See You Lather

Umbra on soap 6

Dear Umbra,

Every time I'm lathering with Dr. Bronner's hemp castile soap, I wonder, what is castile soap? And how is it different from my bar of olive oil-based soap from the farmers market, or my partner's Dove? Finally, does the ingredient triclosan in antibacterial soap really convert to dioxin in sunlight? And if so, wouldn't that be more reason (more than, say, the fact that it doesn't kill more bacteria than other soap) to get this now-ubiquitous stuff off the market?

Cleanly,
Susan
Washington, D.C.

Dearest Susan,

You know I love this kind of thrilling research, so oft delayed by the distractions of modern life. How fondly I recall the day I finally learned the difference between a sofa and a couch, not to mention the time I delved more deeply into glitter. I still yearn to know more about macaroni products, but perhaps they have no relation to major global environmental problems. As regards soap, we can make the argument that using soap is a good, though minor, household move.

You can call me alkali.

Our environmentally based pro-soap argument is this: Soap is a clearly defined, simple product. Whereas over the years the various newfangled ingredients in detergents and cosmetic bars have one by one been revealed as cleansing to the household but polluting to the body and planet (phosphates, nonionic surfactants, fragrances, etc.).

It may be good to go a little further and discuss what, exactly, qualifies as soap.

Traditional soap was made by mixing a fat with lye to produce, as the FDA calls it, alkali-fatty acid compounds. Officially, a product can be called soap if the "bulk of the nonvolatile matter in the product consists of an alkali salt of fatty acids," if the detergent properties are due to said content, and if the marketing and labeling only claim soapy purposes (as opposed to, say, medicinal or beauty purposes).

Today, many items we think of as soap are in fact synthetic detergents mixed with soap, completely synthetic detergents, or soap mixed with various purportedly beneficial additives -- these all are regulated by the FDA as cosmetics or drugs. For example, Dove is a "beauty bar," not soap. The word "detergent" in general use refers to a non-soap cleanser, made from synthetic ingredients, and containing surfactants as well as sundry other cleansing compounds.

Given all that info, then, what is up with your castile soap? Castile refers to any vegetable-based soap. It's named after Castile, Spain, where -- you guessed it -- a famous olive oil-based soap was made. Dr. Bronner's explains that their solid soaps use sodium hydroxide (aka lye) to saponify (soapify!) the oil, and their liquid soaps use potassium hydroxide. It's probably not so different from the handmade soap at the farmers market.

As to triclosan, it is an EPA-regulated pesticide used in too many household products, including hand wash, sponges, cutting boards, and more. It is an antimicrobial agent that has been found in breast milk, is toxic to various aquatic organisms, and degrades into one of the less awful types of dioxins. It kills bacteria. It will not, counter to what some companies would like you to believe, protect us against the various viruses that cause the common cold. So, yes, we should stop using it. My favorite Toxics Coalition has a lovely article about antimicrobial products and their dubious necessity.

All in all, carry on with your showering habits and feel free to spread the anti-antimicrobial word.

Sudsily,
Umbra

 

Yours is to wonder why, hers is to answer (or try). Send your green-living questions to Umbra.

For even more green goodness, you can follow Umbra on Twitter (@AskUmbra).

Umbra Fisk is Grist Research Associate II, Hardcover and Periodicals Unit, floors 2B-4B.

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  1. sarasal Posted 4:24 am
    27 Oct 2008

    SoapLike high fructose corn syrup, which is undergoing a PR makeover into a ``natural sweetener just like sugar'' (which doesn't absolve it or sugar of anything but makes it sound so harmless), we are being told that our children will die unless we kill every living bacteria in our homes. We need as  active a counter advertising campaign to tell people just what these things are doing to our bodies (giving us cancer) and our planet. As Thomas Friedman says in his new book ``Hot, Flat and Crowded'' we need to start being the Ark instead of the flood. Where is the anti-Madison Avenue?

    Permalink

  2. sarasal Posted 4:24 am
    27 Oct 2008

    SoapLike high fructose corn syrup, which is undergoing a PR makeover into a ``natural sweetener just like sugar'' (which doesn't absolve it or sugar of anything but makes it sound so harmless), we are being told that our children will die unless we kill every living bacteria in our homes. We need as  active a counter advertising campaign to tell people just what these things are doing to our bodies (giving us cancer) and our planet. As Thomas Friedman says in his new book ``Hot, Flat and Crowded'' we need to start being the Ark instead of the flood. Where is the anti-Madison Avenue?

