Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are your soaps Kosher?
A: While many of my ingredients in my soaps are reliably Kosher, the goat's milk that makes up nearly 10% of the formula has not been tested or rated as Kosher. It comes from local farms and from healthy, grazing animals, but I would not be able to attest to its Kosher standing.
Q: Are your soaps Vegan?
A: Currently, my primary soap formula includes goat's milk in the recipe, thus making these soaps not Vegan. However, I do carry a small line of Oil-based soaps, which use natural oils and glycerine from vegetable sources and are completely Vegan.
Q: You say your soaps are all natural. Why are there chemicals in the ingredients list?
A: Soap making is the act of mixing fixed oils with an alkali (Sodium Hydroxide or Lye). The result is a chemical process called saponification, where the composition of the oils change with the help of the lye to create a bar of soap. During saponification, a sugar alcohol (Sorbitol/Glycerin) is created and acts as an emulsifier, allowing the soap to be able to do it's job as a cleaner. This means that while oil (which attracts dirt) doesn't naturally mix with water, a soap bar can suspend oil/dirt in such a way that it can be removed.
Q. What is Titanium Dioxide? I read somewhere that it causes cancer.
A. The debate over the safety of Titanium Dioxide, known as the "Angel White" natural pigment, is an ongoing one.
Pigments and Oxides, including Titanium Dioxide, are considered “nature identical” meaning they are the exact same chemical structure as the platelet minerals found in the earth. But they are created in a lab to ensure purity. Manufacturing nature identical products keeps the bad stuff, like lead and arsenic for example, out of the colorants. At FantaSTICK, the Titanium Dioxide we use as a colorant is rated at 99.0% pure.
Recently, studies have been released suggesting that Titanium Dioxide is a carcinogen, meaning that it can cause cancer. The study based those results on tests conducted on lab mice who inhaled and ingested large amounts of highly refined Titanium Dioxide over a period of time. Currently, the FDA has no restrictions on Titanium Dioxide used in cosmetics and topical products, as the amounts needed to match the study cannot be absorbed through the skin.
The short answer is: Unless you plan to eat my soaps - and some of them certainly smell good enough to do so - every day, for every meal, for several years, you are in absolutely no danger.
A: While many of my ingredients in my soaps are reliably Kosher, the goat's milk that makes up nearly 10% of the formula has not been tested or rated as Kosher. It comes from local farms and from healthy, grazing animals, but I would not be able to attest to its Kosher standing.
Q: Are your soaps Vegan?
A: Currently, my primary soap formula includes goat's milk in the recipe, thus making these soaps not Vegan. However, I do carry a small line of Oil-based soaps, which use natural oils and glycerine from vegetable sources and are completely Vegan.
Q: You say your soaps are all natural. Why are there chemicals in the ingredients list?
A: Soap making is the act of mixing fixed oils with an alkali (Sodium Hydroxide or Lye). The result is a chemical process called saponification, where the composition of the oils change with the help of the lye to create a bar of soap. During saponification, a sugar alcohol (Sorbitol/Glycerin) is created and acts as an emulsifier, allowing the soap to be able to do it's job as a cleaner. This means that while oil (which attracts dirt) doesn't naturally mix with water, a soap bar can suspend oil/dirt in such a way that it can be removed.
Q. What is Titanium Dioxide? I read somewhere that it causes cancer.
A. The debate over the safety of Titanium Dioxide, known as the "Angel White" natural pigment, is an ongoing one.
Pigments and Oxides, including Titanium Dioxide, are considered “nature identical” meaning they are the exact same chemical structure as the platelet minerals found in the earth. But they are created in a lab to ensure purity. Manufacturing nature identical products keeps the bad stuff, like lead and arsenic for example, out of the colorants. At FantaSTICK, the Titanium Dioxide we use as a colorant is rated at 99.0% pure.
Recently, studies have been released suggesting that Titanium Dioxide is a carcinogen, meaning that it can cause cancer. The study based those results on tests conducted on lab mice who inhaled and ingested large amounts of highly refined Titanium Dioxide over a period of time. Currently, the FDA has no restrictions on Titanium Dioxide used in cosmetics and topical products, as the amounts needed to match the study cannot be absorbed through the skin.
The short answer is: Unless you plan to eat my soaps - and some of them certainly smell good enough to do so - every day, for every meal, for several years, you are in absolutely no danger.