NoahJenda says…I’m reading a lot of conflicting information about what is kinder to my face: cleaners or facial soaps. I understand that facial cleansers are detergents and contain ingredients like Disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, Cocamidopropyl betaine and Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate. Soaps, particularly the artisan soaps I’ve been considering, often appear to be a blend of various oils such as avocado or olive oil, as well as moisturizers like cocoa butter and shea butter. Some also contain saponified tallow or lanolin. Do mild facial cleaners really strip out too much of my skin’s natural oils, as some soap makers claim? Can facial soaps be more drying to the skin, as the makers of some facial cleansers claim? Is there any advantage to using one type of product or the other?
The Beauty Brains respond:
We found a study published in the journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (“Forearm wash test to evaluate the clinical mildness of cleansing products,” 1988, Vol 39.) which answers this very question.
Study shows soap is more drying
Researchers tested a series of cleansing bars made with a blend of synthetic detergents and soap, pure coconut soap bars, and superfatted coconut soap bars. They washed volunteers forearms with the various soaps over a two week period and then measured the three effects: smoothness of skin, redness of skin, and dryness of skin.
The results showed that a pure coconut soap bar was the worse overall. The synthetic-soap bar (made of Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate) was the best. The superfatted soaps were somewhere in between. Basically, the synthetic detergents make the soaps MORE mild! So unless the artisan soapmakers have different data from a similar study in another peer reviewed journal, we say the answer is pure soap is more irritating.
Why are detergents better than soap?
Smoothness, dryness, and irritation are not simply determined by how much oil is stripped from your skin. These skin properties are also determined by how the surfactants penetrate the superficial layers of skin, how they interact with skin proteins, and how well they rinse irritating. This study shows that synthetic detergents are superior to soap in this regard.
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What do YOU think? Do you prefer artisan soap bars or liquid cleansers? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
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You need to find a more up to date and unbiased study. No soapmaker would use 100% coconut oil in a commercial product. Coconut oil is used at no more than 30% of total oils by weight due to it’s drying effect. It is used solely as a foaming agent, which it does very well. Superfatting the coconut oil would only make it worse, it needs to be blended with other, more skin friendly oils. Most modern soapmakers will add emollients to superfat like cocoa butter or shea butter.
My company manufactures both cold process soap, syndet bars and surfactant based body wash so I’m not biased either way. BTW, I wash my face with a bar made from olive, sunflower, coconut and cocoa butter.
@Jackie: While the marketplace may have changed since the study was done I think the results are still valid: “pure” soap is more irritating to skin than blends of soap and synthetic detergents. If your company has done more recent testing which shows a different conclusion, we’d be glad to share that data with our readers. Thanks.
Except for some added glycerin, Kirk’s Castile is almost nothing but coconut. The ingredients are: Coconut Soap, Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Coconut Oil, Natural Fragrance.
That explains a lot about why my skin was so dry and red when I tried to use Kirk’s.
I would consider buying “real” soap if it was fair trade or for a charity I liked.
What off the shelf brand soap have ya’ll found to be the best.
I am redhead-freckled with hypersensitive… Looking for a mild no drying (affordable for everyday ) soap.
I was very surprised to find out that synthetic detergents make the soaps MORE mild. For some reason I usually consider anything made synthetically to be more harsh. I guess I was wrong. (darn it, I hate it when I’m wrong, lol.)
There is really no reason that something synthetic should be more harsh than something “natural”, especially since *everything* is a chemical whether it has a scary name or not. My own experience with cleansers confirms that they are more mild and better for my skin than any soap I’ve tried.
I like liquid cleansers vs bar soap for my face. The bar soaps don’t seem to clean my face as well; I still feel oily after using them. They just can’t cut through the oil. My fave, currently, is Clean and Clear Morning Burst (the orange one).
I can say that for me personally… Pure soap is the devil. I work in a well known health food store and tried every “pure and natural” soap available. Everything single one.. Made my skin burn and itch and stripped all oils from it. Castile soap, in my opinion should be banned for skin use. I’m all for going with nature but just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
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