What is vegan soap made out of, & is it better for you than regular soap?!

Oh my gosh, I read this and thought you said "soup". Haha. Oh dear.

Anyway, it's not about being vegan or not vegan (in terms of healthy soaps, lotions, etc). It's about the chemicals a lot of companies put in their products that are linked to cancer and are proven carcinogens, etc. I don't TOUCH anything that has parabens, PEG, EDTA, MEA/TEA/DEA, etc. Go to http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ and enter some of the ingredients on your shampoo & soaps to see how they fair on the hazard scale.

So while it's nice to buy vegan products, what you should really try to avoid are the chemicals. If you're vegan then clearly you should avoid animal products. But being vegan doesn't mean avoiding chemicals. Something can be "vegan" (no animal ingredient or animal testing) but could still include parabens (which are bad). If that makes sense. I buy vegan AND natural based products. "Natural" could include honey or beeswax, though. So you have to read the labels if you're looking to avoid things like that too.

Watch this for more info ---> http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/

Vegan

Some are, some are not. Pure glycerin soap base is made only from plants, and is gentler on the skin than most commercial soaps and those made from lye. Glycerin itself is a mild humectant (moisturizer), so it's better for dry skin.

However, commercially made glycerin soaps may contain ingredients that aren't vegan, so while most vegan soaps are made from glycerin, not all glycerin soaps are vegan. Also, keep in mind that some natural ingredients, such as clove oil, can be equally as harsh to skin as the chemicals in commercially made soaps. When choosing even a vegan soap, you should look carefully at the ingredients. Essential oils such as clove, cinnamon and sandalwood can cause a bad rash if you're sensitive to them. Green tea is a good natural antibacterial, but should be added sparingly as massive amounts can be very drying. (Of course all of the oils I've just mentioned can be beneficial in minute amounts). Gentler options are lavender, chamomile and olive oil.

As a counter argument to those saying that you spend more on vegan soap, a 2lb block of the base material costs between $6-$10 and is available at most craft stores. Just melt, add a bit of water and oil and cool it back into blocks and you have soap you can use, but it's better to add some additives such as olive oil or honey in addition to water. Depending on what you add, you can have soap that's around 75 cents to $1 a bar if you mix it up yourself - and you have complete control over what goes into it. There are some good recipes here:

http://www.eaudrey.com/glycerin.htm

http://www.eaudrey.com/glycerin.htm

There is no discernable difference between vegan and non-vegan soap aside from the oils used to make the soap. Vegan soap is made with only vegetable oils, while non-vegan soap can contain milk, honey, and/or animal fats.

Animal fats are not any lesser in quality than vegetable oils in terms of soapmaking. Every single oil on the planet has a different fatty acid profile and different oils will bring different qualities to the soap. many people swear by soap made with lard, which actually makes a really nice soap. On the other hand, a 100% olive oil soap is incredible as well.

Now, if you are comparing the handmade vegan soap to a bar of, say, Ivory soap (made with animal oils usually), there is a tremendous world of difference. Not because of the vegan/nonvegan factor, though, but because commercial cheap soap is made with cheap ingredients and has all the good stuff taken out (such as glycerin, which is a natural byproduct of the chemical reaction between fats and lye that creates soap).

Judging from your question I think the second part was the answer to your question, but again - the difference between vegan soap and "regular soap" is not because it is vegan, but because vegan soap is generally made by hand and due to that fact is better quality. If Ivory soap came out with a vegan version of their regular standard Ivory bar, I don't think it would be much better in quality

Soapmaker for 15 years.

Vegan soap is highly beneficial in a variety of ways. It benefits the environment, as it contains natural ingredients. Vegan soap is also less harsh on your skin, leaving your skin healthier. These vegan soaps are cruelty-free and contain no animal products.

All-natural vegan soaps are not made from rendered animal fats, like many regular soaps. They are made from natural oils like those from almonds, coconuts, and olives. These oils are moisturizing and healthy for your skin and produce nicely scented coconut soap or almond soap.

Not only is vegan soap an all-natural soap, but it also helps the environment and is cruelty-free by not relying on the livestock industry, which uses a large amount of resources.

http://www.vegansoap.org/

It makes no difference. There are non-vegan soaps that do not contain antibiotics or harsh perfumes and dyes. Both have the same chemical action on dirt. It's only a matter of personal ethics/luxury of outrage.