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"HOW I BECAME A HANDMADE NATURAL SOAP EVANGELIST"

Canary in the Coalmine

Middlebury, VT – I had always been the canary in the coalmine. The first to react to chemical stuff in the environment, like when someone would enter an elevator wearing too much perfume causing me to cough and sneeze. Over time, my chemical sensitivity got increasingly worse and by 1985 I had developed a host of skin problems: Psoriasis on my wrists and ankles (like poison ivy); flaking "alligator skin" on my hands and elbows; and a red rash with little white bumps and irritation on my inner thighs and forearms. To top it off, my scalp started flaking!

As soon as I got out of the shower and dried off, I had to lunge for the body lotion or I would itch for hours. Missing a spot at night would wake me up. I kept a bottle on the night stand. I remember going through a dozen brands looking for a lotion that I would not react to! After years of this, and it got progressively worse as time went by, I began to suffer from bouts of depression during which I felt that there was something seriously wrong with me.

Then the scientist in me took over. I began paying close attention to when my skin condition was worse, and when it was better. Clearly, any contact with soap products made things much worse. I became a soap guinea pig, testing every type of bar and liquid soap I could find. I begged friends going abroad to bring back an assortment of soaps for me to try. Nothing worked, at least for more than a few showers. I began washing my inner elbow area with a little soap as a test. The skin is very sensitive there - but it is less painful than a full body test!

One day I stopped for lunch at a Country Fair here in Vermont. I was searching for an alternative to fast food, but I found something more fulfilling. One of the exhibitors was a couple of subsistence farmers selling their wares, including handmade bar soaps. The soaps weren't much to look at and they seemed expensive. The couple looked and smelled like they never used the stuff themselves! Chuckling to myself I walked away, and then forced myself to turn around and buy a bar. Carelessly, I put the soap in my pants pocket and forgot about it. The next morning I was just about to torture myself with another shower when I remembered the farm soap. Fishing it out from the laundry, I saw that it had mashed up and smelled vaguely like goat. Little did I know it was one of the most poorly made bars of handmade soap I would ever try!

Washing my forearm I winced, waiting for the inevitable sting and rash, but it never came. Instead my skin began to calm and soothe. I was astounded! If a poorly made bar of handmade soap could help my sensitive skin, what would a properly made one do? I sold everything and went into the soap business. That was in 1991, and I haven't looked back since.

After several years of experimenting on myself, here's what I have found. For sensitive dry skin use handmade soaps with aloe and oatmeal and light or no essential oil blends. For oily sensitive skin use handmade soaps with mint blends. Mint closes down pores and is great after working outside in the summer. Tea tree oil soaps help with infectious acne. Use tea tree oil soap for a few months and then rotate with other soap blends.

Even after switching to handmade soap, I continued to get occasional psoriasis on my ankles, wrists and belt line, especially in warm weather. I realized there was a link to the laundry products I was using. By switching to a liquid castile soap instead of commercial detergents I soon became symptom-free.

For shaving irritation, try using whatever handmade soap the rest of your skin likes, instead of commercial shaving preparations. Never reuse blades, and observe if certain shaving directions irritate more than others.

I have washed my hair with handmade soap for more than 7 years now and I no longer experience a flaking itchy scalp. No more "dandruff" cracks from the peanut gallery after about 3 weeks of use. After about a year of use, the lady who has cut my hair for years noticed that my chronic split ends also cleared up. My wife however, who has long blonde hair, cannot use handmade soap as a shampoo. It mats down her hair and makes it hard to comb through. All I can say is try it. Short, dry, thinning dark hair (that's me) responds well, all you other hair types have to try for yourselves!

Ingredients often found in conventional soaps can cause skin irritation or worse, some are known to be harmful to human health. Ingredient sensitivity reactions vary for each one of us, and may change seasonally or at times of stress. Below are ingredients that I often react to, or that have been proven harmful to human health:

Many of the compounds in fragrances are carcinogenic or otherwise toxic. The word "fragrance" on a soap label can mean any of 4,000 different ingredients, most of which are synthetic. Not only are fragrances potentially carcinogenic, according to Home Safe Home author Debra Lynn Ladd, "Clinical observation by medical doctors has shown that exposure to fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope and other behavioral changes." A surprising number of people experience a dry-skin reaction from many common fragrances. Even some fragrant natural essential oils, such as clove and mint herbs can cause skin irritation in some people.

Coal tar derived FD&C Colors can cause sensitivity, irritation or worse. A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients states, "many pigments cause skin sensitivity and irritation…and absorption (of certain colors) can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death." Do you really need pretty colors when they could cause you serious harm?

Propylene Glycol is not only used in traditional soap, it is the active ingredient in antifreeze! Because of its ability to quickly penetrate the skin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires workers to wear protective gloves and goggles when working with this toxic substance. Material Safety Data Sheets required by the U.S. OSHA warn against skin contact because it can have systemic impacts such as brain, liver and kidney abnormalities.

Triclosan, an anti-bacterial chemical found in some bar soap, is a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans. It is also a chlorinated aromatic compound, similar in molecular structure to some of the most toxic chemicals on earth: dioxins, PCBs and Agent Orange. Do you really want these substances being applied intentionally to your skin? DEA (diethanolamines) are hormone-disrupting chemicals known to form cancer-causing nitrates and nitrosamines. Isopropyl Alcohol's drying effects can remove protective oils and create microscopic cracks in the skin, which can trap and harbor bacteria and other pathogens.

Everybody knows someone with skin problems. Given the sheer number of things to potentially react to in our environment, the problem is widespread and worthy of serious study. There may also be ingredient interactions - much like drug interactions - either increasing sensitivity or increasing the potential for skin irritation. I have also noticed a link between air pollution and skin sensitivities. Any graduate students looking for a thesis?

I am very happy to report that I have been completely symptom-free since 1994, when I began using liquid castile soaps for laundry and handmade soaps for shampoo and shaving. Thanks for letting me share my health and beauty secrets with you. I hope this wonderful natural product works as well for you as it does for me.

Happy Trails!

Larry Plesent is a Master Soapmaker and Soap Evangelist living and working in the Green Mountains of Vermont. For more information on handmade soaps or liquid castile-based soaps and cleaners, visit www.vermontsoap.com