Lab Report / test Results
Matthieu Rada
John McCormick
SOAP: A Chemical Analysis
Soap bars are everyday products that are essentially required by human society and culture. They should keep us clean, protect us from infection, and keeps us sanitary. It is healthy to be beautiful, as companies promote. Although often true, and although trusted, soap is not without health problems.
A normal bar of one of the leading brands, Dove Sensitive Skin, is loaded with carcinogenic chemicals and things like Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). These chemicals in large portions can kill or seriously harm people. The problem we face today with cosmetic products is this sort of toxicity.
Soap, due to modern marketing and promotion, is becoming a beauty product as well, and now uses the very same harmful ingredients. Fortunately soap bars are not generally as unhealthy as other cosmetics, however nearly always include one or two ‘behind-the-scenes’ harmful ingredients. Most consumers are not fully aware of what lurks in the product they absorb several times per day.
Companies are now beginning to change their ingredients to more healthy options. The problem with this change is that most of the more natural and organic materials end up making the soap’s price go up. The price of organic ingredients goes up due to the fact that artificial ingredients, mainly byproducts of corn, have a far higher yield than naturally-grown produce. Our solution plan to making a better soap is to find health substitutes that not only work well but also are relatively cheap.
A way we can make it cheaper is by including smaller amounts of the organic ingredients. We made tests of our own to observe the efficiency and quality of the three leading brands, which are Ivory, Dove, and Dial. The tests that are conducted analyze the bars’ basic abilities at residue removal, smell attraction, moisturizing, level of viscosity, foaminess, and packaging attraction.
Our results were average, not including anything very surprising or exciting. The soaps each had their strengths and weakness. Some would moisturize too much and not remove residue, while others would remove residue and not moisturize at all. Our tests were conducted in time segments, some observed after five minutes and then ten minutes.
Our Results
Residue removal - Dirtied hands with dried, thick layer of dirt all over hand
Product
Residue-Removing ability
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
Removed entirely
DOVE Sensitive Skin
More successful at scrubbing with tough soap bar, and actual soap not very successful
DIAL White
Removed well, and washed off entirely after a water rinse
The residue removing ability was what was expected. All bars removed the dirt although the Ivory Bar Soap did it the best. As it turns out, the harder the bars were, the more residue they removed. This is due to their viscosity. If they are very viscous, then the bar acts as a tough sponge (on the green side).
Smell - results based on surveying
Product
Attraction and neutrality of smell (Instant)
Attraction and neutrality of smell (After five minutes)
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
Neutral, fresh
very neutral
DOVE Sensitive Skin
bad, but natural expectation for soap
not attractive
DIAL White
Strong, but attractive!
“not my smell for men”
neutral
The strongest scent was Dial White, which became neutral after five minutes. The Ivory and the Dove bars were practically neutral from the beginning, and therefore most attractive.
Moisturizer ability
Product
Moisturizing ability (Instant)
Moisturizing ability
(After five minutes)
Moisturizing ability
(After twenty minutes)
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
Very moisturizing
feels absorbed
still cool, moisturized
DOVE Sensitive Skin
not moisturizing
cold, not wet
more moisturized
DIAL White
moisturizing
very dry
definitely drier than others
All bars moisturized relatively the same. The Ivory and the Dove made our hands cold, giving off a moisturized feeling.
Viscosity
Product
Viscosity (Instant)
Viscosity (After five minutes)
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
Very easy to mold
still not viscous
DOVE Sensitive Skin
Quite viscous, liquid but did not flow
absorbed mostly, and unable to move around
DIAL White
barely less viscous than DOVE, but still not flowing
liquid but moveable, however still does not flow
The soaps were very tough. Dove and Dial were about the same, with the Ivory being easy to mold.
Foaminess
Product
Foamability, bubbles amount (Instant)
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
A couple of large bubbles, and otherwise mostly super fine bubbles that allow for a soft foam
DOVE Sensitive Skin
Less fine bubbles, making for not enough to be considered foam or soft
DIAL White
fine bubbles make for a quite soft foam
Mostly very fine bubbles that make for softness and accurate cleaning. We were hoping to have a liquid like water with bubbles forming, but none did. Instead the soaps began foaming very finely.
