What's in Your Soap: Commercial vs. Natural

Natural soap v. commercial soap which should you buy? Ah, commercial soap it's what most people have been using since what seems like the beginning of time, (I was about to say the beginning of time, but I believe natural soap is what we started with). It's found at the grocery store, there are several different kinds to choose from, and it's cheap, you can get 2 or 3 bars for a couple of dollars. It has great lather appeal, smells oh so clean, and will last a long time.

On the other hand you have natural soap. It will cost you more, you can't get 3 for a dollar, and it's mainly found at health food stores or online, and most of the ingredients are derived from plants and essential oils. Natural soap, however is much better for your skin. Your skin absorbs much of what you put on it, that's why it's important to use natural skin nourishing products. However, always, always check the ingredients even when using products that you think are all natural and if your not sure what an ingredient is, then look it up.

If we are willing to spend more for expensive shoes and clothing, items that go over our skin then why are we not willing to spend more for what goes on and into our skin?

Here are the ingredients of a bar of natural honey oat soap; saponified cold pressed olive, coconut, organic palm, sunflower, and castor oils, distilled water, wild honey, goat milk, organic oats, and sea salt.

Here are the ingredients of a commercial bar of soap as it's stated on the box; soap (sodium tallowate, sodium cocate, and/or sodium palm kernelate), water, hydrogenated tallow acid (skin conditioner), coconut acid, glycerin (skin conditioner), fragrance, sodium chloride, pentasodium pentetate, pentaerythrityl tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxhydrocinnamate, titanium dioxide, d&c green no. 8, fd&c green no. 3.

Which one would or should you use, only you can decide. For help in trying to figure out the safety of products whether they are natural or not go to the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

Hey Honey!

Honey is more than just something you put on toast, in tea, or that you mix with peanut butter, it is phenomenal---- and in so many ways. Honey's healing benefits have been around for thousand's of years, Cleopatra used milk and honey in her baths. It contains several minerals, enzymes, trace elements, and vitamins, including beta-carotene. It has antibacterial properties and it contains an enzyme that produces hydrogen peroxide. Honey is produced when the bee assimilates juices of different kinds of flowers and fruits thus forming within its body the honey.

Of course raw unprocessed honey, especially Manuka Honey from New Zealand has the most medicinal and nutritional value. Although honey is very safe and natural it should not be given to infants, especially under the age of one because it is a source of bacteria spores that produce a toxin which can cause infant botulism. Unfortunately, healing properties of honey are lost when it is heated.

Honey has been known to heal wounds, stimulate new tissue growth, soften the skin, and soothe sore throats. It can also prevent infection, promote fast healing, and reduce scarring.
It has been studied for its use in dressings when there is tissue damage such as burns because it prevents the dressing from sticking to the wounds. The National Honey Board states that it creates a moist healing environment which allows skin cells to regrow across a healing wound flush with the surface of the wound preventing deformity of the skin and helps lift dirt out of the wound bed. Honey reduces odor in wounds, however will not help heal an infection if the infection has entered the blood system.

Biochemist Peter Molan, who is a professor at the University of Waikato in New Zealand has researched honey and other natural antibiotics for 25 years. Those who research honey extensively feel as though the therapeutic potential of honey has been grossly underrated.