How to Read a Soap Ingredient List
Every box of KON soap ends with the same promise: an ingredient list worth reading. But ingredient lists can look like a page of Latin. Here’s how to read one, on our boxes or anyone else’s, in about a minute.
The order tells you the most
In the United States, cosmetic ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance: the largest amount first, the smallest last. Whatever comes first makes up most of the product.
On our six main bars, the first ingredient is olive oil, written Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil. If a soap claims to be “made with” something special but it appears near the end of the list, there isn’t much of it in the bar.
One exception: ingredients present at 1% or less may be grouped at the end in any order. Small amounts of scent and color usually sit there.
The Latin is just the plant’s name
Most ingredients are written with their botanical name first and the common name in parentheses, such as Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter or Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil. It looks technical, but it’s simply the most precise way to say exactly which plant was used.
Where is the “soap”?
Real soap is made when oils react with an alkali, usually sodium hydroxide for hard bars. This reaction is called saponification. Labels show it in one of two ways:
- They list the oils and the alkali separately, as we do: Olive Oil, Coconut Oil… Sodium Hydroxide.
- Or they list what the oils became after reacting, such as Sodium Olivate (from olive oil) or Sodium Cocoate (from coconut oil).
Both describe the same thing. On our boxes, the sodium hydroxide is marked with an asterisk, because it’s fully used up when the soap forms and isn’t present in the finished bar.
Watch for “fragrance”
US labeling rules allow scent ingredients to be listed simply as Fragrance or Parfum, so a single word can stand for a blend of many ingredients. We name every scent ingredient, such as Lavender Oil, Sweet Orange Oil and Frankincense Oil, so you know exactly what you’re smelling.
Spot palm oil, even when it’s hiding
Palm rarely says “palm” on a label. Look for Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Elaeis Guineensis or Palm Kernel Oil.
The small ingredients, explained
Near the end of our lists you’ll find a few ingredients in small amounts, each with a simple job:
- Sodium Lactate helps each bar firm up and release cleanly from its mold.
- Sodium Citrate helps the soap rinse cleanly, especially in hard water.
- Tocopherol (Vitamin E) and Rosemary Extract help keep the oils fresh.
- Kaolin (Clay) gives the lather a smooth, soft feel.
- Mica is a mineral that gives each bar its color.
A quick checklist
Next time you pick up a bar, ask:
- What’s first? That’s what the bar is mostly made of.
- Is the scent named, or is it just “fragrance”?
- Is there palm, under any of its names?
- Do the ingredients match what’s on the front of the box?
If you can answer all four, you know more about that soap than most people ever will.
Why KON
Try this guide on any KON box. The full ingredient list is on the back: olive oil as the base, scent from essential oils alone, no synthetic fragrance and no palm oil. Nothing is hidden behind a vague word.
Frequently asked questions
Why are soap ingredients listed in Latin?
Most use internationally standardized names that start with the plant’s botanical name, so the same ingredient is identified the same way everywhere. The common name usually follows in parentheses.
What does the asterisk next to sodium hydroxide mean?
On our boxes, it marks an ingredient used to make the soap that isn’t present in the finished bar. Sodium hydroxide reacts completely with the oils during saponification.
Is “fragrance” on a label a bad sign?
Not necessarily, but it tells you less. “Fragrance” can stand for a blend of many ingredients, while a named essential oil tells you exactly what’s there.
What is sodium olivate?
It’s what olive oil becomes after it’s turned into soap. A label listing Sodium Olivate and one listing Olive Oil with Sodium Hydroxide are describing the same process.
Does the first ingredient really matter?
Yes. Because ingredients are listed from largest to smallest amount, the first few tell you what most of the bar is made of.