3 replies to this topic

[White]

I see alot of "soap free" well chemically speaking, what exactly does soap free mean? What is not in a cleanser thats considered to be a "soap"?

[sayitloud]

sulfates mabye? That'd be my guess.

[LabGirl81]

It just means that it doesn't contain a salt of a fatty acid (Sodium Laurate, TEA-Stearate, Magnesium Tallowate, DEA-Linoleate etc..........

It can contian any "sulfate" based surfactants like sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, ammoinium laureth sulfate, ammoinium lauryl sulfate.

Or the coconut derived sutfactants and betaines like Cocoyl Sarcosinamide DEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, ect... there are hundreds, possibly thousands of "soap free" surfactants and detergants......


Soap systems generally have high pH's (8.5-10.5) which is too high for skin (around pH 5). This can cause more damage to the skins protective epidermal lipids than non-soap based surfactant systems, because at high pH the lipid layers in the epidermis become rigid, which causes swelling of the stratum corneum that leads to irritation, and an increase in transepidermal water loss (that causes dry skin)........

Generally speaking it's best to not use soaps if you have any impairment of the barrier function of your skin. You probably have an impared water barrier if you have acne (with out using topicals), have excessively oily skin, or you are using topical acne medications like BP, salicylic acid, topical retinoids (retin-a, differin) or topical antibiotics, or you are taking the drug Accutane.....

[sayitloud]

well, i tried. lol.