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Personally, I don't think anything's wrong with animal fats in soap, and I'm in awe of people who can render their own lard and get it clear and clean for soapmaking. I was just making the point that the "99% pure" slogan drives me nuts, because the ingredients are nothing special at ALL. I wasn't saying the ingredients were in any way "bad." Sorry if it came across that way. I'm not sure what the silica is for--probably appearance of the bar, to make it shiny?
ALL soap, even Ivory, is made with lye, in one form or another. The FDA defines "soap" as "an alkali salt of fatty acids," which is to say, lye (sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium carbonate,) plus fat. Any fat. Personally, I only use vegetable and nut/seed oils in my soaps, but that's mainly due to the fact that I don't have a ready source of, or place to store, animal fat. I go through LOTS of oils and butters! Animal products I do use in soap include beeswax, honey, goat's milk, cow's milk, buttermilk, yogurt, egg yolks...and probably more that I'm not thinking of right now. I also make some vegan varieties for people who want those, but personally, I like using milks and bee products.
Handcrafting soapers don't add glycerin *to* our soap--the companies who make the commercial detergent bars REMOVE the natural glycerin from their bars, because it's more profitable to sell as a by-product than it is when left in the primary product. I think that's why people perceive handmade soap as "moisturizing." In actuality, our soap isn't "moisturizing" in that it's adding moisture to your skin (that's a common claim that bothers me, because a cleansing product that you rinse off can't really impart moisture INTO your skin), but by virtue of it still containing its natural glycerin, thereby NOT stripping your skin of its own moisture.
Geez, that was a run-on sentence. Did that even make sense? Anyway, there's nothing wrong with Ivory--if I had to use a large-scale commercially produced bar, that's probably the one I'd choose. And if something works, especially in regard to skin, I'd hesitate to change it. I have terribly tricky skin; I know whereof I speak!
The Ivory is probably mild to your skin more for what is NOT in it than from what is. Not that it matters, cuz if it works, it works!
You CAN buy "glycerin soap." Soapmaking suppliers sell blocks of just clear (or white, or colored) glycerin soap, to which crafters may add colorants, fragrances, etc. Some people can do some really neat stuff with "melt & pour" soap. That's how almost every soapmaker I know got started...it's addictive, like chicken-keeping!
