In This Article:

What Is Natural Soap?

What Makes A Tear-Free Cleanser?

Can You Make Natural Soap Tear-Free?

How To Use Soap Safely Around Eyes

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What Is Natural Soap?

Most of what people mistakenly call “soap” sitting pretty on store shelves *is technically not real soap*. Did that blow your mind? It should!

The term “soap” is an FDA-protected term. If it is not true soap, legally the manufacturer cannot call it “soap”. Instead of “soap” they must use other terms such as: “wash”, “cleanser”, “bar”, “washing liquid”, “shampoo”, “body wash”, et cetera.

Only true, natural soap can legally be called “soap”. So, how does the FDA define soap?

To meet the definition of soap in FDA’s regulations, a product has to meet these three conditions: 

• What it’s made of: To be regulated as “soap,” the product must be “alkali salts of fatty acids,” that is, the material you get when you combine fats or oils with an alkali, such as lye.

• What ingredients cause its cleaning action: To be regulated as “soap,” those “alkali salts of fatty acids” must be the only material that results in the product’s cleaning action. If the product contains synthetic detergents, it’s a cosmetic, not a soap. You still can use the word “soap” on the label, but that’s what causes a lot of confusion.

• How it’s intended to be used: To be regulated as soap, it must be labeled and marketed only for use as soap. If it is intended for purposes such as moisturizing the skin, making the user smell nice, or deodorizing the user’s body, it’s a cosmetic. Or, if the product is intended to treat or prevent disease, such as by killing germs, or treating skin conditions, such as acne or eczema, it’s a drug. You still can use the word “soap” on the label, but it might not be true soap.

You can read the entire regulation at 21 CFR 701.20. 

This is exactly why we have to have a disclaimer with any beneficial claims (other than cleansing) on our website that states “These statements are not approved by the FDA. This product is not intended to treat, mitigate, prevent, or cure any disease.”

How are traditional soaps and synthetic detergents different?

Ordinary soap is made by combining fats or oils and an alkali, such as lye. The fats and oils, which may be from animal, vegetable, or mineral sources, are degraded into free fatty acids, which then combine with the alkali to form basic soap. The lye reacts with the oils, turning what starts out as liquid into blocks of soap. When made correctly, no lye remains in the finished product. In the past, people commonly made their own soap using animal fats and lye that had been extracted from wood ashes, which was a very risky process that resulted in major variations. Today, soapmaking tools and pure ingredients make the product much more reliable and consistent.

Today, there are very few true soaps on the market. Most body cleansers, both liquid and solid, are actually synthetic detergent products. Detergent cleansers are popular because they make suds effortlessly in water and most of them are liquid, making cleansing more convenient, faster, and less messy. Some of these detergent products are actually marketed as “soap” but are not true soap according to the regulatory definition of the word, which we covered above.

You can find all of this information here on the FDA’s website: https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-products/frequently-asked-questions-soap

Most of what you see on store shelves are just detergents or “surfactants”, which is just another word for detergents.

 What Makes A Tear-Free Cleanser?

The answer lies in a few subtle formula changes of detergent cleansers.

Adult and baby detergent shampoos contain surfactants (short for “surface active agents”). One end of the surfactant molecule is attracted to water, while the other is repelled by water but attracted to oily substances, this is similar to natural soap molecules, except the molecules are harsher and synthetic. Surfactants work by reducing the surface tension of a liquid, allowing the shampoo to spread and penetrate better, and remove the thin layer of oil known as sebum (the natural oils produced by scalp and skin) [source: Schwarcz].

Baby “tear-free” shampoos use detergents with longer chain surfactants, such as sodium trideceth sulfate or nonionic polymers that are less harsh than normal detergents, and they use only small amounts of these cleansers in their shampoos, reducing their efficiency. Baby “tear-free” shampoos are basically watered-down and less-effective detergent shampoos.

Tear-free formulas also leave out surfactants such sodium lauryl sulfate, which can be irritating to the eyes and scalp. This does create a trade-off, though. Sodium lauryl sulfates — formed in part from coconut fat or palm kernel oil — are the chemical agents in shampoos that get hair really clean (and give a nice lather) [source: Schwarcz]. Although tear-free shampoos can still clean hair, they don’t remove the oils as thoroughly. But since most babies don’t do more than look cute and occasionally smear food into their hair, this usually works out just fine.

