The Dish On Soap - What To Avoid

from bath and body

Amazingly, in spite of huge technological advances in the beauty industry, the mass-market soap available today has not changed much since Procter & Gamble, Colgate, and Lever Bros, first set up shop in the early 19th century. Most supermarket soaps are still made from lard (sodium tallowate) and lye (sodium hydroxide), and you don't need a Ph.D. in chemistry to guess that there are gentler ways to clean your skin.

Deodorant soaps. Avoid them. Period. Deodorant soaps contain chemicals that kill odour-causing bacteria. But any soap will kill these bacteria without the harsh additives that dry and irritate skin.

Antibacterial soaps (liquid). Doctors have scrubbed with antibacterial soaps containing triclosan for years, but in our present germ-phobic culture, they're catching on for household use. But unless you have a good reason to use anti-bacterial soaps—-for example, your family has very young children and recurrent strep infections—I would avoid them.

Medicated soaps. Medicinal substances (sulfur, tar, resorcin) are added to the soap to aid in treating skin conditions like acne. Sulfur is an antiseptic and dries up acne, but so does tea tree oil, and it's not as harsh. Try tea tree oil soap instead.

Body washes and shower gels are actually shampoo, and like shampoo they contain the drying ingredient sodium laureth sulfate. They may feel slinky on your skin because they contain silicone, a common (because it's cheap) lubricant in many beauty products. Silicone sits on top of the skin; it doesn't penetrate (the molecule is too big). So, in spite of the hype, body washes and gels do not moisturize nearly as well as a super-fatted shea butter, milk, or milled vegetable soap.