At Valor Organics we choose to produce a product that works and will not be harmful to the Earth or its waterways.
This is our effort, as a business, to sit more lightly on the Earth.
Made from raw ingredients
How we make our products
Raw ingredients, traditional methods
We make our products from raw ingredients, by traditional methods. We do not use pre-made soap bases or refined, bleached or deodorised oils.
Cured for 6 weeks or more
Our artisan-made soaps are cured for a minimum of 6 weeks before being sold.
Organic & Fair Trade
We are committed to using organic and Fair Trade ingredients wherever possible.
Never palm oil
We never use palm oil or palm products (it is hidden in many ingredients within the cosmetic industry).
Nothing synthetic
Nor do we use synthetic fragrances, colours, preservatives, thickeners or foaming agents.
Essential oils: 1–3%
Essential oils make up approximately 1–3% of our ingredients. Where we can, we source organic essential oils; however, this is not always possible.
Where our oils come from
Organic Australian olive oil
The primary ingredient in our soaps is Organic Australian Olive Oil. We have several suppliers, from NSW and South Australia. One supplier is Certified Organic, one is Biodynamic (uncertified) and one is Organic (uncertified). For this reason, we cannot get full organic certification on our products – we are working towards that.
Macadamia, Avocado & Hemp oilsCertified Organic Australian oils
Cocoa & Shea butterOrganic Fairtrade
Essential oilsOrganic where we can – this is not always possible. About 1–3% of our ingredients.
What you won’t find in Valor
Palm oil
Synthetic fragrance
Synthetic colours
Synthetic preservatives
Thickeners
Foaming agents
No pre-made soap bases, and no refined, bleached or deodorised oils.
How to read a label
Know what you are buying
If you are interested, here is some more fascinating analysis of ingredients typically found in the cosmetic industry… even in shaving soap!
Let’s look at the ingredients list for a top-selling brand’s shaving soap (as at March 2014):
Ingredients A top-selling shaving soap, March 2014
7 out of the top 9 ingredients are palm oil or derived from the palm oil tree.
Palm Oil Elaeis guineensis
7 out of the top 9 ingredients are palm oil or derived from the palm oil tree. These are:
Potassium Palmitate
Sodium Palmitate
Potassium Stearate
Potassium Palm Kernelate
Sodium Stearate
Sodium Palm Kernelate
Palm Kernel Acid
Why? Palm oil makes very hard soap and it is cheap in terms of dollars, although it has an astronomical cost to the Earth and the forests, fauna and flora that lived in those forests that have been razed, burnt and planted with monoculture palm plantations. See What’s the Fuss about Palm Oil?
We are opposed to the use of palm oil whether it is sustainable or not, as what is so-called ‘sustainable’ is really difficult to prove. Secondly, even if there is “Round Table approved palm oil” available, while there is a demand for palm oil, native forests will be wiped out to make way for new (not certified sustainable) palm oil plantations.
Palm oil is not a necessity – just a cheap alternative for multinational companies and soapmakers who don’t care enough not to use it!
Tetrasodium Etidronate / EDTA
This chemical works as a chelator, making hard water soft, and makes soap work better. Some people may be sensitive to this chemical, aggravating skin conditions such as eczema.
Glycerin
An interesting one to see added to your soap, as glycerin is a natural byproduct of saponification in naturally made soap. This means that the natural glycerin has been removed from your product (to be used and sold in face creams, cosmetics etc.) and synthetic glycerin put back in!
Colours Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77491)
Titanium dioxide and iron oxides are mineral pigments. They are added only to change the colour of the soap and do nothing for your skin.
Isomethyl Ionone, Coumarin & Hexyl Cinnamal
Isomethyl Ionone
The IFRA standard restricts the use of mixed isomers of methyl ionone (including Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone) in fragrances because of potential sensitisation.
Coumarin, Hexyl Cinnamal
May be a synthetic or natural component of essential oils; however, if the manufacturer was actually using the natural essential oil, they would list it by its full name along with the hexyl cinnamal listed for allergen purposes.
Fragrance or “parfum”
The term “fragrance” or “parfum” on a cosmetic ingredients list usually represents a complex mixture of dozens of chemicals. Some 3,000 chemicals are used as fragrances.
Fragrance is an obvious ingredient in perfumes, colognes and deodorants, but it’s used in nearly every type of personal care product. Even products marketed as “fragrance-free” or “unscented” may, in fact, contain fragrance along with a masking agent that prevents the brain from perceiving odour.
Of the thousands of chemicals used in fragrances, most have not been tested for toxicity, alone or in combination. Many of these unlisted ingredients are irritants and can trigger allergies, migraines and asthma symptoms. U.K. researchers have reported that “perfume” is the second most common cause of allergy in patients at dermatology clinics.
Some fragrance ingredients are not perfuming agents themselves but enhance the performance of perfuming agents. For example, diethyl phthalate (pronounced tha-late), or DEP, is widely used in cosmetic fragrances to make the scent linger. Phthalates are choice ingredients in cosmetics because they are cheap and versatile.
However, the European Commission on Endocrine Disruption has listed DEP as a Category 1 priority substance, based on evidence that it interferes with hormone function. Phthalates have been linked to early puberty in girls, reduced sperm count in men, and reproductive defects in the developing male fetus (when the mother is exposed during pregnancy). Phthalate metabolites are also associated with obesity and insulin resistance in men.
Fragrance recipes are considered trade secrets, so manufacturers are not required to disclose fragrance chemicals in the list of ingredients.
Soap or detergent? SLES & SLS
Many so-called soaps and washes are actually detergents. That is, they contain SLES or sodium laureth sulphate – this makes bubbles and foam. Depending on manufacturing processes, sodium laureth sulphate may be contaminated with measurable amounts of ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies ethylene oxide as a known human carcinogen and 1,4-dioxane as a possible human carcinogen. Ethylene oxide can also harm the nervous system. Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) is a skin, eye and respiratory tract irritant and toxic to aquatic organisms.
