WHY USE NATURAL SOAP?

Pure Skills Goats Milk Soap

Pure Skills “Pure Soap” is Better for you and your family:-

It is natural and moisturising without any of the nasty chemicals found in manufactured soaps.  “Pure Soap” uses Zambian grown and produced soya bean oil, local goats milk, sodium hydroxide and pure essential oils.  Through the making of the soap the sodium hydroxide is rendered safe in a process called saponification.  “Pure Soap” is not highly scented and uses only pure essential oils.

Most manufactured soaps contain at least one if not all of the following nasty chemicals:

Parabens

Parabens (butylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben, and anything else ending in -paraben) are a class of preservatives that prevent bacteria from growing in soap. The problem is, they’re xenoestrogens (they mimic oestrogen in the body) and can be absorbed through the skin. No significant link between parabens and breast cancer has been found, but parabens have been found in breast tumours, so some cancer research and advocacy groups consider them a substance worth studying further.

Parabens are only used in soaps with significant water content. Opt for soaps made with a traditional formula of fat plus lye without water—these soaps don’t require parabens 

Phthalates

Phthalates are found in consumer products as wide-ranging as toys, vinyl floors, and aftershave. The specific phthalate that you’re most likely to find in soap is diethylphthalate (or DEP), which is used as a fixative in fragrances. Phthalates are associated with a number of issues, including male infertility, breast cancer, and asthma, and can trigger both skin and systemic allergic reactions.  Phthalates are more toxic in young children, which are much more susceptible to phthalate exposure, including foetal life. The tricky part? They’re not always labelled. If soap includes “fragrance,” it probably includes DEP, but there’s no real way to know.

 Since the label doesn’t reveal the presence of DEP, try to use soaps that are unscented or get their scents from essential oils.

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate/Sodium Laureth Sulphate

SLS and SLES are surfactants that increase the foaming and emulsifying qualities of soap. They were long a concern of health and safety watch groups, but there’s a good bit of scientific data saying that, beyond occasional skin allergies, they’re not a health concern. There is, however, an environmental concern: These lathering agents are often made from petroleum, and avoiding petroleum-based products whenever possible is good eco-sense. (While SLS and SLES can also be made from more environmentally friendly vegetable oils, there’s no labelling to help you determine their origins when you’re browsing the soap aisle.)

Propylene Glycol

Propylene glycol helps the skin absorb moisture and is therefore a standard ingredient in soaps labelled as “moisturizing.” It’s safe for the body, but like sodium lauryl sulphate and sodium laureth sulphate, propylene glycol is made from petroleum, so it’s not great for the planet.

Another chemical found in commercial soaps is TCC or triclocarban, which is known to disrupt endocrine production and promote cancer, learning disabilities and even infertility. We coat our skins with these toxic chemical compounds and then let those same chemicals run down our drains and into our water systems.

 “Pure Soap” is good for the environment and local economy:-

Pure Soap is biodegradable, natural and with a low carbon footprint.  99% of our natural ingredients are sourced within Zambia.  The handmade soap  sales not only creates employment but also contributes to community projects at Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities Linda Farm.

COMMERCIAL SOAP PRODUCTION:

The Ingredients:  

Whenever we wash we flush our soap waste water straight into our environment, be it through drains, septic tanks, rivers or sewerage.  Phthalates are being found in our marine wildlife in ever increasing amounts.   

 Phthalates are readily released into the environment and create a risk of exposure for  other living organisms.  Phthalates are found in plants, air, soil, water, treated effluents and landfilled waste. They do not bind permanently with the products to which they are added.

  As a reminder in both animal and humans they are characterized by reproductive toxicity, they can cause infertility and reproductive problems in males, breast cancer, and asthma, and can trigger both skin and systemic allergic reactions.  Phthalates are more toxic in young, which are much more susceptible to phthalate exposure, including fetal life. 

And Phthalates aren’t the only nasties in many soaps.

According to The World Wildlife Fund the majority of commercially produced soaps use palm oil.  Large areas of tropical forests and other ecosystems with high conservation values have been cleared to make room for vast monoculture oil palm plantations – destroying critical habitat for many endangered species, including rhinos, elephants and tigers.

And if you ask  Amnesty International they say  “Corporate giants like Colgate, Nestlé and Unilever assure consumers that their products use ‘sustainable palm oil’, but our findings reveal that the palm oil is anything but.”  The report details child labour, women working long hours for much less than the minimum wage, Workers suffering severe injuries from paraquat, an acutely toxic chemical still used in the plantations despite being banned in the EU to name a few

The Manufacturing process,  social and environmental impact

The manufacture of soaps involves the reaction of fats and oils with inorganic water soluble bases, this process is also called saponification.  Glycerin is also produced in the process. The resulting products from the above process are separated and dried through vacuum driers to form dry soap pellets. In the final step, the dry soap pellets are passed in a line mixer where fragrance and colorants are added. The resulting mixture is then extruded and cut into bars

Most commercial soaps are produced by large multinational companies, with factories all over the globe. This mass-production results in copious amounts of environmental waste and degradation as well as poor living conditions for thousands of people worldwide.

Commercial soaps are batch made by machines in large factories – in less than ideal conditions. Most consumers remain oblivious to the working conditions and cleanliness of the factories their soap is made in.

Pure Soap  is the very opposite.  It’ an ethical all natural, biodegradable, locally handmade product with a low carbon footprint nourishing not only your skin but also  our community.