You may read more about this here: https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/tear-free-shampoo-not-sting-eyes.htm

Can You Make Natural Soap Tear-Free?

Unfortunately, due to the very definition and make-up of natural soap, the answer is a resounding NO. Because soap is naturally an alkali (this is how it cleanses) – it WILL irritate the eyes upon direct contact.

Can we make soap “less” alkali or “water it down”? Simply put, trying to make a soap more acidic or watered down would cause it to cease being soap. Since soap has a hydrophilic (water-attracting) side to it’s saponified molecules, the other half is hydrophobic (water-repelling), this is what makes it great at washing away dirt and grime when mixed with water! If we made soap less of a base and more of an acid by adding more acidic ingredients, or adding more water, it would significantly weaken its cleansing abilities (and cause an icky mess).

We add just the right amount of excess fats (acids) to not dry the skin and hair, and also the right amount of lye (alkali) to be able to cleanse the skin and hair. This is a very fine balance called a “superfat” percentage, carefully measured with highly sensitive scales each time we make soaps.

How To Use Soap Safely Around Eyes

Can you use soap safely around the eyes? Yes you can! You just have to be careful and patient, especially while washing a baby or toddler. Baths are the safest way to do this since you can dilute the soap in the bathwater first before applying it to the hair or skin around the face. Since babies rarely need a full shampoo cleanse like an adult does, this normally fulfills the job well!

Leaning the infant back or asking a child to lean back while seated during the wash and rinse of their hair makes it much easier to avoid getting soap in their eyes. They can also use the edge of the bathtub or baby bathtub for better back and neck support during the wash and rinse. Use the edge of your thumb, palm, and index finger all pressed snugly against their eyebrow area to shield sensitive eyes from the soapy water when you wash and rinse their hair. This looks just like when you are shielding your eyes from the sunlight!

Soap made for the body and hair will not permanently harm or damage the eyes, but it may sting and cause some irritation until it is fully rinsed out!

Keep this in mind: even most plain water — without the use of tear-free cleansers — could still cause tears to sensitive eyes. It all depends on the pH level of the water, which is a measurement of the free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in the water. A pH level measures water on a scale of 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. If the number drops below 7, the water is increasingly more acidic, which means it has a greater amount of free hydrogen ions. Above 7, and the water is increasingly less acidic (or more basic), which means it has a greater number of free hydroxyl ions. The comfortable pH range for human eyes is 6.5 to 7.6, with 7 being optimal.

Any variation from neutral may cause your eyes to tear, and it has little to do with the tear-free shampoo. In addition, any foreign objects (including water) may cause irritation to the eyes, even if pH neutral!

Thanks for reading our article about why we can’t claim to have a natural “tear-free” soap – If you have any questions, please leave us a comment below!

Article Topics:

Why Milk Soaps?

WhyButtermilk?

Cow’s Milk Vs…

Nutrient Profiles of Milks

Environmental Reasons

Lactose Intolerance, Acne, and Other Concerns

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Why Use Any Milk In Soap?

Soaps enriched with pure, raw, farm-fresh milk are creamier and more nourishing than those made with water or powdered milk. Milk’s natural abundance of fats, vitamins, minerals, and proteins provide skin-renewing moisture and nourishment.

How Your Skin & Scalp Absorbs Nutrients

Have you ever seen a nicotine patch and wonder how they work for smokers trying to quit? Or how merely touching a toxic tree frog can lead to death? It’s because your skin and scalp can absorb what you put on them!

Your skin is your body’s largest organ by far, with a total average area of about 20 square feet! That’s a lot of avenues for nutrients to reach your body… or to get slowly poisoned by toxic body products. The good news is Perma-Earth offers some of the best body care products in the world to “Feed Your Hair And Skin From The Outside-In.®“

Nutrients follow three pathways through the skin, according to the CDC. 

