Ask the Soapman

What I read on the dry/sensitive skin page about reactive bodies made absolute sense!! Are there other resources for finding out more about this that you recommend (books, websites, blogs, anything you’ve got!)? Can’t wait to try your products when they arrive!! We’ve been using Dr. Bronner’s castile soap and my little boy’s hands look like raw hamburger, and my husband has a huge dry/cracked/bleeding spot on his hand. Reactive fellas 🙂 Wondering what to order of your soaps. Can you tell me if your castile soap can be used in a water dilution with a foaming dispenser? Our current…

Hello Vermont Soap: I’m wondering about dilution % of Liquid Sunshine for washing dishes by hand. Our water is a little on the hard side…… –Thanks Hi, Best way to do dishes with Liquid Sunshine is to put it right onto a damp sponge and use directly on your dishes. Best! Soapman  

Hi! I was wondering if the rosemary extract in your pet shampoo is organic? I.e. Was it grown with pesticides? And what method was used to extract it… From seed? Ethanol? Any info would be helpful as I am looking for a new shampoo for my golden retriever who is really sensitive. Thanks! In harmony, –Rae Hi Rae, We just switched from a strictly natural to a certified organic rosemary extract. These are oleoresins. Comes to us as a thick green paste. This is the anti-oxidant preservative – about 1/10 of 1% is used. Best! Soapman

I have a daughter with celiac disease who just had a baby. Do you offer any mild fragrant free soaps that do not contain any wheat, rye, barley or oats. Please advise. The baby’s skin is dry and needs a soap with some natural oil in it but none of the other items listed above. Thank you for any help you can offer. –Jane Hi Jane, Thanks for asking. Our Butter Bar fits the bill here. No scent or grains and super mild for dry skin. The Baby Bar has a little bit of lavender oil, if barely scented soap…

Mr. Soapman My husband has dry, red, itchy skin (inner thigh area). He was told it was yeast infection due to heat and sweat and was given Nystatin. It has not worked. In fact, he still has dry itchy skin and it’s 20 degrees. Which soaps can we start out with. I know that the soap may not help at all but would like to try something. Anything other than sit around listening to the doctors say “There’s nothing we can do about it. All you can do is keep using the medication.” Thank you –Judy Hi Judy, Ouch! That…

Soapman I have been reading a lot of labels lately and I am confused by the words that I see. Since you are the SoapMan I thought you could clear up some of my questions. What are these things? –Mookie Hey Mookie, As my buddy Big Jim likes to say; “If it has more than six syllables you probably shouldn’t put it on your skin”. The thing to remember about chemical nomenclature is that the name describes what it is. Magnesium carbonate: The name tells me it is benign. This is an antacid ingredient. I suspect it’s use in your…

Quick question. I was thinking about this last night while using one of the organic liquid castile soaps from your company. If your products are USDA Certified organic, why don’t you have that circle green and white logo that accompanies that distinction on the products? Thanks! –Julie Hi Julie, Many thanks for your question. The answer is that in this country there are 3 levels of organic. 100% Organic (self explanatory), 95% Organic (These can be labeled as Organic, as in Organic Soap. The remaining 5% has to be natural, but not certified organic); and Made with Organic. In the…

Does the vegetable glycerine in the foaming soaps come from wheat, barley, rye, oats, or soy? Thanks! –Allison Hi Allison. Glycerin is a component of natural oils (triglycerides). Your own cell walls contain it. We source our vegetable glycerin from palm oil, which is a typical source for high quality vegetable glycerin these days. Glycerin is purified and standardized (USP pharmaceutical grade is what we use) and does not contain gluten. Because it is made from vegetable oil, grain crops are rarely – if ever, used in it’s production (currently).  

On your “What Is Natural” page [in the first paragraph] you say that “chemical/synthetic free” means, among other things, no alcohols. But alcohol is a very effective sanitizing agent that *can* be produced “in an ordinary American kitchen using “generally available utensils”. So why do you exclude alcohol? –Jeff Hi Jeff, Thanks for your question. We avoid the use of alcohol in our products because so many people are topical alcohol sensitive, and most do not know it. Alcohol is used as an emulsifier in lotions (holds the water and oils based portions of the formula together). It works well…