Don't judge a soap by its label

So you know how you’re not supposed to believe everything you read? How about don’t believe everything you DON’T read? While this is floating around your head not making any sense whatsoever, I’ll explain what I mean.

One of the main reasons why us natural body product artisans do what we do is because we love using natural ingredients. We know that Mother Nature is equipped to help with a lot of ailments. We can make a soap that relieves eczema, another to relieve dryness, and yet another to prevent acne. We’re fortunate to have access to nature’s bounty to help with various problems without the use of harsh ingredients. So we buy all these wonderful ingredients, make amazing products, package them up, and stock the stores. Then the consumers go to the stores. They search for soaps to help with a specific problem, say acne, and yet they can’t find one. They search in vain for a soap that says it helps with acne and are disappointed when they go home empty handed. So they reluctantly go back to their commercial soaps, lotions, etc. 

Why is this? I’ll tell you why. It’s not because handmade, natural soap doesn’t help what it claims to help. It’s that we’re not allowed to claim what we KNOW it helps.

 Soap isn’t regulated by the FDA. Because of this, natural soaps don’t need any labeling. Since they are natural and not a detergent, no ingredients list is required. For those of you that don’t know, most commercial soaps are actually detergents and are not real soap. FYI. OMG. SMH. This being said, natural soaps are labeled mainly as a courtesy to the consumer, so that they know what’s in the soap. Those of you with allergies understand the importance of that. Anything making a medical claim, however, will fall under the FDA. 

 No claims can be made about the product. None. A claim that it helps, prevents, or cures a medical condition such as acne or eczema will mean that it falls under the drug category and thus require testing. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a laboratory in my back yard. Or in a basement like Dexter. (My friend Mely would appreciate that one.) The same goes for other soapers and small business owners. We don’t have the resources for that. So this means our ingredients list doubles as a warning for allergens as well as advertising. You can see what’s in the product and derive from that what benefits you’ll get. The only thing we're allowed to do is provide info on the historical data proving the use of ingredients. This is why you’ll see a lot of brochures and pamphlets with listings of ingredients and their benefits. May seem weird that we can give you brochures that make claims about ingredients but we can't put it on the labels of products made with the same ingredients. But isn't it the norm for our government to do things that don't make sense?

The next time you’re at a store or a booth at a market, don’t be afraid to ask questions. The sellers will love to tell you how awesome their products are and how you’ll benefit.

So remember, don't judge a soap by its label, a book by its cover, or a woman by her cooking. That'll just leave you dirty, unread and, well, that last one's just plain dumb to do. 

Happy sudsing!