NATURAL has only ONE definition.
If you have to ask, it's probably not.

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What does Botanie mean by "all natural soap"?

To us, natural soap means a soap whose ingredients are plant based, and we further define our product as an herbal soap. We oppose the body care industry's use of the word "natural" to include synthetic fragrances, colorants, and preservatives. We add no artificial substances to our soaps, such as synthetic fragrances, dyes, and preservatives, and where possible, we use organically grown products. Our purely herbal soap is scented with essential oils only and colored with herbs and plant extracts only. Our products contain no parabens. Read through our ingredient list to see what we mean by "natural soap." Then, to really see what we mean, take a copy of our ingredients with you next time you go to the store and compare them to the ingredients of soaps on the shelves. Your skin will know the difference.

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Do Botanie's herbal soaps contain glycerin?

Yes. Glycerin is a natural part of the vegetable oils we use to make our herbal soap, so it is a natural part of all Botanie soaps. Our soaps qualify as "glycerin soaps," because glycerin accounts for approximately 10% of the final product. Unlike most commercial soap companies, we retain all glycerin produced during the saponification process. Since glycerin is a sellable commodity, commercial soap makers remove it for sale, or they keep trace amounts for mention on their labels. Our soaps differ from clear "glycerin soaps" because our bars are not transparent. To produce their transparency, "glycerin soaps" contain a sugar-alcohol compound that can dry your skin.

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What are essential oils and fragrance oils?

This is one of the most common misrepresentations among natural products, especially for natural soap. Essential oils are pure plant extracts used for scenting or aromatherapy. Fragrance oils are synthetically made substitutes for essential oils. Many soaps, even those labeled "natural" contain fragrance oils. Often, a soap label will say "contains essential oils." However, such a label can be deceiving -- it is always important to check if it ALSO contains fragrance oils. Fragrance oils are problematic because, as synthetic compounds, they dry out your skin and irritate sensitive skin. All Botanie Soaps, as purely herbal soaps, contain only true, plant-extract essential oils. As always, read a product's label. If the ingredients includes the word "fragrance," "perfume," or "parfum," then it's synthetic and not-natural, even though its packaging may say it is a natural soap.

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I have sensitive skin and can't use soap. Can I use Botanie's herbal soap?

Although we cannot guarantee it, chances are, yes. Most skin sensitivities are aggravated by the synthetic ingredients in lotions, creams, make-up, and soaps. Without these ingredients, however, there is nothing left to irritate your skin. Many people who have had trouble with dermatologist recommended soap or "sensitive skin" soap have found success with Botanie's Herbal Soap. This is because even doctor recommended sensitive skin soaps contain many unnecessary chemicals that can, and do, irritate your skin. Again, always read the list of ingredients in your soap. Although many people with sensitive skin enjoy using our scented herbal soap varities, we recommend our Unscented Soap for people with extreme sensitivities.

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Will botanie's herbal soap help with my eczema?

Yes. Although our herbal soap does not heal eczema, it will minimize both the redness and the itching. Again, remove the synthetic ingredients from soaps and there is nothing left to bother your skin. After using our soap, you'll be surprised to see just how bad your excema was before.We have many customers with eczema, and they all write to say the same thing: "Thank you!"

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What is superfatting?

Superfatting is a process by which soapmakers maintain extra skin-nourishing oils in their soaps. All Botanie soaps have superfatted recipes. Superfatting soaps does not make your skin oily. Rather, it allows your skin to maintain natural moisture levels.

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Do botanie soaps contain lye?

All soap is made from lye (NaOH, "sodium hydroxide"), including transparent "glycerin" soap and "melt and pour" soaps. (Transparent glycerin soaps are made from oil and lye, like opaque soaps, except that a sugar-alcohol compound is added to maintain transparency.) In a properly produced soap, all lye is consumed in the saponification process and presents no danger to you. Superfatting further assures that all lye is consumed.

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Do botanie's herbal soaps contain SLS?

No. SLS (sodium laurel sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate) and other surfactants are often added to soaps to increase lather quality. They are commonly found in soaps, including many marketed as natural soaps, as well as glycerin soaps, liquid soaps, and shampoos. As synthetic compounds, SLS and other surfactants dry out your skin and, for many people, cause irritation. At Botanie, we use neither SLS nor any other surfactants. We don't believe in cost-cutting short cuts. Instead, we prefer to focus on making a high quality soap that doesn't depend on surfactants for its lather. We carefully balance the oils in our base recipe to provide the proper fatty acid mix for a wonderful, rich - and most importantly - completely natural lather.

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What makes a good bar soap?

A good bar soap balances bar hardness (durability), lather quality (both fluffiness and stability), and moisturizing ability. These different properties come from the different fatty acids that make up molecules of the vegetable oils we use as the base of our herbal soap. Unfortunately, the fatty acids that are moisturizing are not those that contribute much to lather quality, and the ones that make great lather are drying to our skin. A perfect bar soap is the result of carefully balancing the fatty acids to maximize the bar's hardness, lather quality, and moisturizing ability. Still confused? Try our herbal soap. Trust us.

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Fatty acids sound like chemicals; are they natural?

All oils (and fats) have a molecular form called a triglyceride, which means they are made up of three fatty acids, (just chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms), and a glycerin-like base. In saponification, the fatty acids participate in a chemical reaction that results in molecules of soap while leaving the glycerin behind. We make all our herbal soaps from natural vegetable oils and the natural fatty acids they contain.

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