January 2021
Did you know that the term “soap” is regulated by the FDA? The idea is to distinguish between a traditional “soap” and a synthetic detergent. To be a “soap”, it must be composed primarily of the “alkali salts of fatty acids”. This is the product of the chemical reaction between the traditional lye and the fat or oil used. Additionally, those “alkali salts of fatty acids” must be the only thing that produces the cleaning action. If there are any synthetic detergents included, then it’s considered a cosmetic and is no longer a “soap”. And finally, it must be labeled and marketed as simply soap. If it is intended for any other purpose such as moisturizing, killing germs, making you smell nice, or anything in addition to just being soap, it is again considered a cosmetic.
If you are in search of hand/homemade soaps, then Canton First Monday Trade Days should definitely be a place that you visit. There are at least a dozen shops that specialize in custom handmade soaps from 100% vegan, to goat milk, to honey, to any number of natural oil scents, and even a few French and Italian imports.
Goat Milk Soaps
There are any number of vendors at Canton First Monday Trade Days that focus on goat milk soaps. Goat milk soap is probably the easiest to find and the most abundant product sold by soap vendors. Several have their own goats which are milked by hand. That milk is then used to make soap and other skin care products. A hands-ons dairy typically means that that no machines are used on the goats. This typically means less stressed and happier goats.
Vegan Soaps
If avoiding animal products all together is most important to you, then there are also soap vendors that sell 100% vegan products. All vegetable based oils (coconut, olive, castor, palm, etc.) means that no animals or animal products were used in the production of the soaps. Most also use natural colors and scents, but be sure to ask if that’s important to you.
Honey Soaps
Honey, as we all know, is a remarkable substance. It never spoils and has an almost limitless number of uses. One of those is an addition to soaps. It imparts a light, cozy, sweet scent to the soap and the added sugar content serves to increase the lather. And another added benefit is that it acts as a humectant. There is at least one vendor that uses honey from their own hives in their handmade soaps.
Cold Processed Soaps
A cold processed soap is simply a soap that has not been heated to speed up the saponification (the chemical reaction between the oil and the lye) process. This is a much slower method that takes around 4 to 8 weeks depending on any number of factors. The advantage is that the chemical reaction is a gradual more naturally occurring one that is supposed to result in a more nourishing and skin-loving soap. Some of the handmade soaps are labeled “cold processed”. If this is important to you and you don’t see the label, be sure to ask.
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