What Is Natural Soap?
What’s A Tear-Free Cleanser?
Can You Make Natural Soap Tear-Free?
How To Use Soap Safely Around Eyes
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 can’t call it “soap”. Instead of “soap” they must use other terms like: “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.” This means 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. The word “soap” can still be on the label in sneaky ways, but that’s what causes a lot of confusion.
You can read the entire regulation at 21 CFR 701.20.
- 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 like: 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, for killing germs, or treating skin conditions, it’s a drug. The word “soap” can still be used on the label in sneaky ways, but it’s not true soap.
This is why there’s a disclaimer on our entire website that states, “These statements are not approved by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, 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, like lye. The lye reacts with the fats or 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, precisely scientific soap-making tools and purer ingredients make the product much more reliable and consistent.
Today, there are very few true soaps on the major markets. Most body cleansers, both liquid and solid, are actually synthetic detergent products. Detergent cleansers are popular because they make suds effortlessly in water. Most detergents 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. We covered this 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
So, most of what you see on store shelves are 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 for detergent manufacturers.
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 attracted to oily substances. This is like 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, like sodium trideceth sulfate or nonionic polymers. These are less harsh than normal detergents. And manufacturers 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 to put it plainly.
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. Most babies don’t produce oils on their skin and scalp like teenagers and adults do.
You 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 chemistry 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. Soap molecules have a hydrophilic (water-attracting) side, 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 with less alkali or added more water, it would 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 cleanse. 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 teenagers or adults do, this normally does 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 — still cause tears to sensitive eyes. It all depends on the pH level of the water. PH 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!