1. Intercellular pathways. As the name implies, there are spaces in between your skin’s cells through which nutrients may follow deeper into the skin. Along the way, your skin’s outer layer may absorb some of the nutrients like in our buttermilk soaps, such as Vitamin D3, Retinol-A, Hyaluronic Acid, Alpha-Hydroxy Protein Acids, and more beauty-promoting goodies!
2. Permeation. Nutrients may pass from cell to cell in your epidermis. When the outermost cells take on some nutrients, they could pass some of those to the next cells behind the outer ones, and so on.
3. Hair follicles and glands. Nutrients that permeate slowly into your skin may reach the hair follicles or glands deeper into your skin’s layers. This represents the hardest way your skin can absorb nutrients because your follicles are much deeper in the skin.

Since milk soap is a natural product recognized as safe by the body, it can be absorbed that much deeper and easier. The famously beautiful Queen Cleopatra knew this, as she bathed in buttermilk daily.

But Why Buttermilk?

We use traditional grass-fed buttermilk in our body products, which is simply cultured raw milk straight from the animal, in our case, a grass-fed cow. Our grass-fed and pasture-raised jersey cow sources produce very high fat whole buttermilk, much higher fat than any other milk, and an abundance of it! This is one reason why we choose grass-fed cow’s milk over goat’s, sheep, or any other milk.

Lactose intolerance does not affect the epidermis, this type of intolerance only affects the digestive system – and we don’t recommend that you eat our external use products!

Fats are what protect the skin, keeping it nourished, healthy-looking, and moisturized. Many vitamins are only soluble or bioavailable in conjunction with certain fats (called fat-soluble vitamins like A and D), making some nutrients completely useless without sufficient fats for your body to utilize them.

Full-fat buttermilk is not only high in fat-soluble vitamins, but particularly high in multiple different proteins too, like yogurt! Buttermilk and yogurt are very similar in fact, but farm-fresh raw buttermilk is higher in many different proteins versus store-bought buttermilk or yogurt. Store-bought yogurt or buttermilk sitting for weeks or months on the shelf is usually pasteurized (heated and treated to a degree that destroys proteins) and cultured with only one or two different probiotics.

On the other hand, farm-fresh, raw yogurt or buttermilk can have dozens of naturally-occurring probiotics along with many alpha-hydroxy acids like lactic acid, which promote cell renewal and rejuvenation of beauty factors such as brightness, tone, and complexion maintenance. Buttermilk is higher in lactic acid than any other milk – another reason why we choose this hand-cultured moo milk!

Cow’s Milk Vs…

These days, the dairy aisle is saturated with options—and we don’t just mean 2 percent or whole. There’s soy, almond, cashew, rice, oat, hemp, camel…you get the idea. In a world full of milks (and “mylks” like milk imposters), it can be overwhelming to educate yourself on which is better? 

As many have stated before us, the original milk (real animal’s milk) is top tier in terms of nutrient profile perfection, complete nutrient density, quantity and quality of complete proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. Plant “mylks” (which contain anti-nutrients like phytic acid and oxalates that leach minerals and vitamins from the body) just cannot compare.

Can’t you turn any raw animal’s milk into a cultured buttermilk? Yes you can, but let’s summarize!

Our local sources of grass-fed cow’s milk is higher in fat and more abundance than any other local and freshly available milk, which is important for skin and scalp health to assist in nutrient absorption and utilization.

Milk once cultured into buttermilk is higher in lactic acid than any other fresh milk due to the fermentation process. This also helps to lower the pH of products the buttermilk is added to – making them more gentle and beneficial for the skin and scalp.

Nutrient Profiles of Milks

You know the saying that milk is the near-perfect food? They weren’t lying.

Milk is considered a “complete protein,” meaning it contains all nine of the essential amino acids necessary for your body to function at an optimal level, plus all of the essential Omega 3, 6, & 9 fatty acids in balanced proportions.

And buttermilk is even better!

