We all use soaps in our everyday lives, but how much do we know about them? Marketing can be misleading, and when it comes to a product we use on our skin every single day, it is worth knowing how it is made and what kind of ingredients it contains.
Have you ever felt your skin itchy and dry after you come out of the shower? Do you feel you need to use a moisturising cream to rehydrate your skin? If the answer is yes then the soap you are using is most likely synthetic, despite what the label says. Synthetic soaps use chemicals that mimic the cleaning abilities of real soap, creating a very strong and aggressive cleanser that makes our skin feel dry and itchy, and makes the use of a body cream necessary to moisturise the skin.
It is time we realised the difference between “real, natural” soaps and “fake, natural” soaps, and make sure we do not add unnecessary chemicals to our skin.
The variety of soaps available in the market is huge. What are the differences between them and how to spot them? Good question.
There are plenty of soaps today that claim to be “natural”. But what makes a product natural? It is important to define the word “natural” as it is used in soaps and cosmetics in general. It is also important to understand that European and international legislations allow the use of the words “natural” and “organic” on soap packaging even if only a small percentage of the ingredients are natural or organic.
When we say “natural” we mean that we use natural ingredients and derivatives from natural ingredients that we mix together in small batches to keep control of the quality. The saponification process gives us glycerine that we love for it helps the skin keep its moisture. It’s as simple as that.
The Cleaning Soaps
You will find them in all kinds of stores. Usually most of them are highly synthetic detergents that contain chemicals and synthetic derivatives that clean very well but also dry the skin. They smell fresh and have nice colours, are cheap and sold in big packs.
The Branded “Natural” Soaps
They often have offers like: Buy 2 Get 1 for free, or something like that. They are mostly synthetic and mass produced, and contain some organic and natural ingredients in a very small quantity, usually less than 3%, which allows the soap to be labelled “Natural”. You will find these soaps in Branded Stores, Pharmacies, Up Market Food stores.
Synthetic ingredients almost always cost less than natural ingredients and are usually toxic. This makes it very tempting for some mass-marketed multinational corporations to use synthetic ingredients that often imitate natural ones, as long as they can be labelled “Natural” on the soap packaging.
We live in times when the natural and organic products market is growing, and consumers are demanding products that are healthier and better for the environment. These big corporations have jumped on the “natural” bandwagon and use their marketing abilities to benefit from green consumerism. Take a look at the supermarket shelves and you will see the multitude of “natural” claims on all sorts of products… that do not look very natural. Their definition of natural includes manipulated and chemically altered ingredients. To them “natural” is just another marketing trick, not a necessity.
Furthermore, synthetic soaps are not biodegradable, they are mass produced in an unsustainable way using chemicals and synthetic derivatives that further pollute the environment.
Real, natural, cool soaps do not only clean but also moisturise and soothe our skin, allowing our skin cells to breathe naturally. For us, natural Soaps are made from plant oils and natural ingredients that are carefully chosen and bought, produced in a sustainable way.