Welcome to Dancing Panda Soapworks F.A.Q.
Okay, what exactly is up with the panda thing? I have loved pandas practically since birth. My first stuffed toy was a panda bear, so this may have been the beginning of this. . .fascination. The thing I find the most interesting about pandas is that people underestimate them. Sure, they look cute and cuddly, but they can be fierce and tough-as-nails when the chips are down. People often underestimate me, too, so I suppose I feel that we have something in common.
You named your company "Dancing Panda". . .do you actually dance? You are quite observant. ^_^ Yes, I do dance, as does my not-yet husband. I have been dancing in one form or fashion since I was about six years old. Ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, ballroom. I haven't done it all, but it sure feels like I have. ^_-
Does your soap contain lye? The quick answer is, "No, it doesn't." However, it is in human nature to question how things work and how things are made, so I shall expound on this further.
All soap, be it artisanal or commercially made, is created using lye. However, the end product does NOT contain sodium hydroxide, more commonly known as lye. Soap is created through a chemical process called saponification when an acid, such as vegetable oil, meets an alkali, such as sodium hydroxide. They react with each other to form soap. Without lye, there is no soap.
Why do you use fragrance oils? Aren't fragrance oils bad for you? Personally I feel that fragrance oils aren't all that bad as long as they are purchased from reputable suppliers. Not everyone feels this way, of course, but hey, you asked.
There are several reasons I sometimes choose to use fragrance oils instead of a more "natural" alternative. The first is that some of the most commonly used natural ingredients in the bath and body industry are listed as 'threatened' if not completely 'endagered.' Sangre de Grado, the resin of a rainforest tree that is the inspiration for my Dragon's Blood soap, is an example of this. Every day, we are bombarded with messages about how the rainforests of South America are being leveled for a plethora of reasons, and I would really rather not be part of the problem. Palm wax yields a similar problem, as some manufacturers are leveling acres of forest in order to set up more profitable palm plantations. That is why we did not use palm wax until recently, as we have now found a supplier who is a memeber of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. (www.rspo.org)
The second reason is that not everything natural is necessarily good for you. I use a verbena-emulating fragrance oil in my Ginger Lemon Verbena rather than Verbena essential oil because it is phototoxic. If a substance is phototoxic, that means such a compound becomes potentially poisonous when exposed to ultraviolet light. It can cause burning, itching, and pigmentation change, and none of these things are particularly pleasant to experience. Unless you live in an underground city, one would not want to chance putting such a volatile compound on her skin in the name of using something "natural". (A search of on the web or a trip to your local library can give you all sorts of information on harmful essential oils.)
The third reason is cost. Some things, such as Chamomile and Sandalwood essential oils are very expensive. These oils and others like them can run as much as $150.00 US an ounce! The cost would be passed down the chain to the customer, and most people don't want to pay $20 for a bar of soap. Perhaps in the future we will be able to use such expensive oils, but for now we have to settle for using dried flowers infused in oil or fragrance oils instead.
Why natural soap? I've always enjoyed showers and bathtime and I feel taking care of one's body is very important. I spent some of my younger days working in retail stores dedicated to bath products but I was never very satisfied with what I was selling. There were too many artificial ingredients and they would bother my allergies.
Is Natural Soap Better? YES.
Why? Several reasons. First of which our soaps are made from grown renewable resources. We try to shy away from using endangered species products.