Nutrient Profile of Whole Buttermilk in 1 cup (8 fl oz):

• Fats: 8 grams
  • Omegas 3, 6, 9
• Proteins: 8 grams
  • Tryptophan
  • Threonine
  • Isoleucine
  • Leucine
  • Lysine
  • Methionine
  • Phenylalanine
  • Valine
  • Histidine
• Retinol-A (Vitamin A): 115 UG, 17% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Calcium: 282 mg, 28% DV
• Sodium: 257 mg, 17% DV
• Riboflavin (B2): 38% DV
• Vitamin B12: 22% DV
• Pantothenic acid (B5): 13% DV
• Potassium: 331 mg, 14% DV
• Vitamin D3: 127 UG, 26% DV
• Vitamin C: 4% DV
• Phosphorous: 208 mg, 30% DV
• Niacin (B3): 2% DV
• Vitamin E: 1% DV
• Vitamin K: 1% DV
• Copper: 5% DV
• Folate (B9): 3% DV
• Vitamin B6: 7%
• Magnesium: 25 mg, 8% DV
• Zinc: 12% DV
• Thiamine (B1): 11% DV
• Selenium: 17% DV
• Manganese: 1%

In summary, you just can’t beat whole buttermilk’s nutrient profile compared to other milks!

What about goat’s milk?

Many people have “herd” that goat milk might contain more nutritional benefits than regular old moo juice, so we dug deeper for the answer. It turns out, neither milk is healthier or more nutritious than the other since the nutrition content is almost the same (depending on the source, season, diet, processing, etc.), but goat milk may be a better choice for the digestive system as it has less lactose. However, this doesn’t pertain to the integumentary system – hair, skin, nails, etc. In other words, you don’t have to worry about milk soaps or lotions reaching your digestive system if you are lactose intolerant!

What are the nutritional stats of goat milk vs. cow milk?

When doing research, one must take into consideration that source is everything. For instance, the USDA says that most goat’s milk on average has very slightly (1%) more fat than cow’s milk, but from our own experience in farming and using farm-fresh raw milks, our source of grass-fed cow’s milk has a LOT more fat/cream than other local pasture-raised goat’s milk.

We can simply taste this or even see this when the fat and cream separate from the milk itself a day or two after milking since raw milk is not homogenized (naturally large fat molecules are broken down to smaller fat molecules through an intense process). Goat’s milk takes a lot longer for the cream to separate so it will take longer to see and we may never know visually how much fat goat’s milk contains.

Considering all of this, we must take what the USDA and other nutrient science says with a grain of salt, as who knows what their sources were for comparison.

According to the USDA, goat milk and cow milk are almost identical in macronutrients. The USDA specifically states that goat milk comes out on top for protein and cholesterol by 1 gram more per cup, and cow milk’s fat content is ever so slightly lower.

And as far as vitamins and minerals go, both milks have a lot to offer, just in different amounts. Goat milk has more calcium, potassium and vitamin A than cow milk, but cow milk has more vitamin B12, selenium and folic acid.

Therefore, the nutritional benefits of cow’s milk vs. goat’s milk are negligible. Both can be made into their own buttermilk, which would in turn have very minor nutritional differences. We do now offer goat’s milk soaps for those who wish to feel the difference!

Availability

Farm-fresh, raw, grass-fed goat’s milk is also difficult for us to find in our specific locality in consistently sufficient amounts. On average, the largest milking goat breed produces 1/4 to 1/2 gallon of milk per day, while full-size dairy cows produce 3-5 gallons per day. For instance, we typically use 1.5 gallons of milk to product 36 milk lotions, or 192 soaps.

Most people who own milking goats only have enough to go around, while those who have dairy cows usually have more than enough to spare.

Environmental Reasons

Is grass-fed cow’s buttermilk eco-friendly? Cows are much more efficient at producing consistent quantity and quality milk than any other animal. Cows are also the most gentle on the environment since they are strictly ruminants (grazing animals) that cannot over-graze ecosystems as easily as goats or sheep can due to their unique mouth structure. If properly rotated, grass-fed cows’ grazing actually improves soil, air, and water quality over time (source).

Cow’s milk is also the most wasted milk produced, but buttermilk body products are the perfect solution to the over-abundance!

We choose to use local, raw, pasture-raised, and grass-fed milk our bath and body products – making our sourcing the best environmentally for any kind of milk products! This insures the least amount of travel, containment, and processing waste possible.

Lactose Intolerance, Acne, and Other Concerns

For those concerned about lactose intolerance: Milk used in soap or other topical products has no direct relation to lactose-intolerance because it is applied to the skin and not ingested into the stomach. While the milk enzymes and acids are released into the skin during soap use, these components remain external to the human digestive system. This is because a lactose-intolerance has to do solely with how the digestive system handles lactose poorly, not the integumentary system – which includes hair, skin, nails, etc.

