Do you have to list the ingredients in soap?

Do you have to list the ingredients in soap?

In the United States, if a soap is a “true soap” (made primarily with lye, water and oil) and makes no other claims than it is soap and cleans, it not considered a cosmetic and therefore does not require the listing of ingredients (although many soapmakers still provide an ingredient list).

What kind of lye do you need to make soap?

In bar soapmaking, the lye is sodium hydroxide. Liquid soap requires potassium hydroxide. When oil and lye are combined and heated, the result is soap. This chemical reaction is called saponification. Without lye, saponification isn’t possible, so lye is necessary to create soap.

How to label your soaps for sale-spruce crafts?

In the first one, you list the original ingredients, including the lye (sodium hydroxide). In the second one, it’s the ingredients as they actually are in the soap after the saponification process is done. Notice there isn’t any lye or sodium hydroxide in the second one.

What do you need to make soap from scratch?

Handcrafted soaps made from scratch require three things to become soap: oil, water and lye. It is the chemical reaction between these ingredients that turns them into soap.

In the United States, if a soap is a “true soap” (made primarily with lye, water and oil) and makes no other claims than it is soap and cleans, it not considered a cosmetic and therefore does not require the listing of ingredients (although many soapmakers still provide an ingredient list).

What makes a soap have a cleaning action?

What ingredients cause its cleaning action: To be regulated as “soap,” those “alkali salts of fatty acids” must be the only material that results in the product’s cleaning action. If the product contains synthetic detergents, it’s a cosmetic, not a soap.

When do you use the word soap on the label?

Or, if the product is intended to treat or prevent disease, such as by killing germs, or treating skin conditions, such as acne or eczema, it’s a drug. You still can use the word “soap” on the label. You can read the entire regulation at 21 CFR 701.20 . How are different “soap” products regulated?

Handcrafted soaps made from scratch require three things to become soap: oil, water and lye. It is the chemical reaction between these ingredients that turns them into soap.