How to Choose the Right Cosmetic Soap

How to Choose the Right Cosmetic Soap Although cosmetic manufacturers offer a wide range of facial cleansing products, shower gels and hand sanitizers, good old soap remains very popular because it is natural and effective. However, you should keep in mind that soap might dry your skin. That’s why you need to know how to choose the right cosmetic soap that suits your skin type.

Our skin is coated with a very thin layer of a substance called sebum, a naturally healthy skin lubricant. It is primarily composed of triglycerides, wax esters, squalene, and free fatty acids, so it has an oily, waxy texture. Sebum is secreted by the sebaceous glands to protect our skin against dehydration, damage caused by harsh external factors, and microbes. It also collects dirt, preventing it from penetrating into the deeper layers of epidermis. That’s why we need to wash our skin regularly: washing removes old sebum containing dirt and gives way to the new sebum secreted by the sebaceous glands.

As sebum has a high fat content, it has hydrophobic properties, meaning that its molecules are repelled from a mass of water. That’s why we need soap or other surfactant to wash our skin clean. Surfactants lower the surface tension between water and sebum, helping to clean the skin easily. Soap is one of the oldest surfactants known to and used by man.

Soap is obtained by treating animal fats or vegetable oils with a strong base. The resulting salt of a fatty acid we call soap has surfactant properties. The soap breaks down the sebum barrier, helping to remove the mixture of sebum and dirt from the skin. So when you use soap, your skin gets stripped off its natural protection. Of course, if you’re healthy, your sebaceous glands will secrete more sebum to restore protection. But in the meanwhile, your skin will be left defenceless. That’s why frequent use of soap might cause skin dryness, flaking, irritation, and other problems.

Of course, you can’t just stop using soap or other skin cleansing products. But the negative effects can be reduced if you pick the right soap which suits your skin type. High-quality soap is made with vegetable oils rather than animal fats. Ideally, it is enriched with herbal extracts and essential oils that have soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. The soap shouldn’t contain synthetic preservatives, fragrances or colourants which might cause allergy.

High-quality, natural soap is often referred to as cosmetic soap. You can use it to wash your face or while taking a shower. Cosmetic soap can be solid (soap bar) or liquid. If can be infused with herbal extracts, essential oils or other natural ingredients for an enhanced effect. While trying to choose the right soap, keep in mind that there are different soaps for different skin types.

The first think you need to do while choosing a cosmetic soap for your skin care routine is read the ingredient list. As we’ve already mentioned above, high-quality soaps are made with vegetable oils such as olive oil, shea butter, etc. Natural soaps are free of artificial colourants, fragrances, preservatives and other synthetic ingredients, but they often contain herbal extracts, essential oils, and natural moisturisers such as aloe vera leaf juice.

Next, decide what you need the soap for besides cleaning. Most cosmetic soaps have extra properties beyond cleaning the skin. For example, nourishing and moisturising soaps for dry skin contain valuable oils such as shea butter, cocoa butter, coconut oil, avocado oil or olive oil for additional hydration. Anti-acne soaps for oily and combination skin are infused with powerful antiseptic ingredients such as tea tree essential oil, tar, blue clay, sage extract, etc.

Another important aspect of choosing a cosmetic soap is whether you are buying it for yourself or for your entire family. If you’re the only person who’s going to use it, you can buy either a soap bar or a bottle of liquid soap depending on your personal preferences. But if you’re buying the soap for your entire family, liquid soap with a pump dispenser is a better choice because it’s more hygienic.

There are so many kinds and brands of cosmetic soap that choosing the one that is just right for you can be very tough. At Organic Store, we want to make this easier for you. In our online shop you can find a variety of cosmetic soaps produced by reputable manufacturers of natural and organic cosmetics such as Nubian Heritage, YAKA, Home Doctor, Flora Secret, Organic Kitchen, Green Pharmacy, Planeta Organica, LuxOne, and others. We offer nourishing soaps, moisturising soaps, soothing and healing soaps, delicate soaps for children, exfoliating soaps for all skin types.