The Hidden World of Bodycare

My message, when asked about body, hair and skin care has ALWAYS been, “READ THE LABELS.”  When Saltspring Soapworks began, back in ‘79…there WERE no labels…..or more correctly, they didn’t really say anything.

In the U.S., ingredient listings were mandatory, in order of appearance.   Usually, the 1st ingredient was water!  But in Canada…we didn’t need to do this.  I began to do it anyway, thinking that our ingredients were so special people would want to know about them.  Also, we had nothing to hide.

One day, we had a visit from the owner of one of Canada’s largest “natural” body care companies.  He had one line of products that  we didn’t make…and he felt we could sell in our shops.  He was known as quite a “guru” in the emerging natural market.  He gave me a few free samples,  including shampoo.  As we sat there in my office, I smelled the shampoo: it was wonderful, pure essential oils.

I looked at the label,  it all looked great! “But,” I said naively, “where’s the surfactant?”  That’s inside talk for the detergent, the cleansing agent or whatever.  Something had to make this shampoo lather.  “Oh,” he said, “its  sodium lauryl sulfate.”

“But, but, ” I gulped, “it’s not on the label.”  His response floored me, and I still remember it,  of course.

“We only list ACTIVE ingredients,” he said.  “People don’t like to read about  all the chemicals and preservatives.”

“Oh,” I thought…..ACTIVE INGREDIENTS???!!!!

So there you have it.  Hidden ingredients.  Also, aren’t you glad they’re protecting us???

And they are still doing it.  So are we!  We just discovered one of our nice food-grade extracts had propylene glycol in it….hidden away in something we thought was 100% coconut.  Immediately, it was scrapped, of course…we don’t knowingly do this and we are looking for that 100% natural replacement.

Others, it seems, aren’t so picky.       If you find a hidden ingredient, let us know.  We’ll send you something nice!

Linda

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING??

I spoke recently with James…a cosmetic chemist I consult with from time to time on my formulations.  He’s young and green enough to not allow parabens and sulphites in his lab.

“I want a 100% organic shampoo and conditioner,” I said, “not just 100% natural and maybe some organic!”

Here’s what we came up with:

a)  The shampoo felt thin and watery. It had no body.

b) It didn’t lather well.  I used three times my normal amount, but it didn’t ’sudz’ well. (I know, I know, suds are drying!)

c) The conditioner felt thick and rich….but after applying, I couldn’t really feel it.

The results were really disappointing.  My hair felt dry and kind of bushy, not smooth and silky.  I reported back to James, who said, basically, (I’m paraphrasing):

Industry just hasn’t kept up with consumers’ demands (19% of us) for ‘clean’ and ‘green’ products.  Our consciousness has changed more quickly than manufacturers and suppliers have been able to keep up with.  In many cases, organic ingredients just don’t exist, or work as well as  current natural or synthetic ones.

Companies like Saltspring Soapworks are really limited in their choice of ingredients and in many cases, insisting on 100% organic means compromising features and benefits.  Like what?  Well,  quite  often  organic preservatives don’t preserve well, nearly as long, leaving us vunerable to icky microbes and bacteria!

Changes are coming, and as more of us demand change, it will happen.   Years ago, suppliers reassured us that parabens were safe, but consumers insisted we not use them.  So we insisted our suppliers come up with something better, and they did! (more on this later) Trade publications and the internet assure us that everyone in the industry is working diligently to provide the new and more pure ingredients we demand.  Growers are growing things, chemists are testing things.  But until more of the industry suppliers ‘go green’, 100% organic doesn’t necessarily mean a better product.

Let us know what YOU think!  Are you willing to sacrifice the results you want for 100% organic?

Linda