# Allergies and why soap should be labeled



## cmzaha (Dec 16, 2014)

A couple of days ago I was given a soap and asked if I would try it. This is from a vendor at one of my markets. The soap was hp and not labeled, but she wanted my opinion. Yeah right, being nosy as I am I agreed after asking the ingredients. You all will probably remember I have severe eczema. Was told it contained co, oo, castor, palm all the normal with no unusual additives, superfatted at 10%. First off, I do not high superfat but decided it would be fine to try. I woke up in the middle of the night with my face severely itching, really did not think to much about it and fortunetly fell back to sleep. Woke up early this morning face itching more and my throat itching. By then I decided it would be prudent to take a very high dose of predisone which I keep on hand and kept wondering what I had eaten that was new. While getting in the shower it dawned on me I had tried that new soap from her, so I went through my cash box and found her email so I sent a message and asked exactly what was in the soap in case she forgot to tell me something. Oh yes, she forgot a really biggie for me, her 10% superfat added after cooking her hp was Flax Seed Oil. I proceeded to inform her that my allergy to flax can be life threatening and if she is not going to label with all ingredients she better have lots of liability insurance. Fortunetly my 100 mg of predisone saved me a trip to emergency. Please remember Allergies are Dangerous.


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## jules92207 (Dec 17, 2014)

Geez. That is really scary. Glad you are ok! Hope that soaper got the clue.


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## CaraBou (Dec 17, 2014)

Glad you're ok!  That's a pretty interesting reaction.  I gift my soaps to many people so it is a good reminder to me too. It's easy to forget as a non-seller that even someone in my relatively small circle of friends could have issues with ingredients that seem so great to me.


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## El_Granado_Loco (Dec 17, 2014)

:-o Thanks for sharing! It' s good to be reminded now and then, we tend to forget... Glad you are ok!!


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## JustBeachy (Dec 17, 2014)

Man, I'm glad I'm not allergic to anything.  One of my kids is highly allergic to a couple of things though, so I'm used to the problems.  Glad to hear you're ok.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Dec 17, 2014)

Glad you were able to sort it out rather than going to the hospital!


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## Susie (Dec 17, 2014)

Carolyn, I am so very, very glad you are OK.  And that you are smart enough to keep Prednisone on hand!  Hope you have a safe and Merry Christmas!

But this is exactly why I have had disagreements with certain folks on this forum.  Because reactions like that DO happen with exposure to oils.  I KNOW there should be no proteins left in there, but guess what....that is not certain enough to risk someone's life over.


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## DeeAnna (Dec 17, 2014)

I am relieved you were able to figure out the problem and stop it, Carolyn. Thank you for sharing your story -- it's one I will take to heart.

Susie, you are so very right!


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## shunt2011 (Dec 17, 2014)

Wow, so glad you are okay and didn't end up in the hospital.   Your reaction is exactly why I list all ingredients on my label.  Better safe than sorry.   I would hate to have someone have an adverse reaction to any of my products.


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## navigator9 (Dec 17, 2014)

Glad to hear you are OK. And yes, it's important to remember that people can be allergic to ANYthing. Even something that seems  totally benign and may be safe for 99.9 % of the population, can be dangerous to others.


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## cmzaha (Dec 18, 2014)

Thanks all, I really did not post for symphony or anything just wanted to reiterate why we need to label even if FDA does not require us to. I am thinking it may not have happened with a cp soap, but since this was a hp soap that she superfatted with the flax I am thinking there was unsaponified flax in the soap. A little extra time labeling can save a lot of grief for some


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## Ellacho (Dec 18, 2014)

Whew~~that's scary . I am glad that you are better now. Thank you for sharing.


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## CaraBou (Dec 18, 2014)

I would like to learn more about allergies prompted by soap.  Did you wash your face with this soap, or did the itchiness go there without direct contact?


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## DeeAnna (Dec 18, 2014)

Even if Carolyn had washed her face with the soap and got an allergic response to direct contact, she also said, "...Woke up early this morning face itching more and my throat itching...." Unless she washed her throat with soap  that's a pretty good sign of a systemic allergic reaction.


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## Susie (Dec 18, 2014)

Yep, throat itching is the perfect example of a systemic allergic reaction.  All she lacked was swelling around the mouth and eyes, hives, and her throat swelling closed.

Carolyn, we know you did not post for sympathy.  But you probably just saved some one else's life, because we all just learned the dangers of unlabeled soap.  Fear is the best teacher, and you scared me enough to teach the lesson.  I just stuck an ingredient list in all the bags/baskets of soaps that are gifts.  I called the one person the soap has already gone to to let him know what all is in there and ask about allergies.  Fortunately, he has no allergies to anything in there, but I am emailing him a list anyway.


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## Jstar (Dec 19, 2014)

Holy cow Carolyn :shock:

So glad you are ok now...that's some scary stuff.

