Soaps
There are commercial
cleansing bars that can be classified as ‘detergents’ – and
not soaps at all. Dermatologists would rather
call them ‘synthetic detergent bars’ because
they are made from synthesized chemicals such as
petroleum distillates.
Detergents are usually much
harsher than soap. Genuine care
skin soap is a gentle cleansing beauty skin care
product more appropriate for use on skin.
It
would contain natural skin care oils (such as olive,
coconut and palm) combined with sodium hydroxide
or lye, oils and water.
All soap is
made with lye but there is no lye present in the
finished bars of soap.
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Although some people may question the use of
lye in handcrafted soap, it should mollify negative impressions
because once the process called “saponification” is
complete, the lye and oil molecules have combined and chemically
changed into soap and glycerin.
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Glycerin
is a skin soothing cosmetic skin care emollient,
an important skin care component because of its humectant
properties which works by drawing moisture from the
air, in turn moisturizing the skin.
The use of oils in soaps is intended for
a specific purpose.
Organic skin care ingredients like
coconut oil creates a wonderful lather, while olive
oil would produce a high quality, long lasting bar.
Best
skin care soap appears in creamy bars usually containing
safflower oil. Palm oil and canola varieties
bring in special nutrients to the skin.
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Scents and colors in most soap are brought
about by artificial ingredients. The advent of herbal skin care soap produced aromatherapeutic products with fragrance oils. The scents in soaps should come only from essential oils - the fragrance emitting components of plants and are at the heart of aromatherapy. Not
only do they smell nice; they have many therapeutic effects
on the body, mind and spirit.
Most soap is artificially colored – there is a growing clamor though for nature-based colorants such as ones coming from petals of lavender and rose. Earth pigments, which are simply finely ground rocks, can also be used, making the colors rich and earthy, rather than artificial looking.
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