Packaging
Product
Advertising: Appears cleaning, nice
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
simple (clean), “pure, clean, and simple” (what you’re looking for in product) → attractive
DOVE Sensitive Skin
ugly coloring, plain, “beauty, moisturizing, French” (sexiness) → unsuccessful
DIAL White
“Clean & Refresh” (moisturizing, comfortable), simple/bright/white (purity), high quality design (high-end) → successfully modest, underlying hopes
Not so outgoing, but high quality are most successful designs
Companies definitely wanted their product to work. However, they just pick the cheaper and easier ways to make the soap bars. The more natural approach is usually very expensive and a lot harder to actually create a soap that work. Inserting chemicals such as EDTA and other carcinogens is easier, but that doesn’t make it safe.
We tallied up the data results based on most successful brand in each of six qualities people want in a soap bar. Soaps that came highest in characteristic success earned two tallies. If they were in the middle, they earned one tally, and the soaps in last place earned no tallies per quality.
Ivory Bar soap - Original: I I I I I I I I I I
Dove Sensitive Skin: I I I
Dial White: I I I I I
Dove’s ingredients can be found easily online and in directories to include dangerous ingredients such as Titanium Dioxide and Kernelate. Although Dove tries to attract clients to its “purity” and “naturalness”, it is unhealthily unsuccessful.
However, the most successful of our tested products, Ivory Bar soap Original, is not free of problems. It includes Tallow Acid, a well-known hazardous ingredient in cosmetics that comes from cattle. Also used inside it are mildly dangerous and even a couple of FDA disapproved-of materials.
Based on our data tables, Ivory soap is the best bar soap in terms of quality and pleasure. However, it is an unhealthy option. We will do our best to solve this problem by creating a soap made from natural and generally safer, more trustworthy ingredients.
John McCormick
SOAP: A Chemical Analysis
Soap bars are everyday products that are essentially required by human society and culture. They should keep us clean, protect us from infection, and keeps us sanitary. It is healthy to be beautiful, as companies promote. Although often true, and although trusted, soap is not without health problems.
A normal bar of one of the leading brands, Dove Sensitive Skin, is loaded with carcinogenic chemicals and things like Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). These chemicals in large portions can kill or seriously harm people. The problem we face today with cosmetic products is this sort of toxicity.
Soap, due to modern marketing and promotion, is becoming a beauty product as well, and now uses the very same harmful ingredients. Fortunately soap bars are not generally as unhealthy as other cosmetics, however nearly always include one or two ‘behind-the-scenes’ harmful ingredients. Most consumers are not fully aware of what lurks in the product they absorb several times per day.
Companies are now beginning to change their ingredients to more healthy options. The problem with this change is that most of the more natural and organic materials end up making the soap’s price go up. The price of organic ingredients goes up due to the fact that artificial ingredients, mainly byproducts of corn, have a far higher yield than naturally-grown produce. Our solution plan to making a better soap is to find health substitutes that not only work well but also are relatively cheap.
A way we can make it cheaper is by including smaller amounts of the organic ingredients. We made tests of our own to observe the efficiency and quality of the three leading brands, which are Ivory, Dove, and Dial. The tests that are conducted analyze the bars’ basic abilities at residue removal, smell attraction, moisturizing, level of viscosity, foaminess, and packaging attraction.
Our results were average, not including anything very surprising or exciting. The soaps each had their strengths and weakness. Some would moisturize too much and not remove residue, while others would remove residue and not moisturize at all. Our tests were conducted in time segments, some observed after five minutes and then ten minutes.
