What the National Eczema Association's Seal of Acceptance requires, how a product gets it, what it does not claim, and why ours is unscented.
Our unscented Pure-Castile Soap is listed in the National Eczema Association's Seal of Acceptance directory. That sentence is easy to put on a label and easy to misread, so this page explains what the Seal is, what a product has to do to get it, and what it does not claim.
The National Eczema Association is a US patient organisation for people with eczema. Since 2008 it has run the Seal of Acceptance, a review program for personal care and household products. NEA describes the Seal as a way to find products that are suitable for people living with eczema and sensitive skin, and as a push on manufacturers to make products free of known allergens and irritants.
The Seal is not awarded for a claim. A product gets it only after an application, an ingredient review, a clinical test report and a panel decision. The rules are public, and they are the same for every brand.
NEA's criteria, as they publish them, come down to four things.
1. None of the ingredients on the Ecz-clusion List, in any amount. This is NEA's list of ingredients its scientific committee considers known allergens or irritants for people with eczema and sensitive skin. It includes preservatives such as methylisothiazolinone and formaldehyde releasers, antibacterials such as triclosan, topical antibiotics and anaesthetics such as neomycin and benzocaine, and a long run of fragrance components: citral, citronellol, geraniol, eugenol, coumarin, cinnamic aldehyde and others. A product containing any of them, at any level, is not eligible.
2. Fragrance-free, with nothing aromatic in the finished product. Not "unscented" on the label while a masking fragrance does the work. NEA receives samples and checks them for any discernible scent.
3. Clinical safety testing. The manufacturer has to submit a report from at least one of three tests NEA accepts: a Human Repeat Insult Patch Test, a Cumulative Irritation Test, or a Safety In Use study. A product whose test does not meet NEA's requirements cannot apply. Ours was a Human Repeat Insult Patch Test, the HRIPT: the product is applied to the same patch of skin on a panel of volunteers repeatedly over several weeks, then again after a rest period, and a dermatologist reads the skin each time for irritation and for sensitisation.
4. Review by NEA's panel. The application carries the full formula with concentrations, the clinical report and product samples. A Seal Review Panel of dermatologists, allergists and eczema specialists, holding MD, PhD or DO credentials, reviews all of it against guidelines set by NEA's Seal Scientific Oversight Committee. The panel accepts or rejects. An accepted product enters a license agreement with NEA and is listed in the public directory.
The ingredient list NEA reviewed is the one on our label: water, the organic oil blend (coconut, olive, castor, argan, jojoba, hemp, sweet almond, apricot kernel, prickly pear), potassium hydroxide, which saponifies the oils into soap and does not remain, and vegetable glycerin. Nothing on the Ecz-clusion List is in it.
The rule that decides most of this is the second one. Fragrance is the first thing NEA excludes, and many of the fragrance components on its list are natural constituents of essential oils. Citral, citronellol and geraniol occur in citrus, lemongrass, rose and geranium oils; eugenol in clove and cinnamon. A castile soap scented with essential oils can be a good soap and still be ineligible, because the scent is the problem, not the source of the scent.
This is why our soap is unscented and has stayed unscented. It is a choice with a cost, since scented castile soap outsells unscented in most of the category, and it is the choice that makes the Seal possible.
If you add essential oil to our soap yourself, which plenty of our customers do, the Seal describes the soap in the bottle we sold you, not the mix you made. Keep that in mind for a child's bath or for anyone with reactive skin.
NEA says this itself, on every product page in its directory, and it is worth reading before deciding anything:
"Individuals with eczema and/or sensitive skin have the responsibility for identifying ingredients in any product that could potentially irritate their skin and/or trigger potential allergies. Healthcare related questions should be referred to a physician or other healthcare provider."
So, plainly:
Our listing is at nationaleczema.org/eczema-products/wholenaturals-castile-soap, under the brand name Wholenaturals, with the full ingredient list as NEA reviewed it. The program criteria and the complete Ecz-clusion List are at nationaleczema.org/product-directory/about-nea-seal-of-acceptance. Read the list against any product you are considering, including ours; that is what it is published for.
The Seal is one of several outside checks on this soap. The others, each from a different body with a different question, are listed in what our label actually says: EWG Verified, POFCAP palm-oil-free certification, Certified Vegan, Certified Fair Trade.
Pure-Castile Soap, 64 fl oz → · Castile soap for babies and sensitive skin → · Full FAQ →
The Seal of Acceptance is a trademark of the National Eczema Association. The program criteria and quotation above were read from nationaleczema.org on 12 October 2026 and may be updated by NEA.
Yohan & Alex
Co-founders, Whole Naturals
For external use only. Keep out of reach of children. Discontinue use if irritation, redness or discomfort occurs.
