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Vegan soaps (or vegetable soaps) are 
Vegan soaps (or vegetable soaps) are soap
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are us ...
s made from fats or oils of vegetable origin rather than from saponified
Saponification is a process of converting esters into soaps and alcohols by the action of aqueous alkali (for example, aqueous sodium hydroxide solutions). Soaps are salts of fatty acids, which in turn are carboxylic acids with long carbon chain ...
animal fat
Animal fats and oils are lipids derived from animals: oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides. Although many animal parts and secretions may yield oil, in commerci ...
s. The Vegan Society's definition of veganism encourages consumers to avoid all products containing ingredients derived from animals, so vegan soaps might include aloe vera
''Aloe vera'' () is a succulent plant species of the genus '' Aloe''. It is widely distributed, and is considered an invasive species in many world regions.
An evergreen perennial, it originates from the Arabian Peninsula, but grows wild in t ...
, castor oil
Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans.
It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its density is 0.961 g/cm3. It includes a mixture of triglycerides in which about ...
, cornstarch
Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or sou ...
, corn syrup
Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soft ...
, pectin
Pectin ( grc, πηκτικός ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural acid contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal, chemical component o ...
, or essential oils
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...
, while excluding animal products such as lanolin, gelatin
Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...
, lard
Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.Lard
entry in the ...
, and entry in the ...
tallow
Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides.
In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, includ ...
. Examples of vegan soaps include: Aleppo soap
Aleppo soap (also known as savon d'Alep, laurel soap, Syrian soap, or ghar soap, the Arabic word "غَار", meaning 'laurel') is a handmade, hard bar soap associated with the city of Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo soap is classified as a Castile soap as ...
, Castile soap
Castile soap is an olive oil based hard soap made in a style similar to that originating in the Castile region of Spain.
History
The origins of Castile soap go back to the Levant, where Aleppo soap-makers have made hard soaps based on olive ...
, Marseille soap, Nabulsi soap, and some glycerin soap
Glycerin soaps are soaps that contain glycerol, a component of fat or oil. They are recognizably different from other soaps because they are translucent. The clarity is due to the alignment of the soap molecules, which can be induced through the a ...
s.
Vegans may boycott soaps tested on animals. The Vegan Society defines veganism as excluding "—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals". According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities hav ...
(PETA), there are "plenty" of animal-testing free vegan bar soaps to choose from, "no matter your skin type or budget."
See also
* Shower gel, often synthetic liquid soaps or detergents *Soap substitute
Traditionally, soap has been made from animal or plant derived fats and has been used by humans for cleaning purposes for several thousand years. Soap is not harmful to human health but, like any natural or unnatural surfactant, it does have the p ...
References
{{Veganism-and-Vegetarianism-stub Soaps Veganism Animal product analogs