EXPOSED! DAMAGING EFFECTS OF SOAP ON THE SKIN.

The most shocking, I’d have to say, is that most (if not all soap) is not good for your skin.

That’s right… NOT good.

I know it sounds crazy and that

we all were taught we needed

soap to keep us clean, but here

are at least three reasons why

using soap can damage your skin.

1. Soap washes away your

skin’s natural protective

barrier.

while soap may wash away the

dirt and grime, most soaps also

take your skin’s natural oil

barrier with it as well.

Basically, the squeaky clean

feeling you get after using soap

is your body telling you that all

your natural oils have been

stripped away!

Your skin had a natural layer of

fatty acids that is called the acid

mantle barrier. This barrier

protects the skin from infection

and keeps your skin moisturized

naturally.

When the acid mantle barrier is

damaged consistently by using

soap, you eventually will end up

with dry, inflamed and

sometimes acne prone skin.

I know you may never have

heard about this before, but it’s

well known to those who have

worked with skin as a

profession.

The reason why soap can

damage this barrier is because of

pH differences in your acid

mantle and your soap.

The pH of this barrier is about

5.5 which is acidic in nature.

Most soaps, including castile

soaps that you find in the health

food store, are alkaline in nature.

This means their pH can range

up to 9.0.

When a soap of a higher alkaline

pH reacts with your lower pH

acid mantle barrier, the soap

neutralizes the pH and destroys

the fatty acid barrier.

This is specifically how soap

“cuts” grease – which is fine for

washing the dishes, but not for

your skin.

Without a strong acid mantle

barrier the skin will be

susceptible to infection,

inflammation, dryness and acne.

Soap makers actually know about

this, which is why some try to

add moisturizers into their soaps

to make up for the fact that all

the skin’s natural oils are being

stripped when you use the soap.

If you’ve ever wondered why

some people use gloves to wash

dishes, this is exactly why – the

soap washes off all your natural

oils on your hands leaving them

chapped and dry.

Now, with all that said, here’s an

important question to answer:

How do you know if your soap is

alkaline?

Soaps that have suds are all

generally alkaline. So if your soap

bubbles, you can say goodbye to

your acid mantle barrier!

2. Soap can interfere with your

ability to absorb vitamin D.

This second point piggybacks on

the first.

There has been some research

that shows washing away your

natural acid barrier with soap

can also wash away some of the

vitamin D that is synthesized on

and in your skin when you spend

time in the sunlight.

While this research is still

emerging – I don’t know how

much this actually effects vitamin

D levels in the body – what seems

to be the most evident is that

soap is implicated again in the

destruction of the acid mantle

barrier.

This means that everyone but

your soap manufacturer is

starting to realize how important

having natural oils on your skin

really is and how wicked most

soaps can be.

3. Soap kills essential bacteria

on your skin.

Let’s face it, we have a lot more

bacteria on, in and around us

than most people are

comfortable admitting.

Soap is naturally anti-microbial

and anti-bacterial, so using it will

destroy bacteria on your skin,

but is that a good thing?

Our desire to conquer and

destroy every last microbe, has

actually made us worse off –

particularly for your skin.

Just as friendly bacteria in our

gut help digest food, the bacteria

on our skin play an important

role in the health of your body as

well.

Remedy:- Never allow soap to stay on your skin for too long. Wash off immediately.

 Reduce the use of soap to just maybe once a day. 

Clean your body thoroughly after bath. 

Researched.