Is Soap Bad For My Skin?

While showering and keeping our bodies clean is a must, the use of certain soaps and the frequency of the practice is constantly asked and answers searched for. The main question that most people want the truth on is: is soap bad for your skin? Now, there are actually several good and legitimate reasons to not shower every day of your life, and soap is a reason. So is soap bad for your skin, or is that just hearsay?

The truth is a little tricky because the answer is yes and a no.

The Answer to Using Soap or Not

There are some that believe showering every day has been shown to eliminate useful bacteria, dry out your skin and hair, and on a basic level, wastes water. However, most of the reasons not to shower daily come directly from our use of soap, not from the shower itself, or the water usage. The real fact is that soap should only be used where it's absolutely needed in order to prevent the elimination of useful bacteria. There is also truth in that using soap for your whole body can cause excess dryness when the skin is actually somewhat self-cleaning.

A big falsity of washing ourselves to be clean is that dirt is what is harmful and can cause disease or infections. Even when we sweat a lot from hot weather, outdoor activities, or exercising, we don’t need to wash our bodies to be clean. Our skin contains naturally occurring good bacteria and helps protect our immune system. Soap strips all of that away and significantly dries out our skin on top of that (and yes, we even mean the moisturizing soaps).

Don’t worry, though, because not all soaps are created equal.

While many estheticians urge men and women to stop using bar soap on their faces, no one is suggesting that soap is the devil. Instead of calling it quits on the product as a whole, you need to be taking a look at the ingredients in your body wash as the actual means to reversing the effects of soap on your body.

You should know that one of the biggest culprits of creating lack-luster washes is soaps that contain fragrance. Sadly, all of those delicious smelling bars of soap, shower gels, body washes, and hand soaps are creating a big problem for your skin. Why is fragrance so bad for your skin? Fragrance can essentially be a cocktail of chemicals and you’d never know it. The FDA doesn't require companies to disclose the ingredients in their fragrances, so it's highly unlikely you'll know what your putting on your skin, and most fragrances are synthetic, which usually leads to a chemical formula and one thing we know for certain is that chemicals are not meant to be applied to our skin!

It’s also best to avoid other harmful chemicals often found in soaps, such as:

• Parabens
• Sulfates
• Sodium Chloride
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)

Why should you avoid these ingredients in soaps and body wash? Firstly, parabens are able to enter the bloodstream mimicking estrogen once on the skin while sulfates — which are used to create a lather — strip the skin of natural oils. Sodium chloride is a natural salt compound that is used as a thickener for shampoo and makes it easier to rinse out, but it also strips away the natural oils of our skin. SLS is a foaming agent and is a known skin irritant.

So, the answer to the “is soap bad for your skin” question is a bit complicated but easy to rectify. If you want to shower less often, you can do that as a measure to keep your skin healthy, or simply look into a soap or body wash that won’t cause these effects for your skin!

Wild Naturals Soap-Free Body Wash

The best part of the growing natural trends for beauty and body care products is that you now have more accessibility to what used to be found only in select stores. Wild Naturals realized the negative effects of soap and created two different body washes that are free of soap and all the other chemical ingredients you need to avoid when you’re bathing!

The Manuka Honey Body Wash is great for all skin types, but the Eczema & Psoriasis Body Wash is specifically for those skin types that are sensitive, itchy, and need extra relief for their dry, cracked skin. Visit the online store today to discover the best soap free body wash that will revitalize your body with all of nature’s goodness! Happy shopping!