Help with Natural Products soap, shampoo etc.

[Mo5-O]

I need people to sound off on what they would reccomend (smell and function) for shower soap(gel or bar) shampoos and deodarant. Hellllllllllpppppppp

[Cynomys]

You might check out this thread ("My soap journey"): http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthr...t=Soap+Journey

I have personally tried the Whole Foods Vetiver Cedar and the South of France soaps mentioned in that thread. Also, some of the soaps in the Dead Sea Mineral Soap line. I can recommend them all.

Grandpa's Pine Tar soap is what I use for hand washing. The scent reminds me of an outdoor campfire after it has been extinguished. It's not bad because it has (for me) good associations, but it may not be everyone's idea of a shower soap.

[Go West Young Man]

Define what "natural" means to you. For example, are you willing to risk your products going bad in a couple months because there are no preservatives?

[Mo5-O]

Not natural as in going bad but natural as in not potentially cancer causing.

[GlobalGentleman]

Dr. Bronner ! certified organic 'awesomeness'....

[Malaspina]

Solid bar soaps do not require any preservatives....

[Mo5-O]

I have heard about this Mama bear soap, what's the deal with that?

[kingfisher]

Take my advice and buy a bar of Hugo Naturals bar soap in the scent of your choice. You can thank me later.

For shampoo I recommend a shampoo bar. I like the one from www.mysticwatersoaps.com.

[BladeRunner001]

My wife and I were on a mission (still are) to try out different soaps. In our experimentation, we have found that Shea Butter bath soaps work the best (whatever the brand). Extremely moisturizing. "One with Nature" has a great Shea Butter one. South of France is another brand that is reasonably priced...their Verbena smells great.

Bottom line, you don't need to spend a lot to get a lot. Mama Bear has great soaps. I have 7 of her shave soaps but never tried her bath soaps (yet).

As far as shampoos, my wife and I love J.R. Ligget's shampoo bars (3.5 oz). They are very natural and very good for the hair and devoid of SLS and other nasty stuff. Give that a shot. it's very conditioning too.

[Lusitano]

Take my advice and buy a bar of Hugo Naturals bar soap in the scent of your choice

I do like Hugo's bar soaps but some of them can be somewhat drying. The best one from Hugo IMO is the oatmeal & shea butter.

I have a major experience with organic personal care products, because I mostly only use them, and I buy almost everything from the US. You have great organic brands there, unfortunately here in Portugal we have mostly mainstream products.

To recommend you a shampoo, I need to know your scalp/hair type.

About bar soap, I do recommend Giovanni Organics moisturizing body bars with Bamboo Birch, Cucumber Song or Raspberry Winter scents.

Nubian Heritage does have also nice bar soaps with shea butter: African Black soap, Raw Shea Butter, Coconut & Papaya.

If you need any more tips, please let me know. I know lots of different organic shampoos and soap bars.

[npsarros]

What ingredients disqualify a soap from being "natural"?
Are you looking for something vegan?

[Lusitano]

What ingredients disqualify a soap from being "natural"?
Are you looking for something vegan?

Usually petroleum products, synthetic scents, parabens, propylene glycol, sodium laureth or lauryl sulfate. Any of those disqualify a soap from being natural.

[BladeRunner001]

Usually petroleum products, synthetic scents, parabens, propylene glycol, sodium laureth or lauryl sulfate. Any of those disqualify a soap from being natural.

Believe it or not, Parabens are very natural. Blueberries for example (and other fruits/vegetables) have a lot of Methyparabens. There are various derivatives, some natural and some not. The natural vs. non-natural nomenclature becomes very very murky

But I agree, SLS and the like should be avoided.

[Lusitano]

Believe it or not, Parabens are very natural. Blueberries for example (and other fruits/vegetables) have a lot of Methyparabens. There are various derivatives, some natural and some not. The natural vs. non-natural nomenclature becomes very very murky

But I agree, SLS and the like should be avoided.

I know parabens are natural, but the ones used by the industry are not. Even so, all they have a benzene ring, which is the problem. Being natural does not mean safe, snake poison is natural and it can kill you

But one thing is certain, Nature did not create substances for profit, and it's not greedy. Big corporations create synthetic substances just for profit, the more the better. They don't care about your health, my health, or anybody else's health.

