I'm so tired of hearing....

[oldragbagger]

Not a soap shop...a motorcycle shop.
That's where I make my soap--in the shop kitchen.

Cool

 

[xraygrl]

I have sensitive skin as do my 12 yo twin girls. We cant use any kind of commercial soap...makes our skin itch BAD. Even with handmade soap I have to keep the coconut low. If I had a dime every time I've heard the I can only use Ivory" comment over the years, I'd probably have enough to buy a few soap hutch molds LOL!

 

[oldragbagger]

I have sensitive skin as do my 12 yo twin girls. We cant use any kind of commercial soap...makes our skin itch BAD. Even with handmade soap I have to keep the coconut low. If I had a dime every time I've heard the I can only use Ivory" comment over the years, I'd probably have enough to buy a few soap hutch molds LOL!

How low do you usually go with the coconut? Do you use a higher than normal superfat? My soap is pretty good, but it could be even milder.

 

[BlueSky]

Here is what I found--I'm not making any guarantees as to accuracy:

I found the list of ingredients for Ivory soap on a handmade soap website. Here's what they have to say:


Sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate or sodium palm kernelate, water, sodium chloride, sodium silicate, magnesium sulfate, and fragrance. (This information is from the Material Safety Data Sheet prepared by the Proctor & Gamble Company.)

Sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate, and sodium palm kernelate are all natural soap compounds produced from tallow, coconut oil, and palm kernel oil, respectively. Magnesium sulfate is also known as Epsom salts and sodium chloride you may recognize as common table salt. Sodium silicate is also known as soluble glass or sodium silicate glass. While the amount in Ivory soap is probably too small to be of concern, sodium silicate is harmful if ingested and in it’s pure form can cause burns through skin or eye contact. Of all the mass produced commercial soaps that this writer has examined, Ivory is closest to an all natural soap with a minimum of additional chemicals. Of more importance to the consumer could be what isn’t in Ivory soap. Notice that glycerin is missing from the list of ingredients. This cheapens the soap and removes one of the natural moisturizers for the skin.

I would just add that I have no reason to believe that the fragrance is natural.

I would agree with this writer though, that if you are not going to purchase an all-natural handmade soap, Ivory would be the next best choice.

"If you like Ivory, you should try my handmade soap...I haven't removed the glycerin!"

 

[Guest]

I was talking with a friend who will be selling soap for me . I told her that people will compare my handmade soap in price and gentleness to Ivory and it will be an issue for some people . She said " well they deserve the Ivory then " . We had a good laugh . Then I told her the best thing to say was Dixie's line , she agrees it is perfect .

Kitn

 

[xraygrl]

How low do you usually go with the coconut? Do you use a higher than normal superfat? My soap is pretty good, but it could be even milder.

ORB,

I usually stay around 10% coconut with most of the soaps I make, and use an 8% superfat. Any more coconut than that and we tend to get itchy.

The soap I make for my mom has no coconut at all, just equal amounts olive and lard, and about 5% castor for bubbles. That one is a wonderfully mild soap. It's made with buttermilk, carrot and honey and no color or scent. I use it too on occasion and really dont even miss the coconut.

I have been wanting to try an only lard and coconut soap, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[carebear]

Ivory is true soap, but it's a far cry from hand made - it's still compounded from the individual, purified components so lacks the glycerine of hand made soap. It's rock hard because of how it's manufactured. In my experience, it's far far far from mild (and I do soap with those particular oils).

Ivory is supposed to be 99.44% soap, so the other ingredients are indeed at low levels.

While the amount in Ivory soap is probably too small to be of concern, sodium silicate is harmful if ingested and in it’s pure form can cause burns through skin or eye contact.

Talk about fear-mongering. Sodium silicate is not going to cause any issues in soap.

Bluesky, if you are going to refer to, or certainly if you are quoting a source - please put the URL so we can take a look-see...

 

[cleanwater]

While the amount in Ivory soap is probably too small to be of concern, sodium silicate is harmful if ingested and in it’s pure form can cause burns through skin or eye contact.

Talk about fear-mongering. Sodium silicate is not going to cause any issues in soap.

Bluesky, if you are going to refer to, or certainly if you are quoting a source - please put the URL so we can take a look-see...

