Botanie organic soap recommended for canaries

Posted on Oct 06, 2008 by Susie Collins in Blog, Healthy Living, Products, Susie Collins

Catherine, one of our canary flock, who blogs over at Breathez, posted some timely info about an organic soap she recommends for peeps with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. I was just thinking that I need to find some soap, so I’m going to put in an order and try some (unscented). I’ll let you know how it goes. Here’s what Catherine has to say about it:

I just have to pass on a little tidbit of information about the “greatest soap on earth.” Well, I think it’s the greatest anyway, and I’ve converted a good friend here too, who splits a wholesale order with me every six months or so. Botanie Soap is made by a small company in Missoula, Montana, and is available in several natural fragrances as well as no-fragrance-added. It has an olive oil base and just feels yummy on your skin. And it actually cleans, even my four-year-old grandson’s grimy fingers after he’s been digging in the dirt. Best of all, even Randl likes it, so we don’t have to have two separate bars of soap in the shower.

Here’s some info from Botanie:

I have sensitive skin and can’t use soap. Can I use Botanie’s organic 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.

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 organic herbs and plant extracts only. The soap base recipe is made from 100% certified organic oils. 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.

How organic is your soap?

We make every bar with a minimum of 85% organic ingredients. Due to the chemistry of soap, it is almost impossible to go much higher than that. Within the natural products industry, there is a conversation taking place about whether soap can be technically defined as “organic” (since soap is the result of a chemical reaction and most of the original organic materials have been transformed). For our part, we commit to making soap using ONLY organic base oils and keeping our soap’s ingredients above 85% organic. A soap’s raw ingredients are either organic or they’re not, regardless of the definitions, and Botanie commits to using certified organic oils.

Link to Botanie home page

Link to more about Botanie natural soap

Link to Botanie organic soap page

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Tags: Children's Health, Healthy Living, Home, Personal Care, Products

9 Responses to “Botanie organic soap recommended for canaries”

linda

06. Oct, 2008

Note of caution to people sensitized to patchouli and other EO’s, (even organic) -many soapmakers and vendors do not protect their unscented versions from contact with the scented versions, so they may become contaminated.
I’ve yet to find a company that has prevented such cross-contamination. I’d love to know how these guys do, because using organic base oils is great!

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Susie Collins

07. Oct, 2008

Thanks for the tip, Linda. Like peanuts in food manufacturing, but worse b/c I can see how even stacking the bars or boxes of the bars in close proximity with other scented bars could potentially cross contaminate.

I’d like to give this Botanie soap a try. I don’t have super sensitivity, I can use Bronners lavender bar or liquid (but not any of the mints). My biggest concern with soap after the fragrance issue is how well it rinses off. I can’t tolerate any soap that does not fully rinse off, even natural, nontoxic soap.

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mokihana

19. Nov, 2008

Susie, just wondering whether you ordered the unscented Botanie, and how it is for you? At this point I only used Tropical Traditions unscented virgin coconut oil soap … I use it on my hair, skin and use it to brush my teeth.

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Susie Collins

19. Nov, 2008

Mokihana, I still have some Bronners on the shelf, not time to restock yet. But Catherine over at Breathez could probably tell you more about Botanie. I think she may be even more sensitive to soaps than I am. Your Tropical Traditions soap sounds very interesting, versatile. I read in one of your posts that you put coconut milk in your tea! You can take the girl out of the islands, but not the islands out of the girl, yeah?

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linda

19. Nov, 2008

I so wish I could eat coconut, and use coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut based soap (I think all of the laundry products are coconut based) …

I ate too many non-organic chocolate drizzled macaroons one week a few years ago, and since then, my body rejects all things coconut based
: (

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Leslie

20. Nov, 2008

I have never found a soap i could use, because not only did it have to be scent free, toxin free but then also 100% gluten free – with non of those bad things cross contaminating into it ! UHG!
That is just too crazy to bother with – so i use a dry brush and a hemp knotted rope scrubber for my skin. Luckily my armpitts only smell like once or twice a month

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linda

20. Nov, 2008

I might be trying to mix up a bit of baking soda and water before showering, to use as soap and shampoo. It doesn’t look as if I’ll be finding anything else I can use. My only safe soap changed the formula recently, and I’m almost out.
I’m hoping that extra spoonfuls of olive and flax oil internally will help keep me balanced somehow.

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Susie Collins

20. Nov, 2008

Linda, what kind of soap have you been using?

Who else has ideas about soap?

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CatherineWO

21. Nov, 2008

Susie asked me to chime in here. I have used the unscented Botanie soap for a couple of years now, and it works for me. I really understand that what works for one sensitive person won’t work for another. I can’t tolerate vinegar at all, so I don’t have it in my house, but I do tolerate baking soda, so I use that for much of my cleaning.
Leslie,
I also have celiac disease and DH (the skin variation of celiac) so everything I use has to be gluten free also. The Botanie unscented soap is gf.
I understand the potenetial problem with cross contamination. I haven’t had any problem with this soap, but others might. I do know that the last time I ordered it, they sent me a brand new batch and packaged it specifically for me as soon as it was made, and then shipped it off to me, so it didn’t have a chance to sit with other soaps.
This company is very customer-friendly. If you have any questions, just call them. They are small enough that anyone who answers the phone should be able to give you information. If you’re concerned, you should have them send you just one bar to try (or ask where you can buy it locally).
BTW, I don’t have any commercial interest in this company. I just know how frustrating it is to find soap. I spent years trying different soaps (sometimes just using none).
Happy soap hunting to all of you. And thanks for such a great site, Susie. Sorry I don’t get here more often.

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