# Ingredient Listings



## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Can we have a serious discussion on IF you list your ingredients, whether it be on your bars, website, FB page, whatever? And HOW? 

I list my ingredients in order of weight. Yes, I know it is not REQUIRED by the FDA, but I feel it is the responsible thing to do and the "full disclosure" actually helps me sell my soaps.

After reading the sunflower vs olive oil thread, it got me thinking. I have three formulas that I make. I do not duplicate scents within these three formulas. The costs of these three formulas are different so I make more money with some than others, thus the need for balance. As I said, I list the ingredients in order by weight. I do not use a lot of different oils for soap. All formulas contain 3 - 5 different oils. None of these list "goat's milk" as the first ingredient. I was thinking, if I make a formula with many more different oils, goat's milk would be my first ingredient. Of course, this all depends on the lye solution strength which for me is usually 35% (depends on the eo I'm using or if I really need a faster cure). 

What do you do? I've been on pretty much everyone's websites and I think a). you're not giving full disclosure or b). you use more oils than I do thus goat's milk really is the first ingredient and/or c). you're lye solution strength is <35% so you have more milk in your bars.

I hope I'm not insulting anyone with my "a" inference to "What do you do?". It's not what I mean to do. I'm just wondering if I'm selling myself short. It is about marketing!

Thanks in advance to all that respond.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Examples of ingredient listings from my website:

Ingredients: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Goat Milk, Green Tea, Sodium Hydroxide, Mango Butter, Castor Oil, Frgrance, Mica, Cocoa

Ingredients: Tallow, Lard, Coconut Oil, Goat Milk, Aloe Vera Juice, Sodium Hydroxide, Sunflower Oil, Castor Oil, Fragrance, Kaolin Clay, Titanium Dioxide.

I absolutely list in order by weight. It is my opinion that listing in any other fashion is deceptive, because that's what people are used to seeing for other things (food, for example) and so if I put something first because I want them to see, "Oh, look at this wonderful ingredient!" then they will think that there's more of that than anything else.


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## todog (Dec 10, 2011)

I list in decending order. Also if goat milk and an oil are equal in weight I will put goat milk first. Hope that helps and wish we didn't have to worry bout offending each other on this forum. We all want the best for all of us on here right? Thanks to Vicki for starting the forum so we have a place to go and vent, discuss, and even help each other. Wow what the heck happened to me. I must be getting old and soft but don't tell the devil! Lol


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

I list exactly according to (descending) weight, too. I record the exact weights for every ingredient for every batch of soap I make in my 'soap-book' since I'm still experimenting, and then I just list everything. I name essential oils by name, but list fragrance oils as just that, since my soaps are usually not named after the scents and I don't want to give away my exact combos. (haha, I'm sure you guys experienced soapers have already tried it all and done it all, but hey, I can be in denial and think I'm smart, right?)

Oh, and I do not use a huge amount of different oils and I'm basing my soaps on the Walmart Recipe, so Lard is usually the big ingredient. I have listed it as 'Lard' and as 'saponified Lard' and my other oils as 'saponified oils of' but I have not had anyone asking about it or commenting with either listing, so I guess I'm sticking with listing the real thing.

I hope this helps. 

Marion


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

I list in descending order, I don't list animal fats for the "gack" factor, I don't use a lye solution, I use frozen goat milk and add lye to it, never a drop of water in my soaps


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## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

I list in descending weight order as well. Goat milk is either the 3rd or 4th ingredient in my soap depending on the recipe. I also do not use any water at all in my soap. Only goat milk for the liquid (except for my coffee soap). I use a total of 4 oils but the shea butter is a smaller amount.


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## [email protected] (Sep 18, 2008)

My basic recipe:
Saponified: Lard, Goat Milk, Coconut Oil; Olive Oil; Shea Butter. 
Then any fragrance, eo, or clay/mica or additives (honey/oatmeal/etc).
I list eo if it's only one. If not, I list EO blend. Some of them I'll tell them if they ask what the blend is, some I'll ask what they DON'T want and remove those soaps from the choices. Like I had someone that didn't want ANY mint, so I picked out the soaps with mint and put them back til they chose others. I've had very few that even cared about the lard and usually for religious reasons--ok--I've got at least three soaps without lard. I've had a few that didn't want shea butter, so they're left with pretty much castile (or a specialty bar). I only recall one that didn't want olive oil--<shrug> --sorry. 
I've found that most people that buy homemade *natural* soaps, want to know what's in it in plain English. So I list familiar names in descending order. Not hard to figure out my basic recipe. :biggrin I use 32 oz milk and have been playing with using doughnut fry (100% hard vege/soy) for half the lard, so would be equal amounts lard, vege, coconut and milk. So I COULD list milk as the first ingredient.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Home Grown Raw Goat Milk. Unrefined Shea and Cocoa Butter (one soap also contains Mango). Vanilla Bean (or Herb) Infused, Olive, Coconut, Sunflower and Safflower Oils. (Herbs, Clay, Mica, Oats, Honey etc are added here) Fragrance Oil (or Essential Oils). Vitamin E. 

