Is using soap bad for your skin?

[jonathon41uk]

Hi

Sorry if I have repeated myself from my post on the general forum but felt this belonged here. As a reforming skin care product addict I have always been led to believe that soap is very bad for the face and should never be used. However, I find that a lot of face washes are over scented and have a lot of chemicals in them and so am wondering if the age old idea of washing with soap and water as actually a good idea after all. Does anyone know about this? Managed to pick up some L'Occitane milk soap and Aubrey's Men Stock cleansing bar to try out. Anyone got any other suggestions?

Thanks

Jonathon

 

[Mama Bear]

Soap is awesome! It is a natural and pure product that actually may help with skin problems that have been caused from using detergent soaps like Dove or my fathers personal favorite, Irish Rain. I have not used anything but homemade soap for 20 years and I have really lovely soft skin that is never dry, even at my age!

Be aware that what you buy in a store is probably not soap! It is a commercially made detergent with no glycerin in it and lots of wonderful chemicals... it will dry out your skin and potentially cause problems. It will never be called soap in the store.. it will be called a beauty bar.. a bath bar, a deoderant bar or a luxery bar.. you get the idea... beware of these items. If it does not say soap on the label, it is not soap!

 

[jonathon41uk]

Hi

Thanks for that. is the Aubrey mens cleanser likely to be natural soap? Anyone know a good supplier ofit in the UK?

Jonathon

 

[Mama Bear]

Hi

Thanks for that. is the Aubrey mens cleanser likely to be natural soap? Anyone know a good supplier ofit in the UK?

Jonathon

I don't know...but I suspect not! The easiest and simplest way is to look at what they are calling it. As they are calling it a cleansing bar, this tells me that this is not soap!

If you want real soap, Sue at St. Charles Shave is an experienced soapmaker and I would recommend strongly anything that she sells! I believe that honeybee also sells natural products!

Sue (Mama Bear) the other Sue.....

 

[Mama Bear]

Olivia is in Germany and also makes real soap!! I can't stress how much of a difference using real soap will be... let us know when you make the switch!

Sue

 

[Dinder1]

Sue, thanks for the simple, yet helpful explanation.
Cheers, DJ.

 

[fuerein]

Soap is awesome! It is a natural and pure product that actually may help with skin problems that have been caused from using detergent soaps like Dove or my fathers personal favorite, Irish Rain. I have not used anything but homemade soap for 20 years and I have really lovely soft skin that is never dry, even at my age!

Be aware that what you buy in a store is probably not soap! It is a commercially made detergent with no glycerin in it and lots of wonderful chemicals... it will dry out your skin and potentially cause problems. It will never be called soap in the store.. it will be called a beauty bar.. a bath bar, a deoderant bar or a luxery bar.. you get the idea... beware of these items. If it does not say soap on the label, it is not soap!

I'm not trying to contradict you, but I am confused by your post Mama Bear. It appears you are saying something like Irish rain (I assume you mean Irish Spring) is not soap and thus will not be marketed as soap, but...

Could you explain better the differences, I am kinda confused.

 

[rafikz]

DOVE and Irish Spring i the same basket????

You crazy???????????????????????

 

[jfm]

I dunno, Irish Spring got great reviews over at the Soap Review Page! From the site: "As you may know, it has been determined that small bars of hand soap are THE most important objects on the planet."

 

[Mama Bear]

I had to do this a couple times, I lost it....

'Soap' that you buy in the store has had the glycerin extracted from it as the glycerin is worth more money than the soap.Glycerin is a byproduct of soap making. Then there is a further step of added chemicals such as sodium laurel sulfate which is a lather enhancer and will give you a beautiful lather but will also dry out your skin.... so you have a double whammy of extra drying.. one by extraction and one by addition.

Most people find they need to use a lotion after using this 'soap'. The lotion is based on glycerin....

I have not had to use lotion since I started using homemade soap! My skin is moist and beautiful for my age just using homemade soap and water alone. Some of those lotions cost quite a bit of money and I feel the glycerin should have remained in the soap, allowing me to not have to spend the extra money to undo the damage that the 'soap' has caused.. drying and aging my skin.