However, if a milk allergy or general milk intolerance has been diagnosed by licensed health practitioners, they are advised to not use any milk products anywhere near their bodies. Each individual can decide what they use, but we have had many success stories even with those who are diagnosed as lactose-intolerant, but that is up to your and your healthcare provider to decide.

What about dairy and acne?  People who are lactose intolerant by way of digestion or who have found a connection between the physical intake of dairy and skin flare-ups do have the green light to apply milk topically. Dermatologists and doctors have gone on the records stating that the dairy-acne connection stems from digestion of the milk triggering a cascade of hormonal events that ultimately leads to acne. That cascade is not triggered by applying milk products to the skin.

Similar to how magnesium is best absorbed topically by some because ingesting magnesium upsets their digestive tract and can trigger other health issues – milk applied topically versus ingestion is another very similar situation which has many health benefits! Speaking of both, we offer farm-fresh milk and magnesium lotions to “Feed Your Hair And Skin From The Outside-In.®” Also see our magnesium tallow butters!

If you have any other questions or concerns about this topic, please leave us a comment below or contact us!

In this article you will learn:

How Bar Soaps Differ From Liquid

Bar Soaps Are More Nourishing

Bar Soaps Are More Moisturizing

Bar Soaps Are Less Wasteful

Bar Soaps Are Less Expensive

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There are a few reasons why we won’t offer liquid soaps, even though most people prefer the convenience… Let’s dive into why!

How Bar Soaps Differ From Liquid Soaps

To clarify, we are talking about pure, real soap. “Soap” is an FDA protected term! Some people assume surfactants or detergents are soap, but if it isn’t traditional, real soap it must be labeled differently: such as a hand “wash”, body “wash”, “beauty bar”, or even the brand name will have “soap” in it to make it seem like a real soap product, but this is very misleading. The majority of liquid “soaps” (as most people call them) on the market are not technically soaps, but in fact they are detergents.

When we are talking about liquid vs. bar soaps in this article we are only referring to real soap!

Soap-making involves chemistry, so get ready for technical terms! Chemically speaking, liquid soaps need a different alkali (a highly basic pH substance) than bar soaps to complete the saponification process (the process that turns oils to soap with lye). Read our Why Lye Soap Article.

To recap, you can’t make any real soap without lye or a strong alkali substance. Original lye is a natural product made from hardwood ashes filtered with water – that’s it!

There are 2 forms of alkalis (lyes):

• Sodium Hydroxide forms bar soap using the cold process method (how we make soap) or the hot process method (explained below)
• Potassium Hydroxide forms liquid soap only using the hot process method – prolonged heat applied for several hours or more.

So, how does this change the nourishment quality, moisturization content, expense, and more?

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Cold Process Bar Soaps Are More Nourishing

As mentioned above, liquid soapmaking requires the hot process method – heating for hours at a time.

Hot process soap requires several hours of heating soap between 200-220 degrees Fahrenheit!

Some soap-makers use the hot process method for a “milder, quicker” bar of soap that simply cures faster. Curing time for cold-process soap takes 4-8 weeks, while hot-process soap takes 2-3 weeks. This makes hot-process soap more efficient for quicker sales or sooner use, which may be faster, but it’s not beneficial for the nourishing content and quality.

If you aren’t familiar with heat factors and nutrient content: prolonged heat above 118 degrees Fahrenheit destroys vitamins and proteins. This isn’t good for the nourishing aspect of our buttermilk and animal fat soaps, which we use as our main ingredients!

Make sure your bar soaps were made using the COLD process method (what we make), which only requires enough heat to melt the fats for a very short period of time.

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Bar Soaps Are More Moisturizing

“Superfat” is a term used by soapmakers to describe the excess, free-floating fats in a recipe: superfats are what makes the soap moisturizing and nourishing! Usually described as a percentage, the superfat amount can range in the negatives (very lye-heavy industrial soap) to 0+% and higher for body use (and up to 25% with certain fats).

A huge difference in liquid vs. bar soaps is the maximum amount of “superfat” allowed in the formulas.

