Organic or Not!!

 

Often I am asked this question, 

"Is your Soap Organic?"

Often I see around myself, reputed established brands selling “Organic” soap but charging a heavy premium price for calling their soap organic.

Many times I also see people referring quite confidently to their soaps as organic, and the pricing is very contradictory to the whole ideology that Organic defines…

Today, lets once and for all settle on this debate “Organic Or Not!!!”

Soap, for those of you who may not know is nothing but a Sodium salt of Oils, fats or fatty acids.

Oils, fats or fatty acids are Saponified by Na-OH (Sodium Hydroxide) which is an Alkali to formulate a hard bar of soap.

Three types of Processes produce Soaps that become part of the Market.

1.       Hot Process – typically used by most commercial, established, large scale brands

2.       Cold Process – Which involves interaction with Lye, can give 100 % Organic outputs

3.       Melt and Pour – which is known to have benefits of both Cold Process and Hot process.

I work with Melt and Pour, so will speak for Melt and Pour. 

How is Melt and Pour best of both worlds?

Well

1.       Cold Process Soaps are popular owing to their immense moisturizing properties since they are nothing but a mix of oils and NaOH. In Melt and Pour, Glycerin, Sugar, Sorbitol added in the soap gives the exact same moisturizing properties of CP Soap without having to let the soap cure for very long periods of time.

2.       Hot Process soaps are known to give hardness and consistent quality, Fatty Acids used in Melt and Pour help it harden fast and maintain consistency in quality.

Now lets hold the Bull by the Horn – Organic or not???

A typical Melt and Pour Soap contains the following ingredients,

1. Sugar – pharma grade– tested for sulphate free (for sulphate free soaps)

2. Glycerine – plant derived (instead of animal derived)

3. Proplene Glycol -which acts as a solvent to melt the base , it is harmless for skin  

4. Fatty acid – Extracts of oils obtained by distillation of oils to give more consistent quality  to the product.

5. Stearic Acid– Obtained from Palm oil. Also present in other oils like Rice bran oil.

6. Coconut Fatty Acids- Obtained from Coconut oil.

7. Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) – which reacts with Fatty acids to make soap.                             

8. EDTA – Chelating  agent (used to create foam & for efficient use of soap &               detergent to be        used in hard water)

9. Surfactants – (foaming agents)

a) Sulphate Based products – SLES  

b) Sulphate Free products– Sugar based surfactants  (Alkyl Polyglucosides)

 

The simplest dictionary definition of Organic is “Relating to or derived from living matter.”

From that standard, yes our Soaps are organic, they are 100% natural and handmade, usually by a single Soap Craft artisan who can (like I do) vouch for cleanliness practice ie. Usage of gloves / Aprons / Hair Caps/ and in today’s scenario Masks.

However melt and pour soaps CAN NOT BE completely chemical free. What our Soaps are technically is “Free From Harmful Chemicals” .Organic in the general sense of the term but we cannot make certified organic melt and pour projects unless the company states that the Soap base is certified organic.

Its all about playing with words. I say my soaps are organic because they are made of very basic harmless chemicals which are derived from natural sources, are preservatives free, but those sources may or may not be following strict guidelines to be certified organic because in so doing, the costs will go up several notches.

The consumer wants excellent quality product but often questions the price. J

What I do, in my practice I advertise my Soaps as “Glycerin based Tomato Cinnamon scrub bar with certified organic Tomato Powder” this when I have purchased from a dealer who states its certified organic.

Most of my additives are certified organic and several others are Eco certified.

So from that sense I can casually use the term Organic, without charging the Premium pricing of Certified Organic end product, but to play it safe I say “Free from harmful chemicals, crafted using pharma grade natural ingredients”.

So if you wish to buy from me, you will get Organic Standard quality as I am very selective in sourcing my raw material, I am going as far as Pittorahgarh to get my Certified organic Raw honey, all my additive powders are certified organic and that’s why I use kitchen fresh ingredients ONLY upon client request.

There are people who want real beetroot / real tomato pulp / real lemon rind mixed in their soap, to them I specifically ask, will you be buying and using straight away, only then I offer such customizations. The Shelf life of our products is typically 18 months, but if you want real rose petals for exfoliation then please know they turn your soap black if you store it over a month L

In my Ubtan Soap, I use the same ingredients that I consume in my kitchen, Ubtan is basically a mix of Kitchen herbs which to me are as good as organic but they are not certified organic :-)

Therefore I rest my case, organic these Soaps are, if you strictly go by the generic definition of organic, but I am not a certified organic soap maker… atleast not as of nowJ My Soaps are 100% Artisan (as in hand made by me ALONE) soaps, they are free from harmful chemicals and many of them come with certified organic additives!

I conclude just with one cautious advice, for those of you who feel a sense of triumph getting handmade Artisan soaps for “dirt cheap bargains” like Rs. 50/- a bar, for which mind you I often get enquiry … please be warned, Artisan Soap can cost as low as Rs. 15 for a bar of 100 grams, but God Alone can vouch for what all has gone into making it.             For example, a cheaper substitute for Proplene Glycol  is ethylene glycol which causes high risk of cancer when absorbed by the body. Use your Loot Shopping wisely is all I’d caution.

I take full responsibility for my product because I partner with some very responsible suppliers who maintain absolute transparency, and over time I have established high quality standard. So even though I could say Yes they are Organic, I add a disclaimer – (meaning) made with natural ingredients, 100% handmade.

In the end, I share a heartwarming feedback from a Seasoned Dr, a General Physician who has used my soaps and made a strong recommendation on my facebook page:-)

 Most of the stack of soap pictures have been an outcome of Google search but the single soap collage pictures are all original, photographed by me of my product.