Here is a terrific article I found on the internet.....

Cold Process Soapmakers have it down to a litany. When asked why their soap is better than store-bought, they say (among other things), "Because of the natural glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it attracts moisture to your skin. Glycerin is a natural by-product of the soapmaking process and while commercial manufacturers remove the glycerin for use in their more profitable lotions and creams, handcrafted soap retains glycerin in each and every bar."

Melt and Pour Soapmakers have a similar line, "Commercial soaps remove the glycerin for use in more profit producing lotions and creams, my soap has extra glycerin added to it. This helps make it clear, and also makes it a lot more moisturizing."

But what is glycerin, really?

Glycerin is a neutral, sweet-tasting, colorless, thick liquid which freezes to a gummy paste and which has a high boiling point. Glycerin can be dissolved into water or alcohol, but not oils. On the other hand, many things will dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into water or alcohol. So it is a good solvent.




Glycerin is also highly "hygroscopic" which means that it absorbs water from the air. Example: if you left a bottle of pure glycerin exposed to air in your kitchen, it would take moisture from the air and eventually, it would become 80 per glycerin and 20 percent water.

Because of this hygroscopic quality, pure, 100 percent glycerin placed on the tongue may raise a blister, since it is dehydrating. Diluted with water, however, it will soften your skin. (Note: While people say this softening is the result of the glycerin attracting moisture to your skin, there is heated debate as to whether or not the glycerin has some other properties all its own which are helpful to the skin. Summed up, the current thinking is "We know glycerin softens the skin. Some people think its because it attracts moisture, but there could be other reasons.")

Where does glycerin come from?

Up until 1889, people didn't know how to recover glycerine from the soapmaking process, so commercially produced glycerin mostly came from the candlemaking industry (remember, back then candles were made from animal fats).

In 1889, a viable way to separate the glycerin out of the soap was finally implemented. Since the number one use of glycerin was to make nitroglycerin, which was used to make dynamite, making soap suddenly became a lot more profitable! I have an untested theory that you could trace the roots of most big soapmakers (and the "fall" of the small, local soapmaker) to about this time in history.

The process of removing the glycerin from the soap is fairly complicated (and of course, there are a lot of variations on the theme). In the most simplest terms: you make soap out of fats and lye. The fats already contain glycerin as part of their chemical makeup (both animal and vegetable fats contain from 7% - 13% glycerine). When the fats and lye interact, soap is formed, and the glycerin is left out as a "byproduct". But, while it's chemically separate, it's still blended into the soap mix.

While a cold process soapmaker would simply pour into the molds at this stage, a commercial soapmaker will add salt. The salt causes the soap to curdle and float to the top. After skimming off the soap, they are left with glycerin (and lots of "impurities" like partially dissolved soap, extra salt, etc.). They then separate the glycerin out by distilling it. Finally, they de-colorize the glycerin by filtering it through charcoal, or by using some other bleaching method.

Glycerin has lots of uses besides being used to make nitroglycerin (note: glycerin is not an explosive substance by itself. It has to be turned into nitroglycerin before it becomes explosive, so it's safe to work with in your kitchen). Some uses for glycerin include: conserving preserved fruit, as a base for lotions, to prevent freezing in hydraulic jacks, to lubricate molds, in some printing inks, in cake and candy making, and (because it has an antiseptic quality) sometimes to preserve scientific specimens in jars in your high school biology lab.

Glycerin is also used to make clear soaps. Highly glycerinated clear soaps contain about 15% - 20% pure glycerin. Known as "Melt and Pour" soaps, these soaps are very easy for the hobbyist to work with. They melt at about 160 degrees fahrenheit, and solidify fairly rapidly. Because of their high glycerin content, the soaps are very moisturizing to the skin. Unfortunately, this high glycerin content also means that the soaps will dissolve more rapidly in water than soaps with less glycerin, and that if the bar of soap is left exposed to air, it will attract moisture and "glisten" with beads of ambient moisture.

