alkaline pH of a soap, "bad" for skin?

andreja · May 5, 2009

Hello from a newbie. I made three batches of CP soap so far, all of them are still curing, but I can see the potential of the first one already (I washed my hands with it after 2 weeks of curing).

When I am trying to argue why I like bar soaps, people say to me that our skin is acidic and that alkaline soap isn't good for our skin as it washes our acid layer away. What can I say to them about it?

By the way, now I know why everybody is saying how addictive soap making is. :lol:

Guest · May 5, 2009

Hi and welcome
Handmade soap has fats and oils that nourish the skin .When I use store bought body wash or soap ,I have to slather on lotion because my skin is so dry after .Using handmade soap , I don't even need lotion.That says it all for me. You will never convince some people that store bought stuff is not as good as handmade , that's just the way it is.

Kitn

laVale · May 5, 2009

andreja said:
When I am trying to argue why I like bar soaps, people say to me that our skin is acidic and that alkaline soap isn't good for our skin as it washes our acid layer away. What can I say to them about it?

hello!
The skin is "alive", so I think (I'm just a newbie soapmaker, I've been reading a lot, but I'm not a pro) it's able to "get acid" again by itself, so the soap is not going to "wash away" a layer, but to alkalinize (???) pH for a bit. The skin, if it's in good "shape" will acidify it soon.
The same doesn't apply to hair, they're a sort of "dead stuff", and they need acid, so shampoo and conditioner (and vinegar or citric acid) are acid and good for them, soap or solid bars are not too good (but I know many people are making alkaline shampoo bars and their hair feels good with them).
Alkaline stuff on hair is supposed to "open" hair's flakes, so hair won't look very shiny.

mandolyn · May 5, 2009

You might remind them that if they're using store bought soap, most of it is detergent. The same stuff they wash their dishes with & do their laundry with. It, also, has all the glycerin stripped out of it to be sold.

Handmade soap retains all the natural glycerin & if it's superfatted, leaves some oils behind, so it doesn't just strip your skin.

IrishLass · May 5, 2009

What Kitn, laVale, and Mandolyn said. From what I've learned from others more experienced than me in my soaping venture, while handmade CP soaps are indeed on the alkaline side, the lather is quickly washed off- unlike lotions, for instance, which are made to stay on the skin. And the skin is an amazing organism at being able to bounce back quickly from the pH change from bathing.

This is just my opinion, but I believe the whole "bar soap is bad for you" angle is pretty much nothing more than a big marketing strategy that has sucked many unsuspecting people in. I get great feedback from the people that use my handmade CP soap - they love it so much better than store-bought soaps and tell me that their skin is no longer dry and blotchy since using my soaps. Forget the commercial marketing angle- the proof is in the pudding (or soap).

IrishLass

mandolyn · May 5, 2009

Check out the Millers Soap site. They have some good info on ph testing of soap.

A commercial soap and 2 handcrafted soaps all measured 7.5 with ph strips.
With a ph meter, the commercial soap was 10.19, one of the handcrafted soaps measured 9.82 & the other handcrafted soap measured 10.24.

Something to ponder.

laVale · May 5, 2009

mandolyn said:
Check out the Millers Soap site. They have some good info on ph testing of soap.

thanks, it's very interesting
http://www.millersoap.com/phtome.html

by the way, I tested my soaps with pH strips and they are around 9. They usually have a surfatting of 5-6%
I know that pH strips have problems to test oily stuff (i.e. face cream).

Guest · May 5, 2009

IrishLass said:
This is just my opinion, but I believe the whole "bar soap is bad for you" angle is pretty much nothing more than a big marketing strategy that has sucked many unsuspecting people in.

I'm with you on that. I felt great when 2 women who I gave my soap to recently told me that they've never used a soap that left their skin feeling so soft and moisturized. One of them (my boss's wife) asked me if I put lotion in the soap. She'd also told me that she'd tried Dr. Bronner's before and it left her skin feeling dry, so it was awesome hearing that she loved my soap.

mandolyn · May 6, 2009

Danielito said:
IrishLass said:

This is just my opinion, but I believe the whole "bar soap is bad for you" angle is pretty much nothing more than a big marketing strategy that has sucked many unsuspecting people in.

Click to expand...

I'm with you on that. I felt great when 2 women who I gave my soap to recently told me that they've never used a soap that left their skin feeling so soft and moisturized. One of them (my boss's wife) asked me if I put lotion in the soap. She'd also told me that she'd tried Dr. Bronner's before and it left her skin feeling dry, so it was awesome hearing that she loved my soap.

You know, those nay-sayers should be gifted with a free bar of handcrafted soap. I'm willing to bet, they'd change their minds.

andreja · May 6, 2009

Thanks for your replies. I agree with everything you said. I guess the only way to persuade them is to give them homemade soap and hope they try it. :wink:
I did read millersoap site about pH, but at the time I wasn't interested in pH of commercial soaps, so it slipped my mind that those are also alkaline.

alkaline pH of a soap, "bad" for skin?

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