier skin types to use soap bars with Activated Charcoal inside.

Aloe Vera

We've all heard of this one. Aloe Vera is a plant and has been clinically proven to soothe skin and be suitable for sensitive skin types. This is why you will find Aloe Vera in many fragrance free products such as handmade soaps or shampoos such as our truly amazing skin loving Friendly Aloe Vera Handmade Soap. Using Aloe Vera could help relieve irritation, allergy prone, itchy or red skin.

Colourants

You may see ingredients like CL19025 within some products, however this is just a colourant used to give the product its colour. This is not a natural ingredient however has been tested as safe for use. Most of our soap bars use natural colours.

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa Butter is the fat obtained from the Cocoa Bean and can be used as an ingredient in many foods and toiletries. Due to its emollient properties you'll find it in many soaps, and due to its high fatty acid content in many moisturising creams. This is because unlike many other creams, cocoa butter penetrates deep down. Great for keeping dry skin highly moisturised. All of our Friendly handmade soaps are made with this and they have had some great reviews.

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil is naturally anti-bacterial & anti-fungal, plus can penetrate your hair better than most other oils, hence why you will see it used in many Shampoo Bars. It's anti-bacterial qualities is why you'll find it in our Facial Cleansing Bars.

Honey

Although some will say soap bars that contain Honey are not Vegan or cruelty free, we stock honey soap bars as honey is known to attract moisture to the skin, and then seal in moisture. Our Eco Soaps Honey & Oatmeal soap bar continues to receive positive reviews for this reason.

Oatmeal (Bran)

You may have oats for breakfast but it has been used traditionally to absorb excess oils from the skin therefore reducing acne. Oatmeal is also present in many natural soap bars due to its exfoliating properties, something sufferers of eczema & dry skin will appreciate.

Olive Oil

A common ingredient in lots of handmade soap bars with too many health benefits to list here, however one big benefit is that it contains lots of anti-oxidants including Vitamins A & E which help keeps your skin healthy. Olive Oil penetrates the skin very easily allowing you to gain maximum nutritional benefit. Great for your hair, face, body & feet.

Parabens

Parabens are used to make products last longer. Their chemical properties help to keep products fresher for longer. The controversy arose when parabens were found inside some cancers, hence while you'll see many cosmetic companies advertising Paraben Free products. Why take the risk when you can use alternative natural preservatives?

Palm Oil

This is an oil derived from the oil palm tree and mainly used as an ingredient in many soaps, shower gels and other toiletries, however is also edible & so can be found in many foods. There is some controversy surrounding the use of Palm Oil because of the de-forestation of many palm trees and rain forests, however all of our products that contain it use responsibly sourced palm oil (RSPO).

Parfum

You'll often see this listed as an ingredient which quite a lot of people believe to be artificial, however this is not strictly true. Producers use this term to collectively identify the fragrances used in each product instead of listing each individual fragrance. We will always tell you if a product is not 100% natural, but most of ours are.

Sea Salt

Found within our Watkins Foot Scrub Soap Bar & also our Eco Soaps Hebridean Sea Salt & Activated Charcoal Soap Bar sea salt has numerous health benefits. Essentially sea salt is used within handmade soap bars as it consists of a similar assortment of minerals and natural healing properties as those found in your own skin cells. Sea salt is also a great exfoliating & deodorising properties too.

Shea Butter

This is a natural fat obtained from the seeds of the fruit of the Shea Tree, and is naturally high in vitamin E, which is great for the skin. Like Cocoa Butter, it is very highly moisturising, but in addition has some added UV protection (But thats not to say you don't need sun cream still!). Try our Shea Butter Cleansing Soap Bar made with one third Shea Butter, for ultra smooth and glossy skin!

SLS & SLES

These stand for Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Laureth Sulphate and is a type of Surfactant found in many toiletries and cleaning products. As it is an anionic surfactant it is best used for breaking the bonds between protein based dirt and surfaces. As a result of this there is some concerns over its use in soaps and shower gels etc as the skin is also a protein. That's why you will see lots of products advertised as SLS free like our entire Friendly Soap range. 

This is actually a naturally derived ingredient but manufactured chemically which results in the concerns some people have.

Tea Tree

Derived from the Australian Melaleuca Alternifolia tree, we stock Tea Tree soap bars given Tea Tree has powerful natural antiseptic properties and is a great skin healer.