Soaps are sustainable: are these old-fashioned cleansers good for your skin too?

If you want to live a more environmentally conscious and minimalist life, you will certainly not have missed the current soap boom. They come in all imaginable shapes, colors and scents. Soaps made from ash or porcelain clay. Soaps that are supposed to help with impurities and others that are supposed to gently care for sensitive skin. Soaps with extra moisturizing for dry skin and the good old soap that our grandparents knew too.

Should you now switch to soap to clean your face and body ? Is it true that soap has a positive effect on the skin? Is soap suitable for sensitive skin?

First of all, let's clarify what soap actually is. That will shed some light on the matter. Soap has been used for washing for a very long time. It was a very tried and tested cleaning agent. Soap was used for cleaning as early as the 3rd millennium BC. A really old-fashioned piece, as you can see. Soap production flourished in the 9th century and soap has been produced industrially since the middle of the 18th century.

Of course soap is meant to clean. That's what it's for. Maybe you're thinking: OK, I have very oily skin, so I can't go wrong with soap. Be careful: the surfactants contained in soap are among the harshest there are. Surfactants don't just dissolve dirt and make-up. They also wash out the fats in your skin. Your skin may become more oily and everything could become unbalanced. You can easily check for yourself how your skin is doing after washing with soap. How does your skin feel?

Does it squeak a little? You may find that very clean. However, healthy skin always has a small film of oil. Not excessively, just enough to stop it squeaking. If your skin squeaks after cleansing, it was already too much and anything but mild.

Your skin has a natural acid mantle that protects it from the wrong bacteria, fungi and viruses. The natural pH value of your skin is between 4-6 and an average of 5-6.

For comparison, water has a pH of 7. That's considered neutral. Anything above that is basic/alkaline. Soap is often at 9 or more. Anything below 7 is considered acidic. A lemon is really acidic, with a pH of about 3. The further the pH is from your skin's natural pH, the more your natural pH shifts. Even water can slightly shift your skin's natural pH.

Soaps are always basic or alkaline. This means that soap shifts the pH value of your skin too far into the alkaline range and attacks your skin's natural acid mantle. It is important that you maintain your slightly acidic protective mantle. This is how your skin naturally protects itself against environmental influences. Whenever your acid mantle is not in a slightly acidic balance, your skin is exposed to all environmental influences without protection. With sensitive skin, it usually takes even longer for the skin to return to its natural state.

Skin with an intact, healthy acid mantle ensures that your skin does not react as quickly with irritation and is less inflamed and irritated. This makes it harder for pathogenic bacteria, viruses or fungi to spread on the skin.

Unfortunately, most soaps also contain fragrances that are not necessarily necessary for the skin. Sure, it smells nice. However, synthetic and natural fragrances, the essential oils, can irritate the skin.

Because the fragrances are washed off, they are not as irritating in a cleanser as they are in a cream or serum. However, if you want to play it safe for the sake of your skin - especially for sensitive skin - then avoid fragrances in your cleanser.

It's totally understandable that you want to wash your skin with a cleanser. Soaps can save a lot of packaging waste. Fortunately, there are now natural and equally minimalist and sustainable alternatives: the so-called syndets . There are conventional and natural syndets. These are solid cleaning bars that look like soaps. They are milder than soaps and can be adjusted to the skin's natural pH value. However, you should know that unfortunately not all syndets are adjusted to the skin's natural pH value.
Unfortunately, syndets often contain harsh surfactants in addition to mild surfactants. This means that the syndet foams better, cleanses more effectively and sets more easily. For sensitive skin, syndets can be too harsh for facial cleansing because they can dry out the skin. Oilier skin types may cope a little better with syndets on the face.
Some very mild natural syndets contain plant butters and waxes, such as coconut oil or carnauba wax. Plant butters and waxes help the soap bar to stay in shape, otherwise a very mild syndet would melt in your hands. Some people do not tolerate so much plant oil and plant butter on their face very well, because it can sometimes cause blemishes and pimples.

For these reasons, the Sydnets currently available on the market are very good for the body but not ideal for a gentle facial cleansing.

A mild cleansing gel or cleansing milk with mild surfactants is the gentlest way to clean your facial skin. Especially if you don't tolerate slightly harsh surfactants or fatty butters like coconut very well.