Castile Soap is Every Mom’s Household Hero Ingredient. Here’s Why

Tue, June 2, 2020 at 2:56 PM UTC

5 min read

Chances are you didn’t look too closely at your everyday cleaning, bath and beauty products until you brought baby home and realized how toxic everything in your house really is (or, at least, that’s the way it seems). Or maybe the COVID-19 pandemic has shed a new light on your habits. Or maybe you’ve been on the organic straight and narrow for some time now (props!). Either way, safer-for-you castile soap has probably entered your radar at some point, but do you know how multi-purpose it actually is?

Tell me more about this castile soap stuff

For those who aren’t familiar, a quick lesson: Castile soap is true soap, a blend of acids (like organic oils) and base (like potassium hydroxide). When they interact, or saponify, they create a naturally foaming soap that doesn’t require any artificial preservatives or foaming agents. It’s a big deal because most hand soaps are actually detergents (not soaps!), which are synthetic blends of surfectants to make them foamy, emulsifiers to keep ingredients blended and preservatives to keep them from growing yeast, mold and bacteria.

And what’s so bad about that?

Okay, that last part sounds pretty good at first glance, but the catch is that those detergent ingredients are toxic and can enter your blood stream. This is especially noteworthy if you’re pregnant, because a benchmark investigation by the EWG found 287 chemicals in umbilical cord blood. Um, no thank you.

Castile soap products, like the ones from Earth Mama Organics, on the other hand are carefully formulated to be safe and effective for pregnant and breastfeeding women, their babies and the rest of the family. Earth Mama castile soaps are made with organic herbs, oils, shea butter and calendula and are third-party certified by Oregon Tilth, not to mention dermatologist and clinically tested for irritation. Last stat (it’s a good one): They’re rated one on the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, which is the lowest hazard rating a product can achieve.

So, moms, now that you’re caught up on the “why,” let’s get into the “how” of castile soap uses.

2. It’s an Excellent Hand Soap

We’ve always been serious about hand washing, but lately, its importance has been hammered home. Swap what’s currently at your sinks for castile soap, which destroys germs without being harmful to your skin. From an article in The New York Times: “A drop of ordinary soap diluted in water is sufficient to rupture and kill many types of bacteria and viruses, including the new coronavirus that is currently circling the globe.” Enough said.

2. And Just as Good as a Body Wash

Stick a bottle in your shower and use it to scrub the day away. Without stripping your skin or absorbing anything unsavory.

3. It’s Safe for Washing Babies

Fun fact: It’s so safe that it’s actually used by hospital NICU’s to clean fragile newborns. Earth Mama’s baby wash packaging in particular has a foaming pump to help the soap stay put where applied, so it won’t slide into your baby’s eyes.

4. And Great for Making Your Own Baby Wipes

Trust us, it’s not nearly the pain it sounds like, and it’s way more economical than the store bought variety. Here’s how to make them yourself:

Cut up an old cotton t-shirt or receiving blanket
Mix 1 cup of distilled or boiled water, 1 tablespoon of castile soap and 1 tablespoon of calendula baby oil
Place the cut up “wipes” into an air-tight container
Pour the solution over your wipes, making sure they’re thoroughly soaked
Seal the container and shake it up
Use for 2-3 weeks

5. You Can Use It to Make DIY Produce Wash

Another easy hack that’ll save you money and ensure a healthy home, this DIY is perfect for disinfecting your supermarket haul:

Fill a 1 quart-sized spray bottle with water
Add 1 teaspoon of castile soap (don’t do it the other way around or it’ll foam up too much)
Spritz your fruits and vegetables, then scrub them under running water and rinse

6. And It Can Even Be Used to Clean the House

Have you been disinfecting more often lately? Same. Does your toddler like to lick the freshly cleaned countertops? Also same. Keep your little guy free from toxins by whipping up your own castile soap kitchen and bathroom scrub:

Make a pile of baking soda on the surface you want to clean (about ¼ a cup is probably enough)
Use your finger to make a dent in the top of the pile
Pour about one tablespoon of castile soap into that dent
Grab a sponge, wet it, then use it to blend the mixture and scrub down the area

Right now, Earth Mama Organics is offering 20 percent off regular-priced items site-wide with code PUREWOW (kits and bundles excluded). Shop our top baby wash picks below and be on your way to a cleaner, safer home.