Soap

Soap Selection Criteria

How we decide which soaps belong on this platform

India's soap market is a mixed landscape: traditional cold-process bars, syndet bars, liquid cleansers, and many "herbal" products that hide their chemistry. Our job is to act as a strict filter — listing only soaps that are safe, transparent, and appropriate for Indian skin and environmental conditions.

If a soap appears here, it has passed a safety and performance gate that most mass-market products do not.

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1. Non-Negotiable Exclusions (Fast Fail)

Before any soap is considered, the product must pass an ingredient screen. Any product containing any of the following is automatically rejected:

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) / Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
• Parabens (methyl/ethyl/propyl/butyl)
• Formaldehyde releasers (DMDM Hydantoin, Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl Urea, etc.)
• Phthalates / Triclosan / microbeads / intentionally added endocrine disruptors
• Undisclosed "Base Q.S." or truncated INCI (no hidden bases allowed)

Why: These ingredients are proven risk vectors (irritation, endocrine disruption, contamination). We will not list products that rely on these shortcuts.

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2. Allowed Cleansing Systems (What We Accept)

Soaps must use cleansing systems that balance efficacy with skin barrier health and Indian water conditions:

• Cold-process saponified bars (allowed if TFM, pH guidance, and manufacturing documentation provided)
• Syndets / soap-free surfactants: SCI (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate), Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Decyl Glucoside — preferred for facial and hard-water contexts
• Glucosides / sarcosinates / validated botanical saponins (Reetha, Sapindus) when documented
• Functional botanical actives (Neem, Kasturi turmeric, Tulsi, Goat milk, Shea, Kokum) accepted when present at meaningful concentrations and fully declared

Why: These families avoid the strip-and-mask cycle of harsh surfactants and perform better in Indian hard water.

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3. Preservation & Shelf Rules (Practical Safety)

• Anhydrous bars (cold process) may not require strong preservatives but must publish manufacture date, batch, and shelf guidance
• Water-containing formulations must provide a preservative efficacy (challenge) test; parabens are not allowed
• Short-shelf / fresh formats must have explicit shelf-life instructions
• Labeling must include "best before / use within" and traceable batch number

Why: India's distribution and climate require documented microbial safety for water-containing products.

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4. Testing & Lab Checks (Must-Have Evidence)

For Cold-Process Bars:

• TFM (Total Fatty Matter) or manufacturing spec
• pH (measured in 10% solution) and user guidance
• Heavy metal report (Pb, As, Hg limits)
• Microbial limit test if processing includes water

For Syndets / Liquid Soaps:

• Preservative Efficacy Test (Challenge test)
• pH (target 5.5–6.5 where possible)
• Heavy metals certificate
• Hard-water lather / scum test if claiming "hard-water friendly"

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5. Labeling & Transparency (Non-Negotiable)

• Full INCI disclosure on product page exactly as on packaging — no "Base Q.S."
• Clarify origin/form of botanicals (e.g., "Neem oil (Azadirachta indica) extract 2%")
• Claims must be evidence-backed
• Usage instructions and transition expectations
• Shelf life and storage and batch number must be shown

Why: Transparency is the strongest defense against greenwashing.

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6. Certification Policy (What Counts)

• High-trust: ECOCERT / COSMOS / BDIH — meaningful for organic or natural claims
• Contextual trust: AYUSH + WHO-GMP for Ayurvedic therapeutic claims
• Supportive: ISO / GMP / cruelty-free seals help but are not sufficient alone
• "Natural/herbal" labels without INCI and test documentation are not sufficient

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7. Scoring Blueprint (0–100)

• Safety & Transparency — 40%
• Performance / Efficacy — 25%
• Formulation Quality — 15%
• Manufacturing & Certifications — 10%
• Sustainability & Packaging — 10%

Why: Safety dominates for a health-first platform.

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Our Promise

We list only soaps that meet a rigorous safety and transparency standard: full INCI disclosure, no SLS/SLES, no parabens or formaldehyde-releasers, documented heavy-metal and microbial testing where applicable, and evidence of formulation suitability for Indian conditions.