Dr. Bronner's Magic Pure Castile Liquid Soap Bodywash - Citrus - 32 fl oz

A: Hi, thank you for reaching out to us! Our Pure-Castile Soaps were the original camping soap as they have always been safe to use in and around nature. Currently, our Pure-Castile Liquid Soaps, Pure-Castile Bar Soaps, Sal Suds Biodegradable Cleaner, Organic Hair Crème, and Organic Sugar Soaps have all been tested and all meet the standard criteria to be classified as “readily biodegradable.” In the lab, this means these products demonstrated more than 60% biodegradation after 28 days. These criteria are so strict that it is reasonable to assume that these products would completely biodegrade within two months in aerobic settings with minimal impact on the environment. However, even though our products biodegrade quickly it is important to always follow Leave No Trace (LNT) principles in order to minimize any potential disruption to natural ecosystems. LNT guidelines recommend that you use soap at least 200ft. away from any body of water. If you are using a lot of soap, it is best to dig a small hole and bury the grey water in the ground. Unfortunately, this means that we would not recommend rinsing these products directly into natural water sources. Even a small amount of soap can change the pH of the water and disrupt the habitat of the zillions of creatures that call those waterways home. Our soaps should be safe to be disposed of on lawns and or in plants, as small amounts of well-diluted soap will not hurt plants, and soapy water is better than no water for plants during a drought. However, it must be applied according to certain guidelines to prevent damage to the plants. We encourage avoiding contact with edible portions of a plant. Avoid pouring soapy water directly at the base of a plant because it may cause root and stem rot. Instead, pour the soapy water evenly into the soil around the perimeter of each plant. For trees or shrubs, apply soapy water along a drip line. A drip line is an imaginary line, or circle, on the ground that marks where water drips from a plant’s outermost branches. Should you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to let us know!

A: Thank you for contacting Dr. Bronner's! Both our Pure-Castile Liquid Soaps and Sal Suds Biodegradable Cleaner work very well to clean many types of flooring. We typically recommend Sal Suds over our Pure-Castile Soap for cleaning flooring as it is cleaner rinsing, especially in hard water conditions. However, both products will clean most flooring exceptionally well! If you are using a traditional mop and bucket method, we recommend using ½ c. (120 mL) of Pure-Castile Soap in 3 gallons (12 L) of hot water. Dunk your mop (microfiber, preferably) and wring thoroughly. On wood and laminate, we recommend avoiding excess water and mopping up wet areas. You may also choose to make an all-purpose spray cleaner by combining 2 tsp. (10 mL) of Pure-Castile Soap with 1 quart (1 L) of water in a squirt bottle. Dampen your mop with clean water. Squirt or spray the floor and mop over with the mop. Again, avoid excess water and mop up wet areas. Please note that regardless of the soap or method you choose to use, there is no need for you to go over it with clean water after your initial cleaning. However, if you see bubbles, go over the floor again with clean water. For more information on first-hand use of our products, check out Lisa Bronner's blog post Mopping with Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap or Sal Suds. (https://www.lisabronner.com/mopping-floors-with-sal-suds/) Should you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out!