I will always remember the time my youngest {7 at the time iirc} 'all of a sudden' became allergic to milk..she woke up with *massive* welts all over her body and face..her eyes were swollen shut..I had to rush her to the ER...they had to keep her there and give her antihistamines and made sure she could swallow before she could go home.

She didnt touch milk or milk products for over a year, and then suddenly she gets up one morning and decides she has had enough and made herself a bowl of cereal...I about freaked out...and made a beeline for the benedryl..but oddly enough, as suddenly as she became allergic to milk products, she also became un-allergic, and hasn't had a problem since...

Needless to say, that was many years ago..but to this day I _still_ keep some benedryl on hand just in case...and I always put all my ingredients on my soaps.

Allergic reactions can happen just that quick.


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## Saponista (Dec 19, 2014)

I have similar problems with cows milk hidden in things. I used some bath salts a while ago without checking the ingredients. When I got out the bath my whole body went red and itched like murder and I developed hives. That was my own fault though for not checking the ingredients on the label! It sucks to have allergies.


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## AMyers (Dec 20, 2014)

Wow!  Scary!  Glad you're ok.  I too have some "weird" allergies, though thankfully none are life-threatening (yet).  (Chamomile anyone?  Know how hard it is to get skin products for sensitive skin WITHOUT chamomile?!? Know how many ways there are to hide it with funky names?) I am a label reading fiend.  So, all of my soaps that are being gifted this holiday are labeled with ALL ingredients.

Thanks for the reminder .


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## maya (Dec 20, 2014)

I am allergic to shea, avocado, mango, etc. I have an anaphylactic reaction to those things plus contact dermatitis to other things (rubber, fragrance oils, etc.) It is life threatening and can be really scary. I do wish people would listen and label.


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## Logansama (Dec 20, 2014)

I'm glad you're okay!

I'm running into a lot of resistance in a group I belong to regarding labeling. This is exactly why we need to label and carry liability insurance, even if we're just hobby soapers. Many of the ingredients we use are allergans...milks, coconut, soy and so forth.


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## Earthen_Step (Dec 20, 2014)

I decided in the beginning to label all my ingredients.  I also decided not to do the common "fragrances" and detail out every essential oil.  I did it exactly for the reason of allergies and transparency.  If something is labeled "fragrances" people with allergies to anything that can lie in that realm will pass on the product.  I just think it's good practice to label all ingredients to increase your customer base.  But, I LOVE that it's optional in the soap realm in the United States.  Freedom of choice is what we need, and we are losing it all the time.  

I'm sorry that happened to you, but I don't want legislation because of incidents like this.


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## cmzaha (Dec 21, 2014)

Earthen_Step said:


> I decided in the beginning to label all my ingredients.  I also decided not to do the common "fragrances" and detail out every essential oil.  I did it exactly for the reason of allergies and transparency.  If something is labeled "fragrances" people with allergies to anything that can lie in that realm will pass on the product.  I just think it's good practice to label all ingredients to increase your customer base.  But, I LOVE that it's optional in the soap realm in the United States.  Freedom of choice is what we need, and we are losing it all the time.
> 
> I'm sorry that happened to you, but I don't want legislation because of incidents like this.


I fully agree with not wanting legislation controls over such, we are definitely loosing our choices daily. It would be nice for the people that choose not to label to think about it and start labeling all ingredients. I also label the essentials when I use eo's of course when I use fragrance it is labeled fragrance. Some people are more allergic to eo's than fo's


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Dec 22, 2014)

Unless people like the soaper in the original example pull their fingers out, legislation might come. The op asked specifically for the ingredients and the most important one was left out of the list! 

I think to many people in countries with no legislation on soaping think that it is a case of throw some lye on to oils and make a quick buck. If the op had gone to the hospital then maybe her insurance would claim against the soaper which would then raise the profile somewhat. It doesn't take too many of those cases before something official comes. 

I'm not saying that "y'all" over there should have legislation, but I get the feeling it's coming.


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## hud (Dec 22, 2014)

Glad you are doing good. I didn't think about it before that a bar of soap could be a life threatening to some body.
Thank you for sharing.
I wish you all good.


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## JustBeachy (Dec 22, 2014)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Unless people like the soaper in the original example pull their fingers out, legislation might come. The op asked specifically for the ingredients and the most important one was left out of the list!
> 
> I think to many people in countries with no legislation on soaping think that it is a case of throw some lye on to oils and make a quick buck. If the op had gone to the hospital then maybe her insurance would claim against the soaper which would then raise the profile somewhat. It doesn't take too many of those cases before something official comes.
> 
> I'm not saying that "y'all" over there should have legislation, but I get the feeling it's coming.



While I side completely with the "less big brother is always a great thing", the talk I've heard from some mid to large soaping operations, is more legislation/enforcement is coming.


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