[BladeRunner001]

I know parabens are natural, but the ones used by the industry are not. Even so, all they have a benzene ring, which is the problem. Being natural does not mean safe, snake poison is natural and it can kill you

But one thing is certain, Nature did not create substances for profit, and it's not greedy. Big corporations create synthetic substances just for profit, the more the better. They don't care about your health, my health, or anybody else's health.

I agree with you in principle, but there has to be a clear distinction between these products. Snake venom, albeit natural, can kill you yes, but that's the snake's defense mechanism. Today, roughly a dozen diagnostic tests and drugs are derived from snake venom.

Same thing with parabens. They are benzoic acid derivatives...not benzene. Just because it has a benzene ring, doesn't mean it is dangerous. Lots of amino acids (Tryptophan, Tyrosine, etc...) and even your bases (Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, Thymine) in your DNA are based on the basic benzene ring...That is one of the most common structures in nature.

Parabens are antimicrobial compounds...There's lots of derivatives: Methyl, ethyl, propyl, you name it...different species make it...Saliva has to some extent methyl and propyl parabens.

Some people can get contact dermatitis from direct contact with these compounds though...so, allergies have been reported.

As for corporations, they have to comply (mostly) with regulations witch stem from public (you and me) pressure. So, let's just not paint all corporations as the evil doers of society

[Wsamsky]

Dr. Bronner ! certified organic 'awesomeness'....

+1 on Dr. Bronners . I use the liquid for shampoo and hand soap (in a foaming dispenser) and the bar for my body in the shower, both lavender. The trick with Bronner's is that you only need a tiny tiny bit. For my hair which is pretty short < 1 inch I use like 3-4 drops in my hair and with the bar I take one swipe down my arm and use my hand to lather it up, so a little bit goes a long way and defiantly offsets the price. Also its locally available at target (my local has tea tree, lavender, and peppermint) and whole foods which I'm pretty sure has a greater selection of the different fragrances.

[Lusitano]

I agree with you in principle, but there has to be a clear distinction between these products. Snake venom, albeit natural, can kill you yes, but that's the snake's defense mechanism. Today, roughly a dozen diagnostic tests and drugs are derived from snake venom.

Same thing with parabens. They are benzoic acid derivatives...not benzene. Just because it has a benzene ring, doesn't mean it is dangerous. Lots of amino acids (Tryptophan, Tyrosine, etc...) and even your bases (Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, Thymine) in your DNA are based on the basic benzene ring...That is one of the most common structures in nature.

Parabens are antimicrobial compounds...There's lots of derivatives: Methyl, ethyl, propyl, you name it...different species make it...Saliva has to some extent methyl and propyl parabens.

Some people can get contact dermatitis from direct contact with these compounds though...so, allergies have been reported.

As for corporations, they have to comply (mostly) with regulations witch stem from public (you and me) pressure. So, let's just not paint all corporations as the evil doers of society

I was not saying that the benzene ring was bad, I just meant that it is the cause of all the fuss around parabens. I'm not really worried about them, many products say they are paraben free, but then in the ingredient list they have benzoic acid or honeysuckle extract, which in the end are almost the same as parabens.

About companies compliance. They comply with the rules they make. Because those big corporations buy and bribe politicians to pass laws which protects them. Who in their perfect sanity would believe on a study carried by a company which sells the product being studied?
A company would never say their products are not safe, they want to sell them at all cost.

Nowadays all products in the market are stated as safe for consumers. But from time to time some of them are removed because someone found they are not really safe. So, they were safe but not anymore?

[Go West Young Man]

Not natural as in going bad but natural as in not potentially cancer causing.

That's the thing - natural products go bad. It's just nature at work, the circle of life. To give products some sort of shelf life, you need to add preservatives.

By itself, the term 'natural' has no real meaning - there are plenty of natural products out there that you'd never want on your face. You'd be better served by researching ingredients and deciding which ones you're OK with and which you'd prefer to avoid.

[bobfarvour]

For bar soap, Caswell Massey offers many all natural soaps and they are amazing.
While I detest their shaving soap, their bar soap is the best I've ever used.

[Lusitano]

I was almost forgoting. You can buy bar soaps from a brand called Out of Africa, all their bar soaps are enriched with 20% shea butter and they are pretty cheap.

http://outofafricashea.com/products/.../barsoaps.html