A: Thank you for contacting Dr. Bronner's! While our soaps clean dishes very well, we do not recommend using our soap in the dishwasher and currently do not offer a soap specifically for use in the dishwasher. Our soaps are great cleaners for almost any household purpose, with the only notable exception being that they should not be used in the dishwasher unless you’d like to have a bubble party on your kitchen floor! Some customers say that our soaps have worked in their dishwashers, but we simply can’t recommend them as they suds too much. Even though there are no foaming agents, added for the sole purpose of creating more foam, the fact that our soaps are highly concentrated makes them high foaming. Our soaps do a great job of cleaning the dishes, but they could cause damage to your dishwasher because it gets overfilled with suds. If you do decide to try it, we suggest using a tiny amount of soap. To handwash your dishes with either our Pure-Castile Liquid Soap or Sal Suds Biodegradable Cleaner, we recommend a couple of methods. The first is to fill your sink with water and add either 1-2 Tbsp. (15-30 mL) of our soap or 1/2 – 1 1/2 tsp. (2.5 mL) of Sal Suds. If you prefer to use a dispenser, we recommend only using a foaming pump dispenser. Our Pure-Castile Soaps are quite concentrated and inevitably, the regular pumps always clog. For use in a foaming pump, dilute either ¼ cup Tbsp. (60 mL) of soap or 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) of Sal Suds into an 8oz container of water. You are aiming for a 1:3 ratio for the soap and a 1:15 ratio for our Sal Suds. The last way we recommend is to make an all-purpose spray cleaner by combining ¼ c. (60 mL) of soap or 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) Sal Suds with 1 qt. (1 L) water or in a spray bottle. Then all you need to do is spray the dirty dishes down and scrub them. You can find a full breakdown of how to make an all-purpose spray also of Lisa Bronner's blog, Going Green with Lisa Bronner. When diluting our soaps, please keep in mind that we only recommend diluting a portion that will be used up within 2 weeks to a month. We do not add any harsh preservatives to our products, so once diluted, they will not last longer than 1 month. Using distilled water will be more helpful since hard water can cause separation within our Castile Soap. Lastly, if you have hard water, it is possible to encounter some mineral build-up when using our Pure-Castile Soap. The interaction of hard water, and even soft water, with any true soap (not synthetic detergent-based soaps), can leave behind a thin film of minerals that appears as residue or “soap scum.” Hard water contains dissolved minerals in the form of calcium and magnesium. All true soaps, such as castile soap, will react with these minerals to form insoluble stearates, which are visible as a whitish precipitate. This whitish precipitate builds up primarily on surfaces where water is left to dry, such as in sinks and showers. It is typically not an issue on floors, counters, or other hard surfaces where the castile soap is diluted for cleaning and standing water is mopped or wiped up. You can easily dissolve residue left from our soap with vinegar by diluting one cup (240 mL) of vinegar in a quart (1 L) of water and spraying it on the affected surfaces. Let it sit for about 5 minutes (not long enough for it to dry), and then rinse it away with very hot water. Should you have any future questions, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

A: While our soaps work as great cleansers and body washes, please note that they may not promote brightening of the skin. However, with regular washing, it could help with clear skin, thus resulting in healthy natural skin.

A: Unfortunately, we don’t have a definitive answer for you. Some customers report that our soap tends to strip out hair coloring, while others report that their hair coloring remains intact when they use our soaps to clean their hair. It likely depends on numerous factors, including what sort of hair dye is used and what type of hair you have. One thing you can try is to wash a small portion of your hair and see whether the coloring holds or not. We have noticed that our soaps can work well for hair that has been highlighted and have no lowlights, however, as mentioned above, this can vary. If you have highlighted hair, you may find Lisa Bronner’s blog post on color-treated vs. highlighted hair useful.

A: While high concentrations of some essential oils can be toxic to some animals (some animals like birds and cats are more sensitive than others), products containing essential oil concentrations of less than 1–2% are generally considered nontoxic if used according to label directions. Rest assured that the essential oils in our Pure-Castile Soaps fall within this range. When used according to our recommendations, our soaps will be diluted even further and should pose no threat to your animal. Many customers even use our Pure-Castile Soap soaps to wash their pets, as our soap cleans fur and skin very well, leaving animals feeling and smelling wonderful. Although many use our soaps on and around their animals with great success, we understand that health is very important, so we recommend you consult with your local veterinarian should you have any concerns. Nonetheless, if you have animals that are known to be sensitive to essential oils or are uncomfortable using a product with essential oils on your pet, we encourage you to consider our Baby Unscented Castile Soap variety as it is our Pure-Castile Soap formula but contains zero essential oils.

A: Hello Great question! Yes you can use Dr. Bronners on hard wood floors. Add two to three drops of pure castile soap to a large spray bottle and fill it the rest of the way with warm water. -Hope that helps

A: Hi Tawsif! Yes, this can be used for doing laundry. Hope this helps!

A: Hi, Shell. Yes! You can use this soap as a shampoo. We recommend pouring about 1/2 tbsp. in your hand, work through wet hair, and rinse. You can also dilute 1/2 tbsp. of the soap into 1/2 cup of water and work that into wet hair as well. Hope this helps!