Hair soap and acne

[chibi-soap]

Hi,
I know a lot of people make soap to wash their hair and a lot of people tell them that is a bad idea.
I wanted to add an observation I've made.
My daughter has been battling acne since she was 11. We finally got it under control about a year ago with the help of some medication but about 6 months ago her face began to get slowly but steadily bad again until it was covered in bright red zits.
In desperation, I threw out her antibacterial wash and bought some gentle la roche posay cleanser etc. and like a miracle her face got better, only to do an about turn and get bad again, especially around her forehead.
This morning I had an epiphany! About 6 months ago we bought soap marketed for hair washing. We were trying to save plastic. That's when her face started to get bad. Around about the time that we bought the french skin care we ran out of the hair soap and switched to the another, more conventional brand of soap, with a hard cake and, I think, no superfat. Things improved but I didn't like the new soap so we switched to my home made stuff which has a 5% superfat. It's really nice on my hair but my daughter's forehead is now a mess!
This morning I realised that the high pH and fat content of the soaps we used were almost certainly the culprits of ruining her skin

So to the cautions of the people who say that the high pH of soap will ruin your hair, I'd like to add, it may ruin your skin too.

My daughter is switching back to shampoo. I'll make an update in a few weeks with the results.

 

[cmzaha]

My adult daughters still fight acne one daughter fights cystic acne and I make them soap with low cleansing numbers and 2% superfat and charcoal with the one that fights cystic acne. But you are right some Cannot use Soap and need synthetic and simply need to use shampoo. It is such a balance and finding what works.

I know now is not a time we can really go to doctors but I really wonder if there are any new treatments available or possible for your daughter. I only ask because I know there are many new treatments available for eczema that I have recently been able to try. Also, cost can be a factor I realize. Just a thought.

Good luck to your daughter. Any skin problems can be so heartbreaking to deal with.

 

[penelopejane]

Hi,
I know a lot of people make soap to wash their hair and a lot of people tell them that is a bad idea.
I wanted to add an observation I've made.
My daughter has been battling acne since she was 11. We finally got it under control about a year ago with the help of some medication but about 6 months ago her face began to get slowly but steadily bad again until it was covered in bright red zits.
In desperation, I threw out her antibacterial wash and bought some gentle la roche posay cleanser etc. and like a miracle her face got better, only to do an about turn and get bad again, especially around her forehead.
This morning I had an epiphany! About 6 months ago we bought soap marketed for hair washing. We were trying to save plastic. That's when her face started to get bad. Around about the time that we bought the french skin care we ran out of the hair soap and switched to the another, more conventional brand of soap, with a hard cake and, I think, no superfat. Things improved but I didn't like the new soap so we switched to my home made stuff which has a 5% superfat. It's really nice on my hair but my daughter's forehead is now a mess!
This morning I realised that the high pH and fat content of the soaps we used were almost certainly the culprits of ruining her skin

So to the cautions of the people who say that the high pH of soap will ruin your hair, I'd like to add, it may ruin your skin too.

My daughter is switching back to shampoo. I'll make an update in a few weeks with the results.

I react that way to SLS or similar in shampoo, cleansers, moisturiser, soap etc
Also food causes problems for me - salicylates and amines.

 

[Arimara]

I have taken to buying the Korean skin products that dont break my bank. I am mostly on my way to clearer skin. I also upped the price point to $20 for each skin care item that works, keeps my face moisterized/clean, and soes not irritate it within seconds.

 

[chibi-soap]

I react that way to SLS or similar in shampoo, cleansers, moisturiser, soap etc
Also food causes problems for me - salicylates and amines.

Do the salicylates and amines make you break out? My daughter seems to be sensitive to amines, they give her headaches, but it's not a clear relationship. Some foods trigger it but others are OK. I hadn't really thought about them causing acne!

 

[chibi-soap]

My adult daughters still fight acne one daughter fights cystic acne and I make them soap with low cleansing numbers and 2% superfat and charcoal with the one that fights cystic acne. But you are right some Cannot use Soap and need synthetic and simply need to use shampoo. It is such a balance and finding what works.

I know now is not a time we can really go to doctors but I really wonder if there are any new treatments available or possible for your daughter. I only ask because I know there are many new treatments available for eczema that I have recently been able to try. Also, cost can be a factor I realize. Just a thought.

Good luck to your daughter. Any skin problems can be so heartbreaking to deal with.

Thanks for your kind reply.
Its funny how different things work for different people. My daughter's skin is healing! And surprisingly fast. Hurrah!
We've tried every medication under the sun, except accutane. The only thing that has really worked is the pill. I was reluctant to give it to her before she had matured physically a bit but, as the doctors promised, it did work really well.

And you're right...now is not the time to go to the doctors with acne! The current situation puts things in perspective, does it not?

 

[penelopejane]

Do the salicylates and amines make you break out? My daughter seems to be sensitive to amines, they give her headaches, but it's not a clear relationship. Some foods trigger it but others are OK. I hadn't really thought about them causing acne!

]
Salicylates and amines have a threshold (different level for everyone) that you can reach but you won't react until you go over the threshold.

So you can eat spaghetti bolognese or honey or ham every night for dinner and be fine but if you have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner you might react.

You can also eat spaghetti bolognese for dinner, honey for lunch and ham for breakfast and you might react.

Working out what you react to and how much you can have in combination with other things is a really, slow process. My reactions have got more severe the older I get.

