manKIND Shower & Shampoo Bars: 85% Organic
Not every ingredient listed below is in every bar, but these are the ONLY ingredients that make up our bar soaps. Check the ingredient list either on the product description in the online store, or the back of the packaging, for specific formulas.
Organic Palm Oil: (Elaesis guineesis)
We use organic sustainable palm, for the reasons of deforestation in tropical regions. Palm is excellent in making a harder bar of soap. A rich source of Vitamin A, it makes a nice hard bar when used in combination with other oils such as coconut and olive oil. It is less water-soluble and resists "melting" as many softer soaps do.
Organic Coconut Oil
(Cocos nucifera)
Coconut oil is expressed from coconut kernels. Coconut is solid at temperatures below 76 degrees. This highly saturated fat contains twice the heavy fats as lard. Coconut oil is commonly used to promote lather in soaps and gel. Wonderfully emollient and has cooling properties. Coconut adds to the hardness and creates "big bubbles" in soap. A little goes a long way, too much can be "too effective".
Water: (Aqua)
We only used distilled water in our products.
Organic Shea Butter: (Butyrospermum parkii)
Makes a creamier bar with a more "moisturized feel". Shea butter is an emollient. It is extremely therapeutic, helping to heal cracked, aged and damaged skin. Its chemical constituents help to heal bruising and soreness. Shea butter penetrates the skin and leaves it feeling soft and smooth. It has vitamin A, E and is highly compatible with skin. Shea butter is renowned for is skin softening and moisture retaining ability.
Organic Sunflower Oil: (Helianthus annuus)
Very similar to olive with a lighter/cleaner feel to it. Can have a tendency to get "sticky" if too much is used but the skin feels oh so nice when sunflower is used in the right amount. Sunflower oil is very high in essential fatty acids and helps to moisturize, regenerate and condition the skin. Good for mature, sensitive and dry, damaged skin. Leaves a second "skin" feeling when dry.
Sodium Hydroxide: (otherwise known as caustic soda or "lye")
An alkali used to bring about "saponification" in the soap-making process. The "lye" is dissolved in water and mixed with oils (in our case, vegetable oils) at a designated temperature to begin the chemical reaction that makes soap. At the end of the process, the chemical reaction between the ingredients leaves no trace of the lye, it's completely neutralized, and mild. Every bar of soap is made with lye. When people think of "lye soap", they think of as a harsh and abrasive soap that could take the paint off the wall (this could have been true because the soap-maker had no idea how much lye they were putting in). These days, we have it down to an exact science - in fact, our soaps are "superfatted" which means that the amount of lye we put in is completely neutralized while extra butters and oils remain in the bar. This is what makes our bar soaps so incredibly creamy and moisturizing - it's like using soap and lotion at the same time. Handmade soap differs from industrial soap in that, usually, an excess of fat is used to consume the alkali (superfatting), and in that the glycerin is not removed, leaving a naturally mild soap and extra fat (moisture). One of the main reasons that handmade soap is more skin-friendly than industrial soap (think Irish Spring or Ivory), besides superfatting, is that the natural glycerin is not removed during the soap-making process (and sold as a more profitable commodity - not very KIND of them is it?).
Essential Oils:
Naturally occurring aromatic essences from plants, herbs, and flowers. Distilled or expressed from the plant material to give us the many therapeutic properties our natural botanicals possess.
Dried Herbs, Flowers, Spices, and Oxides:
Natural botanical, mineral, and spice material is added for scent, exfoliation, color, and their own unique properties.
manKIND All Purpose Gel: 78% Organic
see "Liquids" ingredient listing for definitions
Organic Lavender distillate
Roman Chamomile distillate
sodium Lauryl sulfosuccinate
disodium Laureth sulfosuccinate
kosher vegetable glycerin
phenoxyethanol
Pro-Vitamin B5
Hydrolyzed wheat protein
Jojoba oil
Rosehip seed oil
vitamin e
tetrasodium EDTA
citric acid
essential oils
