For years, I bought whatever soap and other body products looked good at the grocery store. It wasn’t until 2005 when I was bathing my children one day and looked at the ingredient list in the baby wash I’d always used (the one my Mom introduced me to) that I had an epiphany - most skincare products are filled with harmful ingredients, chemicals, and actual toxins. That epiphany led me on a journey to making my own goat milk soap. When the goat milk soap I put in the shower led to my husband’s fingertips no longer cracking, peeling, and bleeding, I knew that natural skincare was important.

Leaving behind the store-bought bath & body products we grew up with and embarking on a healthier lifestyle can take time and is a journey. If you’re at the beginning of the journey and have yet to fully embrace natural skincare products like goat milk soap, you may want to look at the results of a recent study of 2300 people performed by a coalition of groups.

According to the Environmental Working Group:

• 12.2 million adults – one of every 13 women and one of every 23 men – are exposed to ingredients that are known or probable human carcinogens every day through their use of personal care products.
• One of every 24 women, 4.3 million women altogether, are exposed daily to personal care product ingredients that are known or probable reproductive and developmental toxins, linked to impaired fertility or developmental harm for a baby in the womb or a child. These statistics do not account for exposures to phthalates that testing shows appear in an estimated three quarters of all personal care products but that, as components of fragrance, are not listed on product ingredient labels (EWG et al. 2002).
• One of every five adults are potentially exposed every day to all of the top seven carcinogenic impurities common to personal care product ingredients — hydroquinone, ethylene dioxide, 1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde, nitrosamines, PAHs, and acrylamide. The top most common impurity ranked by number of people exposed is hydroquinone, which is a potential contaminant in products used daily by 94 percent of all women and 69 percent of all men.
• Women use more products than men, and are exposed to more unique ingredients daily, but men use a surprisingly high number of products as well. The average woman uses 12 products containing 168 unique ingredients every day. Men, on the other hand, use 6 products daily with 85 unique ingredients, on average.

Those are just some of the reasons you should avoid commercial products and instead choose a natural bar of goat milk soap. Here are 8 more reasons why you should avoid most commercial products.

1. Natural skincare products do not include harmful chemicals

At Goat Milk Stuff, we recognize that it matters what you put on your skin. Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and any chemicals (such as sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and others) in your skincare products can be easily absorbed into your body and lead to many short-term issues such as skin allergies as well long-term health issues ranging from hormonal problems to fertility issues to cancer. We only use essential oils and paraben and phthalate-free fragrance oils to scent our products.

2. Natural skincare products are safe to be absorbed by your skin

As mentioned, your skin is going to absorb whatever ingredients you put on it. It's not enough to just avoid the bad ingredients. You should also use ingredients that are nourishing for your skin. Goat milk naturally contains many beneficial ingredients such as vitamin A, alpha-hydroxy acids, and selenium which can improve the health and quality of your skin.

3. Natural skincare products are better for the environment

There is no toxic waste from natural skincare products. At Goat Milk Stuff, we use food-grade ingredients that don’t cause any harm to the environment. And the use of bar soap does not require any plastic packaging at all.

4. Natural skincare products at Goat Milk Stuff are never tested on animals

Many commercial companies still test their products on animals which can cause discomfort, pain, or even death for the animals. We will never test anything on animals because we don't need to. Our products use natural ingredients that are generally food grade and known to be safe.

5. Natural skincare products are less irritating and allergy forming

Many chemical ingredients are irritating to the skin. They can cause allergic reactions and lead to exacerbating skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. While people may still have allergies to the ingredients used in natural soap, it doesn't often lead to more allergies or the worsening of allergies.

6. Natural skincare products lead to healthier skin

Chemical ingredients such as those made with petroleum-based products can actually clog your pores. Clogged pores (comedones) can lead to pimples, acne, and an inability of your body to detox (through sweating) and remove toxins. This can not only lead to problem skin but skin that looks older than it actually is.

7. Natural skincare products tend to be simpler

I'm always amazed at the complexity the ingredient lists on many commercial skincare products such as Dove soap. Natural goat milk soap tends to be much simpler. Our Castile Goat Milk Soap is our simplest soap with just 3 ingredients - organic extra virgin olive oil, raw goat milk, and the lye used to turn it into soap (there is no lye left in the finished product).

8. Natural skincare products offer peace of mind

There is no perfect ingredient, but the more we study and learn, the more health issues are discovered with ingredients that are created in the laboratory. The use of food-grade ingredients in a bar of goat milk soap can give us peace of mind that we are doing what is best for our skin and not harming it in any way.

It’s always difficult to find products that you can trust. Make sure you know what is in your skincare products because it’s important. Choose items only made with ingredients you can pronounce and know are safe. Goat Milk Stuff works hard to provide you with natural skincare options that you can trust.