(The parenthesis are not on the card, it depends upon the soap which label is used) I also have a 100% coconut oil soap and a 100% olive oil soap. I also do a 100% cucumber puree for the liquid, another that is all aloe vera etc.. I do not list the loofah in my loofah soaps, nor the bee pick in my bee soaps, nor the fiber on my wash cloth soaps. I do not list lye, because when saponification is over, there is no lye. Course there are no butters and oils either, so is not soap labeling all about marketing? So why pretend it is anything but?

I label for my customers, not for the label police. Who do not exist except in the minds of other soapers. Vicki


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

I always place the Sodium hydroxide and Goat milk first. Then place my oils in decending order, then herb, then fragrance, then colorant. When I add resins it goes under herbs.

I want the first thing my customers to see on the ingredients list is the lye and the goats milk. I have learned this through sales and shows. If that is not the first thing then they ask and don not look further. "What chemicals are used to make the soap?" or "Its says 100% on the label but I don't see it in the ingredients list" just some things I have heard from customers. The rest is by %.
Tam


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## VickiLynne (Feb 8, 2008)

:lightbubl So if nothing but soap survives the saponification process, maybe the label should read......

Ingredients: Soap :biggrin

Sorry, just have been in a mood today :rofl

Must be the lye fumes!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Your exactly right Vicki....other than organic materials like herbs, clays, micas, colorants, beeswax, oats etc...it is just soap. Vicki


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

Ha, that does it. My new label will read:

Ingredients:
SOAP 
(but better than the kind you're buying now)

:rofl


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

And that is probably why the labeling rules are the way they are.....you are not required to list ingredients because it's simply soap.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Ok, some specific questions, and I'm not judging anyone, by an means.

SherrieC: So you don't list any animal fats. Do you use them and don't list them or do you just not use them at all? If so, what about any customers who wouldn't use them either for religious reasons or other beliefs about animal fats?

Tammy/Vicki: So you put goat milk first even if it not the most ingredient contained in the soap by weight?


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

I label for the customers, the front of my Soap say's ( 100 % Goat Milk Soap) That's the real ingredient list right? The customers that' I've ran into like that also couldn't use Goat Milk in a soap either, for instance "Strict Vegan's" The fat in the goat milk is an animal fat.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Well I told you why I put those two first. I am not hiding anything. AND when I use Titanium Dioxide I do put that in seperately as a ingredient.


I like the "soap" idea for labeling! Hhehehehe and now that Washington state has lifted the prohibition I can advertize heavily on that. Hemp oil, does more than get you high!
Tam


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## Qadosh Adamah Lamanchas (Nov 2, 2012)

SherrieC said:


> I list in descending order, I don't list animal fats for the "gack" factor, I don't use a lye solution, I use frozen goat milk and add lye to it, never a drop of water in my soaps


I use beef tallow that I render myself. I've wondered how to "delicately" list it. Any euphemisms for it that anyone know of?


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## SherrieC (Oct 26, 2007)

ummmm, bovine lipids, or Lipids de vaca


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## Qadosh Adamah Lamanchas (Nov 2, 2012)

LOL! Bovine Lipids! I love it :lol

Still not much of a delicate euphemism, though.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I just put tallow. And am happy to talk about it if anyone asks. Most people don't care, those that do, buy one of my veggie bars. I have one very good customer whose husband is Hindu (I think), so it is very important to them to know that there is no tallow in the soaps they are using.


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## todog (Dec 10, 2011)

After checking out some all natural soap websites I notice that color wasn't listed on any of them. Some of them had pretty vibrant colors! Why not list the colors?


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I want to know what a 'goat milk base' is that Zum has on their labels.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Kalne said:


> I want to know what a 'goat milk base' is that Zum has on their labels.


Yeah, and I'd like to know where they get their "Sandalwood" from. At $1700/lb, is it really sandalwood in there?


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2012)

Cindi, there are places you can get real sandalwood, so much cheaper...


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

MRFBarbara said:


> Cindi, there are places you can get real sandalwood, so much cheaper...


Where, Barb? I've looked and looked. I've found some "faux" sandalwood, but not the real deal.


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