Pillar

Ingredient Files

One ingredient per article. Where it comes from, what it does chemically, why it is (or is not) in our soaps.

Chemistry BitesIngredient FilesWhat They Don't Tell YouFrom the Bench
A realistic product photo of a large bar of translucent natural soap resting on a wooden tree stump. A hand holds a magnifying glass over an attached educational infographic titled with three rules for reading soap ingredient labels. Rule 1: Weight Order – A bar chart shows large colored blocks labeled “MAIN INGREDIENTS (First 5)” followed by smaller scattered cubes labeled “SUPPORTING CAST (<1%)”. Rule 2: Latin Names – Illustrations of an olive branch and a coconut appear beside a scroll listing Olea europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil and Cocos nucifera (Coconut) Oil. Rule 3: Transformation – Two diagrams compare oil turning into a soap bar labeled “Sodium Cocoate (Real Soap)” versus oil turning into a chemical structure labeled “Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (Detergent)”. The clean, informative graphic is designed to help consumers understand real soap vs. detergent ingredients.
Ingredient Files

Pronounced THAL-ates. And other things hiding in your soap

Ingredients are listed by weight, highest to lowest — but only down to 1%. After that, the order is at the manufacturer's discretion. So the first five entries tell you what the product is. Everything after is the supporting cast.

By Krystal