During a phone call with the boyfriend, we were discussing liquid soap vs. bar soap because he had been intrigued by some soap on a rope he saw at Stag which had the most interesting scents which were oddly pleasing in the olfactory sense. I thought to myself, what if I made him some nice vegan soap on a rope? Perhaps with a handmade soap holder loofah made of upcycled hand cloths using this idea I found on pinterest? I decided to do a bit of research on soap making, mostly because I was wary of the lye handling. Lye is very toxic before saponification, which according to Wikipedia it "involves base (usually caustic soda NaOH) hydrolysis of triglycerides, which are esters of fatty acids, to form the sodium salt of a carboxylate." This then makes sense that it is toxic because NaOH is a very strong base which is very corrosive and can burn badly as well as irritate the respiratory tract if inhaled. After a bit of research, it turns out I was worried about the wrong things.
I am disgusted by what can commonly be found in most soaps: Phthalates which cause birth defects, carcinogenic parabens which also cause early onset of puberty in girls due to its ability to mimic estrogen, Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS) which is a common irritant and is often contaminated with carcinogenic dioxin.... and the MOST upsetting: glycerin which is often made with animal fats like rendered beef fat.
OMG. How could I be unknowingly using these products for over 20 years? Being a broke college student often means shopping at Dollar Tree and using products with all sorts of sketchy ingredients. Now that I am no longer a college student, I refuse to subject myself and the environment to these unnecessary ingredients. PETA provides this great list to Cruelty Free Bar Soaps. Why bar soap instead of those lovely liquid gel soaps you ask? Liquid soaps are not as environmentally friendly because of the containers which they come in. Oftentimes after a liquid soap bottle runs out, it is (God forbid) thrown away or at least recycled because is cannot be refilled. While recycling is great for those items we just cannot do without, it is much better to reduce consumption altogether. [My intelligent boyfriend figured this one out all on his own!] The energy used to manufacture the plastic bottles and then the energy used to recycle the bottles are not worth it if it is possible to do without the bottle and save all that energy.
I came upon this great deal from Kiss My Face for 24oz of bar soap for $8! I am sorely tempted to buy it right away, but I think it would be better if I found a local place to buy some eco-friendly, vegan soap instead. But for now, it is sitting in my cart on kissmyface.com waiting for me in case I can't find a local soap I like.
Similarly, I will be on the hunt for better shampoo, conditioner and make up to buy as well as I heard a nasty rumor that most lipsticks have fish scales in them...yuck. I'm thinking Urban Decay?
More on this later... I'm going to go put all my unused soaps in a bag for Goodwill.
XOXO,
MissEcoChic
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| [Image via http://www.veganbeautyreview.com] |
I am disgusted by what can commonly be found in most soaps: Phthalates which cause birth defects, carcinogenic parabens which also cause early onset of puberty in girls due to its ability to mimic estrogen, Sodium laurel sulfate (SLS) which is a common irritant and is often contaminated with carcinogenic dioxin.... and the MOST upsetting: glycerin which is often made with animal fats like rendered beef fat.
OMG. How could I be unknowingly using these products for over 20 years? Being a broke college student often means shopping at Dollar Tree and using products with all sorts of sketchy ingredients. Now that I am no longer a college student, I refuse to subject myself and the environment to these unnecessary ingredients. PETA provides this great list to Cruelty Free Bar Soaps. Why bar soap instead of those lovely liquid gel soaps you ask? Liquid soaps are not as environmentally friendly because of the containers which they come in. Oftentimes after a liquid soap bottle runs out, it is (God forbid) thrown away or at least recycled because is cannot be refilled. While recycling is great for those items we just cannot do without, it is much better to reduce consumption altogether. [My intelligent boyfriend figured this one out all on his own!] The energy used to manufacture the plastic bottles and then the energy used to recycle the bottles are not worth it if it is possible to do without the bottle and save all that energy.
Similarly, I will be on the hunt for better shampoo, conditioner and make up to buy as well as I heard a nasty rumor that most lipsticks have fish scales in them...yuck. I'm thinking Urban Decay?
More on this later... I'm going to go put all my unused soaps in a bag for Goodwill.
XOXO,
MissEcoChic
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