These downsides, however are more than compensated by the emollient, skin loving and gentle nature of this soap which is especially good for tender skin and children.

All in all, I had no intention of offending anyone. I just strongly believe that there is nothing like real homemade soap...... without added chemicals!

hth

Bear Hugs,

Sue (Mama Bear)

 

[fuerein]

Mama Bear. I personally took no offense, I was just curious because your one post confused me. Thanks for the great information though. It really helped to explain the concepts.

 

[greenerock]

MamaBear,
Could you use a handmade soap to shampoo your hair too or would regular shampoo be better?

 

[Mama Bear]

Sometimes I talk before I think...OK, most of the time.... I need a spare pair of shoes to carry around in my purse.....lol

I get in a hurry and do not explain myself as well as I ought to sometimes.. I really hope that I can do better at this in the future...

Bear Hugs!

Sue (Mama Bear)

 

[Mama Bear]

MamaBear,
Could you use a handmade soap to shampoo your hair too or would regular shampoo be better?

Up untill about 50 years ago, a family typically used their soap to wash themselves, do their laundry, dishes and shampoo, usually all with the same bar! Then all of the detergents were discovered and added to the consumer marketplace and now people were using specialty items for each individual need.

Cold Process soapmakers often offer a shampoo bar specifically formulated for hair washing.. but as I don't use them and have never made one.. I am going to bow to Sue or Olivia for better information on these...

I wish I knew more about this...

Sue (Mama Bear)

 

[kasabian]

Hello Mummy Bear

I was wondering if you could tell me if this soap you sell, is good to use as a facewash:

I really like the grizzly bear on it. Is the bear, soap? It looks like tasty chocolate.

Also, do you ship to the U.K?

many thanks Mummy Bear

 

[AVB19Peace]

Mama Bear,

Thanks for the great information. Can you recommend any commercial "soap" to use or is homemade the only option? My wife would be interested in a true soap also.

I've read some great reviews about your shaving soaps and plan on making a purchase as soon as I can. My hardware and software hasn't arrived yet, so I'm a brand newbie.

Peace,

AVB

 

[Scotto]

As someone who used Lever 2000 and other horrendously drying products for most of his life, I can say that a good "true" soap is very gentle and not necessarily drying. That being said, some people (like me) get dry skin after washing with pretty much anything.

My recommendations, for what they are worth:

If you are really sensitive to dry skin on your body, find a good liquid body wash. Many are just SLS and other chemicals, but there are some good ones out there. These will not dry you out like a solid bar often will.

On your face, I have found nothing as gentle as the Nancy Boy Mild Facial Cleanser. This product literally changed the way I view these products- really special stuff. I have seen a few posts from people here that this product disagrees with them, so as always YMMV. That being said, I have tried dozens of face washes and the NB is the best of the best.

Don't neglect moisturizing. Before bed I give my face a gentle wash and then moisturize with something high-quality. I won't live without Sue's Buttercream, which has done wonders for me as well.

 

[AVB19Peace]

If you are really sensitive to dry skin on your body,

Scotto, thanks for the info. I don't think I'm really sensitive to dry skin, at least not in the sense of products breaking me out, rashes, etc...but definitely dry skin. I read in another post that it could be dry skin or dehydrated skin so there's another factor.

What I do know is that when I get done showering, I get dry white patches around my mouth and chin. I'm always putting lotion on my hands and elbows too. After reading this thread, I'm wondering if it's just the body "soap" that I'm using and not a real problem. I use Lever 2000 or Irish Spring on a regular basis. My wife uses Dove unscented because every "soap" seems to bother her. Again, thanks for the info.

Peace,

AVB

 

[Scotto]

That Lever is seriously harsh stuff. If you want to try out a bar with a difference, try the Nancy Boy bath bars. Amazing lather, and very gentle. Or try one of the glycerin bars from Baxters.

 

[Tinzien]

Silly question, but a bar of glycerin soap is not supposed to lather up as much in the shower as other cleaning aids? I found a wonderful glycerin soap last week but while it really leaves me feeling smooth and good, it lathers for a damn. Heh.