Change the World Wednesday – 27th Feb

I got the hint from SF in her CTWW round-up that my beer had less than the required six ingredients…

So assuaging all vestiges of guilt.

Panic attack over, I have no fear of purgatory.

Last night’s dinner was a left over. The previous day I had cooked some chicken pieces in a cream sauce. A simple as recipe:

• ½kg (1lb) diced chicken
• Olive oil for frying
• Chopped Parsley
• Chicken stock cube
• Fry that lot off until golden.
• Add fresh cream (in that it comes in a box)
• Healthy splash of soya sauce

Done, eat and enjoy.

It makes enough for two, so when cool put the rest in the fridge for a quick reheat like last night when I arrived home at 9pm.

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This week’s CTWW, hmmm, soap?

This week review the body soap you are currently using. Please include such information as how the product performs, how it was packaged and the ingredients. Perhaps do a little research on the ingredients to determine if they are all environmentally and personally safe. You may include the name of the soap or not … your choice. You may also post your review on any platform, including a comment here. The idea is for us to take an honest look at the soap we’re using and share information so that we all learn.

I categorically refuse to buy anything packaged like this

My criteria for buying soap is simple: cheap!

I usually buy what is on special and I have given scant regard as to what’s in it. It’s an area that I have never considered.

The brands are usually Lux or Plamolive; I’m not fussy about brands. Currently they run around R$.89 cents a cake (USD.45c+/-). Anything over R$1 is off limits, I have said that I live frugally, and I refuse to spend a fortune on such things as soap.

My soap comes in a wrapper and I won’t consider these hand dispensers and anything like plastic tubes. They are expensive and a total waste of natural resources. My opinion is that they should be banned.

But what is in my soap?

Good question… next! (My answer to everything my students ask that I don’t have an immediate answer for).

What are the ingredients for Palmolive Original?

Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua, Sodium Palmate, Parfum, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Titanium Dioxide, Elaeis Guineensis, Olea Europaea, Pentasodium Pentetate, Cellulose Gum, Tetradibutyl Pentaerithrityl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate. – Answers.com

.

OMG, just look at that list!

Sodium Tallowate – is the saponified beef tallow. Saponification: To convert (a fat or oil) into soap. Free Dictionary

Sodium Palm Kernelate – This is a natural salt derived from palm kernel oil, which is in turn derived from the kernels (seeds) of the oil palm.

Aqua – I can’t find anything but a band called Aqua. (Music is crap, songs like I’m a Barbie Girl)

Sodium palmitate – Is commonly obtained by saponification of palm oil. To this end, palm oil, rendered from the coconut palm nut.

Parfum – Perfume (non-specific)

Sodium Chloride – Salt

Glycerin – Glycerol

Titanium Dioxide – whitening agent (There are some health concerns)

Elaeis guineensis – is a species of palm commonly called African oil palm or macaw-fat. It is the principal source of palm oil.

Olea Europaea – Olive oil

Pentasodium Pentetate – a chelating agent used in cosmetics and beauty products “prevent various mineral components from binding together and negatively affecting the formulation” (Source).

Cellulose Gum – a stabilising agent (Safe)

Tetradibutyl Pentaerithrityl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate – an anti-oxidant, considered low risk, used in many cosmetics.

So there doesn’t seem to be anything sinister in the soap base that I use; despite some evil sounding names, get a load of that last one, the name is almost a complete sentence.

The most evil aspect is the proliferation of ‘palm oils’ used. The extraction of palm oils is one of the major causes of deforestation in places like Africa and Indonesia.

What is the problem with palm oil?

Palm oil only grows in the tropics, where, if cultivated in an unsustainable way, it can have negative impacts on people and the environment. These include indiscriminate forest clearing, habitat loss for threatened and endangered species, poor air quality from burning forests and peatlands, and threats to the rights and interests of local communities. – WWF

I imagine that it would be difficult to find a soap, unless homemade, that doesn’t have palm oil or palm kernel oil.

But the exercise has been enlightening, I am now more aware of what I am washing with.