I want to make a honey soap.While doing extensive research (Thank you Google...) I have come across many informative and beneficial articles....
" The fact is, researchers are turning up more and more new evidence of honey's medical benefits in all directions. The benefits of honey don't just stop at satisfying the palate; honey also offers incredible antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties for our body and health, and amazing healing properties as a head-to-toe remedy, from eye conjunctivitis to athlete foot. Its powerful healing attributes have long been used thousands of years ago and known to promote healing for cuts, cure ailments and diseases, and correct health disorders for generations after generations..." -http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/
"Due to its qualities honey is widely used in different skin care products. It is used as a skin care product (for) centuries. Cleopatra used honey and milk for her bath to keep her looking youthful..." -http://www.skincareresourcecenter.com/honey-and-skin-care.html
"Honey is rich in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, which are wonderful beauty aids that nourish the skin. Honey is high in vitamin C, a variety of B vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin, and pantothenic acid, as well as minerals such as potassium. It is rich in amino acids, the basic building blocks of life, essential to our very existence." -http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/honey-skin-care.html
Really, I could go on and on... But it boils down to the fact that I want to make honey soap! NATURAL honey soap, not pre-made, stored on a shelf for years, honey soap, but the real thing.
My dilemma... Is or isn't Honey Vegan? Some say yes and some say no. I pride myself on having high quality, Vegan friendly, cruelty free products. Does producing a soap containing honey, even with all of the potential benefits, directly violate my prime directive?
I would love to open this up for commentary! NOT a debate on whether Vegan is better or not...I enjoy fat amounts of steak and I love meat. I DO live in farm land after all...however, I am STRONGLY against animal cruelty. No person has any right to torture animals, especially in the name of beauty production.
When you try to define honey as Vegan it gets messy and sloppy and I do not like it. Would organic honey be a better alternative? Then you get to jump into the "What is Organic, by definition" debate...
So really, I am asking my friends, and customers and whomever, what do YOU think of Luxury Lane Soap releasing a line of honey based products? Do you feel is a direct contradiction to my Vegan aspect, or do you feel it is an avenue which should be explored for the health benefits?
♥
5 comments:
Not a vegan, but have some more than usual exposure to both vegans and vegetarians (as well as pescitarians and I think some Twinkietarians).
I believe in a very strictly vegan sense, honey cannot be considered vegan. However, if someone tried to argue with me that sugar cane processing was healthier for us and the planet than harvesting honey, I'd have major issues with that. As with most issues, when it starts coming down to ideological purity, things can get a little silly.
This is an issue I know many vegans wrestle with, but for me personally it comes down to: is the apiary run in a responsible (for the earth, for the bees, for us) manner?
Bees produce more honey than they need for the very simple reason that in a natural setting, lots of things come and eat the honey. My sense of empathy does not extend to imagining the bees being "hurt" by being given a safe place to live and having all their needs attended to. It may not be strictly "vegan" but I believe it's karmically more responsible than the alternatives.
i stumbled across this site...
http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm
I was vegetarian FOR YEARS... i always used organic honey. Maybe you gear this towards vegetarians and openly say its not Vegan but still find an established organic distributer.
I myself would LOVE honey soap!
Hi! Thought I would leave a couple of thoughts and how I use honey.
I recently learned that most honey farms raise their bees on high fructose corn syrup, 2/3rds of the honey produced in America is made this way.
You could choose organic honey, but as of now, there are few federal standards for honey, no government certification and no consequences for making false claims.
I get my honey, for consumption and for soap making, from a local honey farm in my town, which is awesome. I was able to meet who tends the bees and how they practice their beekeeping.
Local, raw and unrefined, couldn't get any better! Maybe this could be an option for you - especially since you live in the Midwest, I'm sure there have got to be some there if there is one all the way down here in South Florida.
I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan, so I'm not sure what vegan standards are, but I was under the impression that they don't use it.
I feel like the addition of honey in my soap makes an amazing bar, which is super awesome for sensitive skin, I use it on my little girl. I, too, was convinced to use it after I had read the articles about the benefits of honey.
Hope you come to a good decision that feels right for you!
Betsy
Hey. Love your soaps and your blog.
As far as honey goes I think you have gotten some good comments and done some excellent research on the benefits.
It would not be vegan, so you would want to make sure any honey soap is labeled. I would also look into the environmental aspect, treatment of bees, etc.
The local honey supplier route that's been suggested might be the best and most humane.
Thanks for asking for our opinions on this!! You are awesome. ;P
Our bees are dying. Hives are being found empty and we DON'T KNOW WHY! Anything that you can do to support small, local bee businesses is good for the world.
Large commercial operations are not as beneficial. Small local bee keepers promote biodiversity & have a lower percentage of empty hive syndrome. Their bees are often better kept and they don't squeeze out every last drop of honey.
So find a small local grower, or several if you need more and go for it. You'd be helping out another small-craft industry as well.
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