Soaps versus Cleansers
It can seem like just a matter of preference: soap or cleanser?
They are different in their composition and depending on your purpose, one might just be better than the other. Yet, there is a third type: detergent, that should be avoided.
What are Detergents?
When you buy soaps and cleansers from the drugstore, you are not buying ‘soap’—you have purchased a detergent. One of the most common household chemicals in the modern world is sodium lauryl sulfate, also abbreviated as SLS. If you check on the ingredient label of toothpaste, soap bars, dish detergent, washing detergent, you may find SLS lurking as one of the top 5 ingredients.
SLS is a surfactant and in a nutshell, it does what soap does, but with more intensity. Surfactants bind to oils, and then reduce the surface tension between oils and water. When you wash off the foamy bubbles caused by a surfactant, the oil and the bubbles glide off as one. Yet, although sodium lauryl sulfate and similar chemicals—sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), sodium coco sulfate (SCS)—are defined as safe by leading health authorities, they have been documented to excessively strip off the oils in our hair and skin, which is detrimental to skin health.
When we saw that it was impossible to find products free of SLS in the usual stores, we started creating our own soaps and cleansers, made to do more than remove oil and dirt, but also condition the skin and help repair the damage, reduce irritating conditions, or exfoliate. Avoiding detergents is the best thing you can do for your body.
Do You Want a Soap or a Cleanser?
We create soaps and cleansers free of detergents, harmful chemicals and synthetic fragrances. Instead, they’re packed with 10 - 15 premium cold-processed botanical extracts, infusions and oils that nourish your body. Superfats like Shea Butter, Wheatgerm Oil, Evening Primrose Oil, Mango Butter and more chosen for their skin-boosting vitamins, like C, E, and K, as well as high concentrations of antioxidating effects from polyphenols and Omega 3-6-9 fatty acids. Fresh extracts like Aloe Vera condition the skin to help it retain moisture.
While all Sade Baron soaps and cleansers are gentle for the skin, these are the things you can consider when choosing between a soap bar or a cleanser.
If healing from wounds. The skin’s natural pH is slightly acidic, falling between 4.0 and 5.0, on a scale from 0.0 (extremely acidic) to 14.0 (extremely alkaline). Both soaps and cleansers, due to their method of creation, have a pH value that is considered alkaline, averaging about 8.0 pH. If your skin is particularly sensitive due to injury, cleansers may be a better option, as they are also easier to use in liquid form. Plus, a little goes a long way with our botanical cleansers—only a pea-sized drop is needed to wash the entire body, and no scrubbing action is needed like with bar soap.
For very sensitive and irritated skin. Our botanical cleansers help your body feel like it was cleaned with fairy water. Your skin will feel lighter yet stronger, more refreshed and more resilient—and skin irritability will fade.
When sharing with guests. When hosting guests and friends, give them the feeling of a fresh start with a cleanser, rather than a soap bar, which can feel slightly damp after the previous use.
Packing for travel—including in wild nature. If you are planning to go on a trip and would like to keep your packing light, a soap bar is ideal. It is easy to slice the soap bar into smaller sections to use as needed and allow it to dry more easily. Cleansers are ideal if you are in water-limited conditions like camping or hiking. No matter where you are, our all-natural soaps and cleansers can be washed down the drain or off in nature without causing pollution.
Combating oily and blemish-prone skin. Our Vulcano | Activated Bamboo Charcoal soaps and cleansers are both perfect for skin that’s struggling with blemishes on the body and face. But, since cleansers are already moist, they glide off the skin in the moist shower more quickly. Choose a bar soap for more intense and direct cleaning, without the skin-stripping side effects.
For superb exfoliation. Bar soaps provide superior exfoliation when formulated with mild, natural abrasives. Our Morning Glory Coffee Scrub Soap has real coffee granules to remove dead cells and reveal baby-soft skin.