• Bar soaps have a maximum superfat averaging around 10% – WOW! Our animal fat soap bars average around 6-7% – not too moisturizing that it melts in your shower, but never too drying!
• Liquid soaps have a max superfat of 0%-3% depending on the type of fats used, which is quite drying. This range is recommended to prevent separation of free-floating fats and cloudiness, which clogs the pump and makes a chunky soapy soup instead of a smooth liquid. This is quite a difference in moisturization quality from bar soaps.

In order to “neutralize” the excess lye or drying aspect in most liquid soaps, borax or another neutralizing agent is usually added after the hot process method. However, this still does not increase the moisturization content, instead it masks the feeling, which in-turn makes the user need to apply moisturizers more often.

In short, liquid soaps will never be as moisturizing or as nourishing as bar soaps because of the chemical differences – how disappointing!

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Bar Soaps Are Less Wasteful

Obviously, bar soaps require little to no containment except a label, paper wrapping, paper boxes, shrinkwrap (we use certified biodegradable shrinkwrap), or they can be completely naked – Oh-la-la!!

Liquid soaps require some kind of container (whether glass or plastic) and usually a plastic pump for easy access. Pouring a glass bottle every wash would get quite slippery and possibly dangerous if the glass breaks mid-bath, and plastic bottles are not eco-friendly. Therefore, liquid soap will never be as sustainable as bar soap.

Bottles and pumps are not very sustainable, and neither is the extra shipping weight and space.

It takes a lot more energy, time, and materials to make liquid soap. As described in the hot process method, a soap-maker must heat and tend to liquid soap constantly for several hours during the creation. This increases energy, space, time, equipment, and labor costs.

Weight of bar vs. liquid doesn’t equal final volume of soap use.

Bar soap is like a concentrated liquid soap: 12 oz of liquid soap equals to about 3 oz of bar soap.

Liquid soap is like watered down bar soap, and therefore has a bit more difficult time lathering. It takes more effort to clean and build up a good lather with liquid soap.

Lathering is much easier with bar soap, when one is familiar with the process.

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Bar Soaps Are Less Expensive

This point is in addition to wasting materials unnecessarily: why waste money too? The bottles, pumps, and extra shipping weight/volume of liquid soaps are not cheap. The costs of bottles and pumps and waterproof labels can range from $3-$6 EACH bottle for small batches, which translates to an extra $6-$12 in final price. Let’s explain!

Labor and production costs are always a factor in pricing. The cost of a product makes the final price increase exponentially due to labor, space, equipment, and time expenses to produce all of these extra components (that means it’s multiplied, cost isn’t just added on dollar-for-dollar).

If a soap-maker needs more controlled space for making and storing, extra equipment, more ingredients, more energy, and possibly much more time to make liquid soap, all those costs will translate to the final product. Bar soaps take much less space, extra equipment, energy, and time, so are therefore a more affordable price.

MORE WASTE = MORE EXPENSIVE

The final price of liquid soap is at least 2-3 times more than bar soap considering all of the factors described above.

Since a 12 oz bottle of liquid soap has the same life as a 3 oz bar of soap, why wash your hard-earned money down the drain with all the unnecessary extras and none of the benefits?

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Thanks for reading our short little article about why we abstain from making liquid soap! Liquid soap may work for some people – and that’s great! We just don’t see a need to make it for our customers.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this topic, feel free to contact us! We’re always happy to help.

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Before the 20th Century, people used soap bars to wash themselves – including their hair. The Victorian women had beautiful, long, flowing locks of hair, even in old age.

If you are interested in learning about how to wash your hair with our shampoo soap bars, click here.

Now, this isn’t to say that soap was the only factor contributing to those waterfalls of hairy waves – these people were also restricted to eat locally and in-season without all the modern-day conveniences. This means that a lot of meats and fats and other fresh seasonal foods were consumed, further nourishing their hair and scalp.

So, don’t expect to be able to grow locks like your great-great-great grandmother simply from using soap. You haven’t lived like a Victorian for one reason, plus consider the common practice of using chemical detergents on one’s hair and skin from birth!

Detergents Vs. Soaps

Detergent Shampoos

Detergents are synthetically made “surfactants” (cleansers activated by water) that act like soap, but actually strip the hair and skin of everything good and kill the microbiome of your skin and hair (and so do naturally-derived surfactants). Foaming agents, waxes, silicones, sulfates, emulsifiers, esters, and other additives are often thrown into these chemical cocktails to make them work like original soap with a lot less effort… And your hair becomes dependent upon these chemicals instead of your natural microbiome.

