Ida's Soap Box

You probably never thought of soap as a lethal weapon -- but it can be for some viruses. The CDC says that for good hand hygiene all you need is plain soap and water. Palli Thordarson, a Professor in Chemistry at the University of New South Wales, Sydney Australia says, "You can’t, even for a million dollars, get a drug for the coronavirus – but your grandmother’s bar of soap kills the virus."

Some "natural/organic" soap companies are using Sodium Coco Sulfate as an ingredient claiming that since it is made from coconut oil it is natural. Sodium Coco Sulfate (SCS), like sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), is synthetic detergent used to create lather and remove oil and grease. Should it be used as an ingredient in a product that claims to be "natural?"

When you gather a bunch of tiny soap bubbles together, it is called lather. Whether it is a bar of natural soap or shampoo or synthetic detergent soaps, dishwashing liquid or even laundry detergent, the process of bubble making is basically the same. To understand the bubble-producing secret of soap, we need to explore the chemistry of soap molecules and water molecules. Here comes the science!!

Although we work hard to make products so that they are always available, despite our best efforts, there may be times when some items are out-of-stock. Since we often receive emails from customers asking us “why” items go out-of-stock, I thought it might be helpful to explain some of the more common reasons.