But where is the line between honest info and fear-mongering? What Bluesky said in the quote is true ("probably too small to be of concern"..."harmful if ingested"..."pure form can cause burns"), though I agree sources should be linked. At some point, even showing someone the MSDS (http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/s4982.htm) is scary. Is that fear-mongering? Or just honest concern stated honestly?

And for a more general (though possibly less accurate) overview, check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_silicate

 

[carebear]

an MSDS is actually a poor document for determing risk - the assumption is huge exposure. have you ever read an MSDS for table salt, for example? they are very scary and very irrelevant unless you happen to be working in a salt mine or the like.

 

[honor435]

Show them a list of the chemicals that you cant pronounce in dial, dove etc, and if you use olive, co, po, tell them that there is lard in their soap and then tell them how nice there skin will feel from your ingredients!

 

[BlueSky]

Whoa, sorry everyone. I did not mean to imply that Ivory was dangerous in any way. I was mostly interested in the ingredients. I should have just posted them instead of the whole commentary. I will stick to my own opinions from now on instead of posting someone elses.

Here is the link for those who asked:

http://dld123.com/q&a/index.php?cid=3316

 

[heartsong]

Whoa, sorry everyone. I did not mean to imply that Ivory was dangerous in any way. I was mostly interested in the ingredients. I should have just posted them instead of the whole commentary. I will stick to my own opinions from now on instead of posting someone elses.

Here is the link for those who asked:

http://dld123.com/q&a/index.php?cid=3316

bluesky, you have every right, (just like the rest of us) to form an opinion, ask a question or make a point. this is what makes our forum the best of the best! (IMHO)

we should ALL make an effort to make our points in perhaps a gentler manner?

this is a very hotly disputed topic, tho.

 

[xraygrl]

tell them that there is lard in their soap and then tell them how nice there skin will feel from your ingredients!

Please don't bash the Lard! I love lard in handmade soap! Poor lard getting a bad rap again.....

Please don't take offence I'm just being silly, but I really do love lard in handmade soap. And yes the big guys might use tallow/lard in their soaps, but we all know there is NO COMPARRISON when it comes to a quality handmade soap versus the commercial stuff.

 

[carebear]

lard straight up is a lovely moisturizer... slather them with it when they aren't paying attention... lol (unless it's against their beliefs, of course)

 

[oldragbagger]

Ivory is true soap, but it's a far cry from hand made - it's still compounded from the individual, purified components so lacks the glycerine of hand made soap. It's rock hard because of how it's manufactured. In my experience, it's far far far from mild (and I do soap with those particular oils).

Ivory is supposed to be 99.44% soap, so the other ingredients are indeed at low levels.

While the amount in Ivory soap is probably too small to be of concern, sodium silicate is harmful if ingested and in it’s pure form can cause burns through skin or eye contact.

Talk about fear-mongering. Sodium silicate is not going to cause any issues in soap.

Bluesky, if you are going to refer to, or certainly if you are quoting a source - please put the URL so we can take a look-see...

But as soapers, we all know that just listing the oils and etc. does not tell the WHOLE story. How high is the coconut oil %, any superfat at all or is it the max allowable lye, glycerin removed (of course). You can even have a perfectly natural soap that'll take the hide right off ya, think 100% CO with no superfat. Say what you want about the natural ingredients and blah blah blah of Ivory, I stand by my itchy skin when I try to use it, that stuff is HARSH!!!

 

[carebear]

yup - just cuz it's "soap" doesn't make it good.

 

[xraygrl]

yup - just cuz it's "soap" doesn't make it good.

EXACTLY!

 

[Guest]

Whoa, sorry everyone. I did not mean to imply that Ivory was dangerous in any way. I was mostly interested in the ingredients. I should have just posted them instead of the whole commentary. I will stick to my own opinions from now on instead of posting someone elses.

Here is the link for those who asked:

http://dld123.com/q&a/index.php?cid=3316

Not to worry Bluesky , you did absolutely nothing wrong .

 

[carebear]

Whoa, sorry everyone. I did not mean to imply that Ivory was dangerous in any way. I was mostly interested in the ingredients. I should have just posted them instead of the whole commentary. I will stick to my own opinions from now on instead of posting someone elses.

Here is the link for those who asked:

http://dld123.com/q&a/index.php?cid=3316

Not to worry Bluesky , you did absolutely nothing wrong .

Oh I wasn't saying YOU were fear mongering! the original author was!