 

[chibi-soap]

]
Salicylates and amines have a threshold (different level for everyone) that you can reach but you won't react until you go over the threshold.

So you can eat spaghetti bolognese or honey or ham every night for dinner and be fine but if you have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner you might react.

You can also eat spaghetti bolognese for dinner, honey for lunch and ham for breakfast and you might react.

Working out what you react to and how much you can have in combination with other things is a really, slow process. My reactions have got more severe the older I get.

And they give you acne? Sorry to ask again but this could be useful info for us.
I know what you mean about the threshold. Tofu is fine, soy sauce is fine, but not together!
My cousin is the full bottle on this stuff, when I can see her again I'll have to ask her to show me her books.
I saw her in September and her eczema was *terrible* and she showed me the salicylate/amine books she has and said she was going on the diet (she's done it many times over the years but it's so boring she can't keep it up) and then I saw her at Christmas and the difference in her skin was *amazing*.
My daughter has also had a horrible reaction to cranberry juice (very high in salicylates); hives from head to toe, not so much hives as one enormous hive.

 

[penelopejane]

And they give you acne? Sorry to ask again but this could be useful info for us.
I know what you mean about the threshold. Tofu is fine, soy sauce is fine, but not together!
My cousin is the full bottle on this stuff, when I can see her again I'll have to ask her to show me her books.
I saw her in September and her eczema was *terrible* and she showed me the salicylate/amine books she has and said she was going on the diet (she's done it many times over the years but it's so boring she can't keep it up) and then I saw her at Christmas and the difference in her skin was *amazing*.
My daughter has also had a horrible reaction to cranberry juice (very high in salicylates); hives from head to toe, not so much hives as one enormous hive.

Yes they do. But SLS does too.
Everyone in my family has different reactions to salicylates.
One son got eczema, one son throws up and loses colour in his vision and gets bad skin, the other son gets hyperactive. I used to get hives when I was very young - not anymore.

 

[Ssemambo hassan]

I'm ssemambo hassan from Uganda i have a question about soap making but I don't know how to post it on this platform

 

[atiz]

I'm ssemambo hassan from Uganda i have a question about soap making but I don't know how to post it on this platform

Welcome!
You may want to go to the Introduction forum and introduce yourself. You can post a new thread with your question in the "Beginners" section, but you can also just use the search first to see if it has already been raised and answered (probably yes -- there is a lot of information on this forum!).

 

[scentsational]

Hi,
I know a lot of people make soap to wash their hair and a lot of people tell them that is a bad idea.
I wanted to add an observation I've made.
My daughter has been battling acne since she was 11. We finally got it under control about a year ago with the help of some medication but about 6 months ago her face began to get slowly but steadily bad again until it was covered in bright red zits.
In desperation, I threw out her antibacterial wash and bought some gentle la roche posay cleanser etc. and like a miracle her face got better, only to do an about turn and get bad again, especially around her forehead.
This morning I had an epiphany! About 6 months ago we bought soap marketed for hair washing. We were trying to save plastic. That's when her face started to get bad. Around about the time that we bought the french skin care we ran out of the hair soap and switched to the another, more conventional brand of soap, with a hard cake and, I think, no superfat. Things improved but I didn't like the new soap so we switched to my home made stuff which has a 5% superfat. It's really nice on my hair but my daughter's forehead is now a mess!
This morning I realised that the high pH and fat content of the soaps we used were almost certainly the culprits of ruining her skin

So to the cautions of the people who say that the high pH of soap will ruin your hair, I'd like to add, it may ruin your skin too.

My daughter is switching back to shampoo. I'll make an update in a few weeks with the results.

I have to be careful about using shampoos with Citric Acid in it. Surprisingly, conditioners contain Citric Acid also. There are very few market made shampoos that don't contain Citric Acid in it. My reaction to Citric Acid is Acne, on my face and back. I'm almost 54 years old and had been fighting adult acne until I realized the culprit. Once I removed products with Citric Acid, my face and back cleared up. One more thing you could try to eliminate to see if this helps your daughter's skin.

 

[dixiedragon]

Have you tried a shampoo such as Selsen blue that is meant for dandruff? It can also help with acne.

also, consider Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle repair. That's what has finally helped my adult acne! Frustrating that it isn't in the acne section. Salicylic doesn't do much for me, but saliclylic toner + Rapid Wrinkle Repair helps a lot! I started off using it every night right off the bat, because I was not going to be able to remember every other night. It definitely got worse before it got better - I constantly had small zits and several large painful ones. But once I got through that first month and kept it up, it helped a lot!

 

[Veggiebin]

The best thing my daughter found, in addition to figuring out food triggers (corn, which is in everything and not listed anywhere as an allergen!!!), was the evanhealy line. Very clean products, like I would make myself. We started down a road of eliminating chemicals because of the infertility issues they cause. Evanhealy is awesome, expensive, but awesome.

 

[chibi-soap]

Thanks everyone. I ended up getting some SLS free, fragrance free, pH balanced, hypoallergenic (!!) shampoo for my daughter and it does seem to help. I'll check the label for citric acid. Who would have thought that could be a problem? I don't think we can get evenhealy here but I'm rapidly forming the opinion that treating the acid mantle gently is key! I'm also realising that my daughter's problems go beyond acne, she has sensitive skin, but she's also allergic to a lot of environmental things so she could well be allergic to things in her face care and shampoo! It's hard being the mother of a delicate darling!