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Proof! is an independent testing service for the consumer of alternative and complementary health remedies and products, such as supplements and herbs, as well as eco and 'green' products and services. Its tests establish the active ingredients in products - which can differ dramatically from the claims made on the labels - as well as their reliability, shelf life and usability.

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Natural Soaps

Soap is one of those things we all take for granted. Yet, we’ve used it for thousands of years as part of daily life and in religious ceremonies. These days, the art of making soap has largely died away, overtaken by the trend towards detergent use. Today, most of us use detergents moulded to look like bars of soap.

Genuine soap is made in a one-step process that has changed little over millennia. The Babylonians knew how to do it, as did the Ancient Egyptians. Unlike detergent, soap creates little waste to make and little waste to use. Making soap requires two ingredients: fat or oil; and a strong alkali solution. Once mixed, the fat combines with the alkali solution to form soap. Good-quality soap will be about 70-per-cent oil, such as olive or almond.

Many modern liquid and bar detergents are deceptively labelled ‘soap’ when they contain absolutely no soap whatsoever.

Low-down on detergents
Detergents are ‘surfactants’ (‘surface-active agents’),...

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