    Permalink

  3. auroravioletta Posted 2:14 pm
    27 Oct 2008

    Soap V. DoveOh, soap. It is one of my favorite hobbies... enough that I had to create an account just so I could respond in the comments here!
    Dr. Bronners bar soap is indeed basically the same thing as the vegetable-based soaps that you can get at your farmer's market. Except that the ones at your farmers market are probably produced locally, and may be gentler on your skin. (It may be just me, but I've always found Dr. Bronners to be a bit drying.) I recommend going to the market and talking to the folks that make the soap! If you need something especially moisturizing and gentle, perhaps to fill the needs of your Dove-using partner, they probably have something to fit the bill. Soapmaking is a really neat process, which gives the maker a lot of leeway when it comes to moisturizing and other properties.
    And a word on Dove... No matter what their ads say, Dove -is- soap. It's just soap with a whole bunch of synthetic chemicals and fragrances added. (Yes- even the unscented kind.) All the sodium-somethings on the label are soaps, made by mixing fat and lye just like every other kind of soap. According to the ingredients they list on their website, Dove has sodium-palmitate (soap made from palm oil), sodium-cocoate (soap made from coconut oil), sodium-palm kernelate (soap made from palm-kernel oil), and sodium-tallowate. The sodium-tallowate is -you guessed it- soap made from tallow. But what is tallow? Tallow is rendered animal fat, usually from cows. So if either you or your partner happen to be vegetarian, you might want to seriously rethink the Dove.
    Altogether, I find locally handmade soaps made from vegetable oils to be the best, both for the skin, the environment, and the conscience. Then again, I make my own soap, so I may be a bit biased. :-)

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  4. auroravioletta Posted 2:14 pm
    27 Oct 2008

    Soap V. DoveOh, soap. It is one of my favorite hobbies... enough that I had to create an account just so I could respond in the comments here!
    Dr. Bronners bar soap is indeed basically the same thing as the vegetable-based soaps that you can get at your farmer's market. Except that the ones at your farmers market are probably produced locally, and may be gentler on your skin. (It may be just me, but I've always found Dr. Bronners to be a bit drying.) I recommend going to the market and talking to the folks that make the soap! If you need something especially moisturizing and gentle, perhaps to fill the needs of your Dove-using partner, they probably have something to fit the bill. Soapmaking is a really neat process, which gives the maker a lot of leeway when it comes to moisturizing and other properties.
    And a word on Dove... No matter what their ads say, Dove -is- soap. It's just soap with a whole bunch of synthetic chemicals and fragrances added. (Yes- even the unscented kind.) All the sodium-somethings on the label are soaps, made by mixing fat and lye just like every other kind of soap. According to the ingredients they list on their website, Dove has sodium-palmitate (soap made from palm oil), sodium-cocoate (soap made from coconut oil), sodium-palm kernelate (soap made from palm-kernel oil), and sodium-tallowate. The sodium-tallowate is -you guessed it- soap made from tallow. But what is tallow? Tallow is rendered animal fat, usually from cows. So if either you or your partner happen to be vegetarian, you might want to seriously rethink the Dove.
    Altogether, I find locally handmade soaps made from vegetable oils to be the best, both for the skin, the environment, and the conscience. Then again, I make my own soap, so I may be a bit biased. :-)

    Permalink

  5. Cyndi Posted 7:06 am
    01 Nov 2008

    CastileHi, thanks for your article, which does a good job of explaining the difference.  But I take issue with one thing: castile does not refer to any vegetable-based soap.  Castile soap is olive oil soap.  Some people save the term for 100% olive oil and others use it with soaps that are mostly olive oil.  A few folks call soap with only a bit of olive oil castile, but us soapmakers generally poke fun at them.  Your article is the first place I've heard of soap without so much as a drop of olive oil being referred to as castile.
    Cyndi

    Tikvah Organics (which makes castile soap)

    http://tikvah.com/

    Permalink

  6. Cyndi Posted 7:06 am
    01 Nov 2008

    CastileHi, thanks for your article, which does a good job of explaining the difference.  But I take issue with one thing: castile does not refer to any vegetable-based soap.  Castile soap is olive oil soap.  Some people save the term for 100% olive oil and others use it with soaps that are mostly olive oil.  A few folks call soap with only a bit of olive oil castile, but us soapmakers generally poke fun at them.  Your article is the first place I've heard of soap without so much as a drop of olive oil being referred to as castile.
    Cyndi

    Tikvah Organics (which makes castile soap)

    http://tikvah.com/

    Permalink

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