Loved for its simplicity, soap and other similar bars are making quite a comeback –even for those of us with dry skin.
WORDS: NATALIE MILLMAN. IMAGES: SHUTTERSTOCK AND VARIOUS BRANDS.
Most of us remember the days when a skincare routine meant nothing more than lathering up with a bar of Pears, Camay or Palmolive. But such cleansing bars went out of fashion in more recent times with the increase in popularity of cleansers and shower gels. Much of this, of course, was due to the drying nature of soaps.
‘The epidermis is your body’s first line of defence,’ explains skincare expert Karen Sinclair Drake, co-founder of Flowering Pharmacy (floweringpharmacy.com). ‘Skin has a mildly acidic coating that acts as a defensive barrier against environmental pollution and chemicals, and is home to 20 million skin bacteria and fungi per inch. Your skin’s acid mantle neutralises agents harmful to the skin. Studies have found that the optimal acid mantle is mildly acidic, with a pH of 4.7-5 – and those around this level will have fewer issues such as dryness and irritation.’
Those with more alkaline skin, pH8-9, may experience acne, eczema or irritation. ‘Despite these findings, the pH of many skincare products is above pH5, with the average soap being 9.5-10.5,’ says Karen. And when the pH of your skin is disrupted by products, your complexion can suffer.
TYPES OF SOAP
Soaps are popular because they work – they rid your skin of grease and dirt, and leave it feeling squeaky clean. The problem with this effectiveness is that as well as ridding your skin of dirt, soaps can strip it of sebum, the natural oil produced by your skin’s sebaceous glands. This is because soap is formulated by mixing either animal fat or vegetable oils with water and an alkali. ‘The alkali works on the oils and triggers a chemical process called saponification. Soap traditionally contains anionic surfactants [organic components] that produce high foam,’ says Karen.
But as with all things cosmetic, we have many types of soap to choose from. The three soaps below aren’t guaranteed to be mild, but if you don’t have dry skin, and use a good moisturiser, you will be fine...
● SUPERFATTED SOAPS:
‘These are bars that contain extra oil, such as olive oil, that has not been saponified, meaning it hasn’t turned into soap,’ explains Karen. ‘This superfatting greatly improves the soap’s moisturising capabilities, but it doesn’t change the high pH and some people can find them not cleansing enough.