Detergents also affect the sulfide bonds in your hair (whether or not they are “sulfate-free”), this weakens the sulfide bonds and causes your hair to go flat, or lack body and curl. This causes you to need more haircare products to fix what the detergents broke!

We cover the process of your hair’s transition from drugstore shampoos, click here to learn more!

“99% of us have been using detergents as shampoos all of our lives.” Even if the shampoo was claimed to be “natural” or “organic”, just research ALL of the ingredients you couldn’t pronounce. Spoiler alert: “naturally-derived surfactants” are another word for detergents! We encourage you to challenge us if you think what you have been using is truly not a surfactant or detergent…

It would take an additional article to list and define all of the surfactants and detergents companies use – literally hundreds of different chemicals are commonly used . They are often cleverly hidden in online listings or with additional natural-sounding names such as “cleanser derived from plants” or they are omitted completely from sight!!

Don’t worry – it’s easy to become a conscious consumer with a computer at your fingertips 24/7. Type the confusing-sounding ingredients into your search engine and see what pops up. Or highlight the word on your device, tap and hold it, and select “web search” from the expanded pop up options.

Shampoo Soaps

On the same note, it’s quite easy to determine if a shampoo is truly natural or not – it needs to be 100% pure soap.

Unfortunately, liquid soap will never hold as much moisturization and nutrients as cold process soap bars do – for reasons of chemistry. Pure and true liquid soap does not and will never hold a candle to cold process soap bars in hair care for 3 main reasons:

1. Liquid soap is only stable if it has less than HALF the moisturizing superfats as cold process soap!
2. Liquid soapmaking requires many hours of high heat, destroying a lot of vitamins and nutrients!
3. Liquid soap does not lather like bar soap, which makes hair-washing extremely difficult.

If you are interested in more details, read our Why We Don’t Make Liquid Soap article.

So even if you don’t stay with our shampoos, try to stick with only natural soap bars – for your hair’s sake!

Hair Benefits

These are based on hundreds of real customer reports and reviews. You may take a look for yourself on our individual shampoo soap listing reviews and our testimonials compilation.

Hair Growth

Body & Texture

Less Split-Ends

More Moisture

Colored Hair

Less Products

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Environmental Benefits

No Plastic

Less Transport

Less Products

Local & Natural Ingredients

If you can think of any other benefits and reasons why to use shampoo soap bars, or if you have any questions or concerns – please let us know! We’re always happy to help.

In this article:

Definitions

History of Use

Our Sources

Fatty Acid & Nutrient Profiles

Preferable Uses

Defining Lard and Tallow – What Are They?

LARD

• Lard (or “pig tallow”) is the rendered fat from a hog.
• “Rendered” fat means that the raw pig fat is heated to a melting point (around 120-150 degrees F) then cooked for a short period of time to filter the fat from any other natural meaty substances that remain after butchering.

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TALLOW

History of Uses

LARD

FOOD: Humans have eaten the fats of wild animals, including hogs and pigs for a very long time. Fats were rendered from cooking meats over a fire and also using those fats to cook other plant matter, making them more digestible. Lard has extensive uses in baking as a natural, healthy shortening – providing a flaky, hearty and delicious crust or bread.

• SOAP: Animal fat soaps were the original soap made. Likely discovered by accident – a crude form of soap was reported to happen from the fat drippings cooked over a primitive fire mixed with a natural lye made from wood ash that had been filtered with rainwater, resulting in a soapy substance!
• SKINCARE: As long as people have been using lard for food purposes, it easily migrated its way over to the beauty counter of women and men. As lard is rendered animal fat, the composition of the lard oil is most similar to the composition of human skin’s natural sebum (skin oil). This makes it a suitable moisturizer for individuals who have sensitivities or allergies to commercial moisturizers.
• HAIRCARE: Since medieval times women have used pig fat to help regrow hair with success. Women also used to set and condition their hair with lard. The combination of lard and starches produced rigid curls and stiff hair styles for women and men in the 17th and 18th centuries.

