Trish said:The tomato's sugar content with the cream/milk makes it creamy and lathery.

The lye is what causes the chemical reaction (called saponification, which is where we get the word "soap") that turns the oils/fats into soap. Without lye, you don't have real soap, you have detergent.

By the end of the process, there is no lye left, only soap.

Trish
What is the difference between soap and detergent, other than detergent doesn't have lye?

Trish, I think this would make a great article! I'm curious about the soap-making process, too, and I've never understood the difference between soap and detergent.

The difference is really only the products from which they are made.

Soap is made from lye (which is potassium hydroxide) and is found naturally (you can even make your own like they did in the old days, but I use bought for a consistent product). It is then combined with natural fats and oils. My soaps also only have natural essential oils for scent, nothing fake at all in them.

Detergents are made entirely from chemicals that are not found in nature, but man made.

Trish said: My soaps only have natural essential oils for scent, nothing fake at all in them.

And, they are the best!

Trish, I am allergic to castor bean plants. When the sap got on my skin I got giant hives. Needless to say, I have not gotten within 50 feet of a castor bean plant since then (& that's when I was 6). I see there is castor oil in your soap. This is true of many handmade soaps & I see Burt's Bees has it in a lot of their products. I've also seen it listed in "natural" lipsticks & makeups. I will not touch any products that use it. Am I being overly cautious? I would like your opinion.

Ann- I honestly don't know. I know that castor plants give lots of people trouble. I've also never heard of anyone having problems with castor oil. However, those two bits don't mean much!

I have an upcoming carrot soap that doesn't have castor oil in it though

I don't blame you, and would probably avoid it if I were in your shoes unless I knew for sure.

Trish said:I have an upcoming carrot soap.

I love carrots so much that I might find myself tasting that soap ... on purpose!

flaflwrgrl said:Trish, I am allergic to castor bean plants. When the sap got on my skin I got giant hives. Needless to say, I have not gotten within 50 feet of a castor bean plant since then (& that's when I was 6). I see there is castor oil in your soap. This is true of many handmade soaps & I see Burt's Bees has it in a lot of their products. I've also seen it listed in "natural" lipsticks & makeups. I will not touch any products that use it. Am I being overly cautious? I would like your opinion.

I just had to go find out. (And first time "quoting' here, sorry)


" Ricin does not partition into the oil because it is water-soluble, therefore, castor oil does not contain ricin, provided that no cross-contamination occurred during its production. "

Apparently the sap itself may be irritating but when the oil is pressed from the seed it no longer contains the toxin. I guess if it did I'd be dead; my Grandmother was a big proponent of "a spoonful of castor oil" while I held my nose!

Here is a brief synopsis from Cornell:
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/p...

Shoe

Well, Shoe, thank you very, very much for that information. Hummmm..... there's that "provided that no cross-contamination occurred during its production. " Now, cross contamination is something I know something about being a celiac. And what I know about it is... if you aren't POSITIVE it ISN'T cross contaminated then you had best leave well enough alone especially if you have severe reactions. So, in short, I think I'm not taking any chances on it. Better safe than sorry right?

Now Trish, that carrot soap sounds very nice! And I am certainly interested in it. The whole castor oil thing is the only reason I have not ordered any of your soap yet. BUT it sounds like that will not be the case any longer. When do you expect to have the carrot soap? Can you kind of put me on a notify list when you have it please? What will the ingredients in it be?

"Better safe than sorry right?"

Yep, always, flaflwgirl.

Castor oil is gross, it was force fed to me as a kid, no way was I going to drink that stuff willingly.....YUCK!!!!

I vaguely remember times of having to take a (LARGE) spoon full of castor oil as a kid ... supposedly good for what ailed us! DOUBLE YUCK!!

Yep, that was the reason it was given to me. The other ugly thing we had to eat was crushed egg shells in a big spoonful of molasses.

mcash70 said: The other ugly thing we had to eat was crushed egg shells in a big spoonful of molasses.

Ewwwww ... crushed eggshells??? That's a new one to me, never heard of anything like that. I sometimes wash and crush eggshells to put out for the birds (supposedly supplies calcium, and grit for their digestion) but I can't imagine eating them myself!

The shells were baked in the oven first then crushed, we had to swallow, no chewing, it was supposed to kill worms and also for calcium. UGH!!

mcash70 said:The shells were baked in the oven first then crushed, we had to swallow, no chewing, it was supposed to kill worms and also for calcium. UGH!!

Wow!!!! The calcium part I figured out but to kill worms???? OY! That must have been rough swallowing those things w/o chewing!