Fine natural and organic body care company, Pharmacopia, is re-introducing their very popular bar soap this Fall (2004).

The new Botanical Bar Soaps will now feature Certified Organic Ingredients. Offered in 4 scent choices, Ginger, Lavender, Citrus and Rosemary-Mint, the change is in response to a growing demand for organic body care products from consumers and retailers nationwide.

These carefully created bars are the product of an arduous hand-made cold-process incorporating 74% organic ingredients that include organic lavender flowers, organic mint leaves, organic orange peel and organic calendula petals. Packaged in an exquisite French wallpaper wrapper, this is a beautiful, as well as environmentally friendly product.

"The demand for organic body care products is growing exponentially," says Pharmacopia founder Lisa Levin of her decision to take her classic botanical soap organic. "Wellness and beauty go hand in hand with organic products and I think that this is what has inspired such dramatic growth in the industry lately".

Ingredients in the Organic Lavender Soap include *Saponified with retained glycerin: soy, coconut, and non-GMO olive oil; essential oils of French Lavender and Roman Chamomile; Organic Lavender Flowers; Vitamin E.

Organic Rosemary Soap: *Saponified with retained glycerin: soy, coconut, and non-GMO olive oil; essential oil of rosemary, peppermint & eucalyptus; organic mint leaves; Vitamin E.

Organic Ginger Soap: *Saponified with retained glycerin: soy, coconut, and non-GMO olive oil; essential oils of ginger, lemongrass, tangerine and cinnamon; organic calendula flowers; Vitamin E.

Organic Citrus Soap: *Saponified with retained glycerin: soy, coconut, and non-GMO olive oil; essential oils of neroli (orange blossom), lemon and orange.

The 7 oz bars retail for about $11 and are available at retail stores, and online at www.pharmacopia.net.

*About Soap, saponification, and glycerin: Soap is generally made from a combination of fatty acids (fat) and alkali (ashes, anything with a low ph) with water. When these alkali and fatty acids combine, a chemical reaction takes place - saponification - in which the salts in the alkali (lye) split the fatty acids into their major components - fatty acids and glycerin. The alkali bond with the fatty acids and leave the glycerin behind. All soap is lye-based, but when the ratios of fats to alkali are just right, the process of saponification ensures that no lye remains in the soap once it is made. To this day, Mount Sapo (from ancient Rome) is the eponym of the word saponification.

As an outstanding humectant, glycerin attracts water to the skin. All soaps originally have glycerin in them, as it's a natural by-product of the chemical reaction resulting in soap. Not all soaps contain glycerin as many soap making processes do not retain it.

Most soaps today are made from tallow (beef fat), commonly listed as sodium tallowate in the ingredients. Vegetable-based soaps are generally preferred because skin can more readily absorb their fats and nutrients, not to mention the fact that bathing with beef fat somehow doesn't seem as appetizing as using vegetable based soap. No matter how pretty the packaging or how sweet the fragrance, unless the label specifically states that its vegetable based, commercial soap is usually made from tallow.

Pharmacopia's intriguing collection of herbal based creams, lotions, body washes, candles, and bath salts have found fans in celebrities like Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Gretchen Mol, Marisa Tomei, Philip Bloch and Drew Barrymore to name just a few.

Headquartered in Northern California, Pharmacopia creates natural, organic, therapeutic, and luxurious beauty products for body, mind and spirit.

Founded in 1997 by Lisa Levin, the company's upscale bath and body products are based on traditional healing and rejuvenation remedies from herbalism, aromatherapy, Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine.

Pharmacopia product lines include organic body wash, organic body lotion, shea butter hand cream, massage and body oil, herbal bath sachets, soy wax votives, and therapeutic bath salts in Rosemary, Ginger, Lavender, and Citrus.

Pharmacopia is currently available at retail stores throughout the United States; Canada and Paris.

 

 

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