Monday, December 1, 2008

Healthy Living: Make your own soap

Your soap touches your skin every day (or hopefully it does!). And while there are lots of great eco-friendly, organic, natural, etc... kinds of soaps out there, Greeniacs.com cites a myriad of examples of why it's better to make your own:

One, it's better for the environment: "One study by the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that about 75% of the main chemicals in antibacterial soap are passed through wastewater filtering to be later used to fertilize crops."

Two, it's better for your health: Many mass-produced soaps contain a large quantity of synthetic ingredients that could have unhealthy side effects ...such as birth defects, liver damage, and cancer."

Three, it's better for the animals: "Since you make the soap yourself, you can be sure that you won't be supporting any animal testing. An anti-bacterial chemical, Triclosan, commonly used in soaps, is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency as being a pesticide and is believed to destroy fragile aquatic ecosystems."

Four, it's more cost effective: "Compared to actual soap, homemade soaps can be quite cost-effective since you can buy many of the materials in bulk."
I don't know about you, but I'm really interested in making my own soap now! I also like the idea of giving it as a gift for the holidays, expectant moms, or for the bridal party. Visit BrambleBerry.com, a socially responsible mega-site, for all kinds of soap-making supplies, kits, and packaging! You can also check out their blog for an Eco-Chic Soap Making Tutorial.

Pictures above from the Soap Queen

Check back at 2 p.m. EST for the winner of the Lunch Tote give-away!

3 comments:

Amanda said...

If I had the patience I would definitely be making loads of soap for Christmas gifts. You always have the best ideas!

Anne-Marie said...

Thanks for posting this idea and the link to the tutorial on the blog. =) I think soap makes a great gift for everything but especially wedding favors.

Robin Feltner said...

Loving that eco-twist. I'm all for making soaps!

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