Our Results
Residue removal - Dirtied hands with dried, thick layer of dirt all over hand
Product
Residue-Removing ability
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
Removed entirely
DOVE Sensitive Skin
More successful at scrubbing with tough soap bar, and actual soap not very successful
DIAL White
Removed well, and washed off entirely after a water rinse
The residue removing ability was what was expected. All bars removed the dirt although the Ivory Bar Soap did it the best. As it turns out, the harder the bars were, the more residue they removed. This is due to their viscosity. If they are very viscous, then the bar acts as a tough sponge (on the green side).
Smell - results based on surveying
Product
Attraction and neutrality of smell (Instant)
Attraction and neutrality of smell (After five minutes)
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
Neutral, fresh
very neutral
DOVE Sensitive Skin
bad, but natural expectation for soap
not attractive
DIAL White
Strong, but attractive!
“not my smell for men”
neutral
The strongest scent was Dial White, which became neutral after five minutes. The Ivory and the Dove bars were practically neutral from the beginning, and therefore most attractive.
Moisturizer ability
Product
Moisturizing ability (Instant)
Moisturizing ability
(After five minutes)
Moisturizing ability
(After twenty minutes)
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
Very moisturizing
feels absorbed
still cool, moisturized
DOVE Sensitive Skin
not moisturizing
cold, not wet
more moisturized
DIAL White
moisturizing
very dry
definitely drier than others
All bars moisturized relatively the same. The Ivory and the Dove made our hands cold, giving off a moisturized feeling.
Viscosity
Product
Viscosity (Instant)
Viscosity (After five minutes)
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
Very easy to mold
still not viscous
DOVE Sensitive Skin
Quite viscous, liquid but did not flow
absorbed mostly, and unable to move around
DIAL White
barely less viscous than DOVE, but still not flowing
liquid but moveable, however still does not flow
The soaps were very tough. Dove and Dial were about the same, with the Ivory being easy to mold.
Foaminess
Product
Foamability, bubbles amount (Instant)
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
A couple of large bubbles, and otherwise mostly super fine bubbles that allow for a soft foam
DOVE Sensitive Skin
Less fine bubbles, making for not enough to be considered foam or soft
DIAL White
fine bubbles make for a quite soft foam
Mostly very fine bubbles that make for softness and accurate cleaning. We were hoping to have a liquid like water with bubbles forming, but none did. Instead the soaps began foaming very finely.
Packaging
Product
Advertising: Appears cleaning, nice
IVORY Bar Soap - Original
simple (clean), “pure, clean, and simple” (what you’re looking for in product) → attractive
DOVE Sensitive Skin
ugly coloring, plain, “beauty, moisturizing, French” (sexiness) → unsuccessful
DIAL White
“Clean & Refresh” (moisturizing, comfortable), simple/bright/white (purity), high quality design (high-end) → successfully modest, underlying hopes
Not so outgoing, but high quality are most successful designs
Companies definitely wanted their product to work. However, they just pick the cheaper and easier ways to make the soap bars. The more natural approach is usually very expensive and a lot harder to actually create a soap that work. Inserting chemicals such as EDTA and other carcinogens is easier, but that doesn’t make it safe.
We tallied up the data results based on most successful brand in each of six qualities people want in a soap bar. Soaps that came highest in characteristic success earned two tallies. If they were in the middle, they earned one tally, and the soaps in last place earned no tallies per quality.
Ivory Bar soap - Original: I I I I I I I I I I
Dove Sensitive Skin: I I I
Dial White: I I I I I
Dove’s ingredients can be found easily online and in directories to include dangerous ingredients such as Titanium Dioxide and Kernelate. Although Dove tries to attract clients to its “purity” and “naturalness”, it is unhealthily unsuccessful.
However, the most successful of our tested products, Ivory Bar soap Original, is not free of problems. It includes Tallow Acid, a well-known hazardous ingredient in cosmetics that comes from cattle. Also used inside it are mildly dangerous and even a couple of FDA disapproved-of materials.
Based on our data tables, Ivory soap is the best bar soap in terms of quality and pleasure. However, it is an unhealthy option. We will do our best to solve this problem by creating a soap made from natural and generally safer, more trustworthy ingredients.