While lard is wonderful for skincare and haircare, there are stability issues that prevent it from mainstream commercialization. Lard does not always have a consistent color, appearance, and odor from batch-to-batch based on seasonal diet and environmental exposures of the pigs.

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Our Sources – Where Do We Get Our Lard and Tallow?

The source of fat we use is extremely important to us, as source affects many nutritional factors of lard and tallow:

• Pasture-Raised, Grass-Fed fats are very important to retain the most natural, balanced, and nutritious fatty acid profiles, which contributes to the effectiveness of our claims (described in more detail below). For instance, the animals’ sunlight exposure is absolutely crucial for the development of Vitamin D3 levels in the animals’ fats. This is just one example – the varieties of fresh, seasonal foods creates more natural health and vitality in the animals, making them richer in other beneficial nutrients as well.
• Hand-Rendered fats are important to make sure no additives were unnecessarily mixed into the final product (such as nitrates, BHT, chemical bleaches, chemical preservatives, etc.) Hand-rendering also insures that the temperatures were never raised to hot levels for long periods of time, which destroys some vitamins and other nutrients according to nutritional scientists.
• Farm-Fresh, Local fats are very important to insure the provision of the freshest, most nutrient-dense fats available.

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Fatty Acid & Nutrient Profiles – Lard and Tallow Are Chemically Different!

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids are the building blocks of fat, these fats are necessary for all life forms on Earth. All 3 categories of fats contained in animal fats are essential for basic biological functions (including basic skincare and haircare) in their proper proportions. These three fats are known as Saturated and the 2-in-1 Unsaturated (Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated).

Fatty Acids	Lard	Tallow
Saturated Fats	43%	46%
Palmitic Acid Stearic Acid Myristic	28% 14% 1%	26% 17% 3%
Unsaturated Fats (Mono & Poly)	57%	54%
Monounsaturated Oleic Acid Palmitoleic Acid	47% 44% 3%	50% 47% 3%
Polyunsaturated Linoleic Acid Linolenic Acid	10% 10% 0%	4% 3% 1%

As you can see, the differences in fatty profiles vary but are still very similar! The main difference in tallow from lard is that it has slightly more saturated fatty acids by a mere 3% and an additional polyunsaturated fatty acid called Linolenic Acid. All of these minute chemical differences causes us to treat them differently, however. We have to make products in various ways depending upon the fat we choose to use and their applications.

We also take into great consideration the different nutrients that (pasture-raised) lard and tallow offer, see chart below.

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Other Nutrients

Nutrients	Lard (per 1 Tbsp)	Tallow (per 1 Tbsp)
Vit. D3 Retinol-A Choline Vit. E Zinc Selenium	13 IU 5 IU 6.4mg 0.08mg 0.01mg 0.03mg	4 IU 0 IU 0 mg 0.35mg 0 mg 0.03mg

Due to lard’s larger nutrient profile and differing fatty acids, we find lard much more useful for certain applications than tallow and visa-versa – let’s dive deeper into that!

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Various Uses Based On All The Differences

Both Have Their Proper Places!

Lard’s Best Uses for Us

• Hair Products: Since pasture-raised lard is lighter and softer in texture, higher in unsaturated fatty acids, and higher in certain nutrients like Vitamin D3 – it makes a perfect fat to use as a base for our shampoo soaps, conditioners, and hair oils!
• Liquid Lotions: Since lard is lighter and softer in texture, it makes a perfect fat to use as a base for our liquid lotions – insuring better stability for varying temperatures.
• Soap Products: Since lard is low (0-2) on the comedogenic scale (0-5, coconut and palm oils being a 4!) it will not clog pores – great for facial soaps! Since it is higher in unsaturated fatty acids, it provides more bubbly lather and a squeakier cleanse, which is essential for our shampoo soaps. A pure lard soap designed for the skin even cleanses and nourishes hair quite well – unlike pure tallow soap. We usually do NOT recommend tallow soaps for hair as they are harder to clean with and provide a heavier, waxier feel.
• Bath Bombs: Since lard is softer at lower temperatures, it is great for fatty bath bombs – Insuring well-nourished skin and cleaner drains that won’t clog up as easily!

Have More Questions?

Feel free to reach out to us! You can ask us any questions via commenting below, our social media pages, email, or contact form all found in the links below. We are happy to help you learn more about this fascinating topic!