Is it true that soap is gentle on the skin?

Which body soap is better?

When washing your body, do you use soap or body wash? Many people probably use soap because it seems to be gentler on the skin. Especially for families with small children or people with dry skin , you want to choose a product that puts less strain on your skin.

But between mildly acidic body wash and soap, which is gentler on the skin?

Oil is stripped from the skin

Basically, soap removes dirt by removing oils from the skin. Body soaps that contain surfactants also remove oils from the skin.

But soap is strong and likely to strip your skin of the oils it needs to stay moisturized, so it's not uncommon for your skin to feel dry and tight after washing.

What is "moisturizing soap"?

Some commercially available cosmetics are sold as "moisturizing soaps."

However, as mentioned above, soap has a strong ability to remove oil and dirt. This is the same for any soap. Therefore, there is no soap that can moisturize the skin (acts as a moisturizer). If there is such a thing, it would be a soap made from vegetable oils, which have a high moisturizing effect on the skin.

Soap is made by adding strong alkaline sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide to oil. Adding sodium hydroxide makes it a solid type, and adding potassium hydroxide makes it a liquid type.

Palm oil is often used as the base oil, but there are also soaps that use coconut oil, olive oil, argan oil, and other oils instead of palm oil. These soaps are often sold as "moisturizing soaps" or "soaps that don't dry out the skin."

There are also soaps that contain clay, herbs, plant extracts, etc. By adding these ingredients, it is possible to reduce the degreasing power somewhat. However, these are not the main ingredients of the soap. In other words, it still effectively removes oil from the skin.

Soap is alkaline

As is often said, human skin is slightly acidic . It is said to be around 5.5 on a pH scale of 1 to 14. Water is neutral with a pH value of 7. Therefore, cosmetics with a pH value of 5 to 7 are said to be less harsh on human skin. Conversely, the further away from 5 to 7 the greater the harshness on the skin.

So what is the pH value of soap?
In fact, soap is slightly alkaline. Its pH value is generally between 9 and 11. This is because the sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide used in its production are strongly alkaline.

Not recommended for dry skin

As mentioned above, skin is slightly acidic. However, not everyone has slightly acidic skin at all times.

Healthy skin is often slightly acidic.
However, the pH of a newborn baby's skin is considered to be close to neutral, between 6.34 and 7.5 .
In addition, the skin of people with dry skin or skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis may be biased towards alkaline, while the skin of people with oily skin or who are prone to acne may be biased towards acidity.

Even if you use alkaline soap on healthy skin, the skin will quickly return to a slightly acidic state, so the soap is unlikely to irritate or cause severe dryness.

However, if used by people whose skin is already alkaline, dry, or has a damaged skin barrier, it can cause further dryness.

Also, babies' skin is neutral and tends to be more alkaline than adult skin. If you are using soap and your baby's skin is dry, you may want to try using a slightly acidic body soap.

Soap is recommended for oily and acne prone skin

On the other hand, soap is recommended for skin that secretes a lot of sebum, as alkaline soap can balance skin that tends to be acidic.

However, there is one thing to note. Excessive sebum secretion and oily skin can actually be caused by dry skin. It's best to determine the cause of your dry skin before deciding which cleanser to use.

No mildly acidic soaps

Some people use soap because the ingredients are simple. It is alkaline and will not spoil, so it is nice that no preservatives are used.

Such people may think, "I want to find a mildly acidic soap!" However, there is no mildly acidic soap in the world. If you try to make soap acidic, it will turn into fatty acids, making it impossible to make.

In this regard, the pH value of body soap can be adjusted by changing the combination of surfactants used, making it possible to make it slightly acidic and less harsh on the skin.

It seems like it would be a good idea to use different soaps and body washes depending on your skin type and condition.