Ask the Soapman

I suffer from a neuropathy in my feet. I’ve spent the last 10 years with various doctors, acupuncturists, massage therapists, etc etc to remedy the situation. I have Lyme disease and have a high level of mercury having been a fishetarian for 40 years. In an effort to leave no stone unturned, I’m thinking I might have been poisoning myself with consumer products like soap, both body and clothes, which together have conspired to make a toxic concoction which is inflaming my nerve endings and giving me pain 24/7. I like natural. I’m hoping a solution to my plight might…

Hi! New question :), are there any essential oil of rosemary in your hand soap? Or what is rosemary extract? Is it essential oil in any other products, like in your shower cream? Thanks!! Angelica   Great question Angelica! Rosemary extract is our anti-oxidant natural preservative. It is in everything we make except for our cleaning sprays like Toothbrush Cleaner. Like iron or metal, natural oils will “rust” or oxidize. An anti-oxidant fills the spot that oxygen would have attached to, thus helping to preserve oil based products like soap and our type of herbal moisturizers. A good rosemary extract…

Which of your soaps would you recommend in place of soap from the drug store that contains triclosan? I am a person with diabetes and found myself with an abscess on my trunk which was treated by a surgeon. He is the one who recommended triclosan because of a desire to keep my skin extra clean. My diabetes is well controlled, however I am still prone to fungal skin infections. Thank you for your answer. Hi Kathy. I recommend the Fungasoap that we make for our partners at Pedifix. We like it so much we sell it on our website.…

Hi, I am searching for a product to clean my hardwood floors with. In the past I used Murphy’s oil soap and almost passed out. The smell is strong and lingers for days. I have read about your liquid gold concentrate. Would that be a good substitute? i do have MCS. Thanks, Bonnie Johnson   Hi Bonnie, Thanks for taking the time to contact us. Since you are dealing with multiple chemical sensitivities I am not comfortable recommending any scented product to you including Liquid Sunshine, which uses orange oil and other essential oils along with organic soap to cut…

I tend to have dry skin all over, so I am buying the soaps you recommend for dry skin, but I also want to buy a few other soaps you guys have listed for “combination and oily skin” because of the scents they have, will this be bad for my skin? Also are all of your soaps safe for all over the body, EVERY INCH, of the body? From private areas to the face? Thanks so much   Hi Chelsea, Thanks for the email. Combination skin for us means that we formulate those particular products with more astringency (pore closing-ness)…

Your organic shea butter has been nothing short of a miraculous cure for stubborn patches of eczema and dermatitis. I would love to use it more liberally, but find it so hard to apply over a larger area (even softened in a jar in warm water). Would mixing it with a small amount of olive or almond oil affect the healing properties? Plus, I find the scent quite strong and unpleasant. Do you have any suggestions for masking the scent? Thanks! Hi Cheryl, Thanks for your kudos and comments. Have you tried Unscented Green Gold yet? It came out of…

What bar of soap is good for someone with eczema? While VT Soap does not purport to diagnose, treat or cure any illness; many of our customers enjoy relief from dry skin conditions with the Butter Bar. To sooth dry irritated skin use Unscented Green Gold – you will love this product. Laundry is often implicated in these types of conditions and Liquid Sunshine Nontoxic Cleaner will help to transform your home (and laundry) into a nontoxic household. Our Unscented Hand Foamer will clean your hands without the stress caused by exposure to foaming chemicals that did not exist a…

My child is allergic to peanuts. Can she use your liquid castile soap on her hair and body? Yes. All Vermont Soap products are manufactured and distributed in a peanut free facility. Castile Liquid Soap might be a little strong for daily use on skin and hair. Have you ever tried an organic handmade soap bar? They are super mild and can be used on fine hair as a shampoo. All the Best! Soapman  

Question for Larry…. We used to source some wonderful JONQUIL bath oil in the UK but it seems to have dropped out of production. We assume it was mixed with other oils as Jonquil is we deduce VERY expensive, and wonder if you knew where we could source some of the raw oil or a ready mixed version…and how much it might cost? Looking on-line we seem to find little available to the consumer, and wonder if you have contacts/suppliers you could ask for us? There is no hurry for a response but we’d love to be able to soak…

I have terrible dermatitis on my hand. I am a nurse and I have had it for one year _ and I have found nothing works even the four rx’s I have to use! Help! OK, breathe deep. We can fix this. Your condition did not arise out of no-where. Contact dermatitis is caused by, well, daily contact with something or things incompatible with your current metabolism. Given your occupation the obvious place to look first is the repeated daily use of anti-microbial detergent based hand cleaners. Fortunately for you, a recent article in the Harvard Review states that 30…