Teach Soap

I am a newbie I have made a label for my soap that reads "100% natural" but then I realized (after printing 300) that I also want to use fragrance oils not always just essential oils. Can I still use this label for both recipes? How should I label it? also, for the ingredients label what can I write instead of lye/sodium hyrdoxide to make it sound better to someone that doesn't realize lye is natural? Thanks soapers!!

Assuming you're in the US, there is no standard definition of "natural." People are all over the map about this issue; you will get lots of opinions on this.

For me, natural means found in nature and minimally processed. Under this definition, virgin palm oil (bright screaming orange with an odor) would be natural, but bleached, refined, and deodorized (what I use personally) is not. For that reason, and others, I don't label my soaps as "natural." Sodium hydroxide is made in a lab. So are many (but not all) colorants used in soaping. Ditto for fragrance oils. I use "hand crafted soap" on my labels instead of "natural." I wouldn't feel comfortable about making 100% natural claims, but that's just me.

If you want to conceal the presence of lye in your soap because you think people will freak out, there are many ways to do this. You can say "saponified palm oil" or "sodium palmate" (the alkali salt that is produced from palm oil + NaOH). I use "sodium hydroxide" on my label and if people ask, I educate them. I do this, in part, because I don't want to do anything to perpetuate the myth that you can make soap without lye.

ETA: Fragrance oils should be listed simply as "fragrance." If you're using EOs, I'd list each and every one because users might have allergies or sensitivities. Some EOs are contraindicated for pregnant or nursing women, for example, or for people with certain medical conditions.

I agree with judymoody on pretty much everything she said.
"Natural" to me is a sales gimmick since the word isn't regulated and can mean whatever we want it to.

I too put Sodium Hydroxide on my labels. If the customer asks me about it I explain it's useage. There's way too many people out there already that think the soap they're buying is lye-free. Which as we know, is a lie

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Genny

To me, fragrance is not natural. But there is no standard definition for the word "natural".

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I'm in agreement with all of these ladies. I don't buy things just because they say they are 100% "natural". Doggie doo is "natural" but I don't want it in my soap! I read labels.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Ditto, except I use NaOH. But not because I do not want anyone not to know what it is, I do so to save room on the lable. Even using the smallest of fonts there is alot to fit on that lable! I do not say natural... I have used 'handmade; handcrafted or homemade' at times. I love it when people ask questions about my soap... I just try to listen to how much they really want to know.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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Genny

I use the word lye in my labelling and list all ingredients on the front of my soap labels (in order of usage). I think it sounds less "chemical" than sodium hydroxide or NaOH.
As for the term natural - it all depends i think. I do label my products as all natural...I use organic, unrefined and sustainable ingredients as much as possible and I do not use fragrance oils or synthetic colorants...only EOs and clays and herbs for colors. To me that is as natural as soap can get!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

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~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

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Genny

I also just wanted to say that I didn't intend to hurt anyone's feelings or upset anyone by saying that I think the word "natural" is a sales gimmick. This is just what I feel, it doesn't make it true. If you are going for a "natural" feel for your products and that's what you're about then fine, there's a market for everyone. Most of the "natural" sellers that get on my nerves are the ones that knock other soapers & B & B'ers publicly for using fo's, FD & C colors, preservatives, etc. to get more sales. If customers ask me if my soaps are "natural", I say no. I don't go into what makes them not natural or that I think "natural" is a sales gimmick. They can see the ingredients, so they can decide for themselves.

Also, I forgot to add that another reason I put sodium hydroxide on my label, is because I can't afford to have my soap tested to see exactly what's in it after saponification. So, truly I don't know what's still there or not. Plus, if I were to buy a cake, I'd expect the actual ingredients on the label that made up that cake, not just "cake, frosting, etc.", even though some of those ingredients may not technically still be there after baking. My dd's allergic to milk, so as a consumer, I need to know exactly what's in something before I buy it. I feel that if we demand it for food and large B & B companies, we should comply as well.

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Genny