Skin Care Tip: Take a lesson from fish when it comes to your skin. Never wash your skin with a bar of soap. Washing with a bar of soap—no matter how expensive it is or how moisturizing it claims to be—is just an absolute no-no. Why? The binders that hold a bar of soap together naturally have a high pH balance, so they are always going to be too strong for the skin. When you wash with something that’s too harsh, you strip the water out of the skin leaving it dehydrated with dry skin cell build up. Then, you have to run and put on moisturizer to put back in what you just took out.
Skin cells are like fish, they need water to live and without water they die. Wash with a mild sulfate-free gel cleanser so you’re sure not to pull water out of the skin every time you wash. Luxe Mint Cleansing Gel is a great option as it is gentle, yet offers a thorough cleaning.
Bar soaps are more suitable for the body, not the face. Period.
Read: How To Wash Your Face
Read: Are You Using Too Much Cleanser? Try These Money-Saving Tips
Read: Is The Clarisonic Brush Harmful Or Helpful To The Skin?
Which skin care products are best for you? See our nine skin types or take the Skin Type Quiz and get products recommended.
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Celebrity Esthetician & Skincare Expert
As an esthetician trained in cosmetic chemistry, Renée Rouleau has spent 30 years researching skin, educating her audience, and building an award-winning line of products. Her hands-on experience as an esthetician and trusted skin care expert has created a real-world solution — products that are formulated for nine different types of skin so your face will get exactly what it needs to look and feel its best. Trusted by celebrities, editors, bloggers, and skincare obsessives around the globe, her vast real-world knowledge and constant research are why Marie Claire calls her “the most passionate skin practitioner we know.”
Comments:
What about Dove Soap? Its the bar soap I know of that has a balanced pH level.
Posted By: Amanda |
It’s not something that I ever recommend to my clients or would ever personally use on my own skin. It’s definitely gentler than other soaps but I’m still not a fan of using anything in a bar form.
Posted By: Renée Rouleau |
This is news to me. All soap is made to do one thing, clean. The molecules from the soap interact/combine with the molecules of the body, and wash it away. Yes, commercial soap is horrible for the skin, but if you find someone that makes handmade soap, the right way, your skin will benefit, not suffer. Although most bar soaps are made for the body, there are some specially made for the face.
It is best to buy a soap that is specifically made for the face, but don’t exclude “ALL” bar soaps, just the commercial ones!
Posted By: Ken |
It’s the binders that hold soap together that give it a high pH balance, making it too strong for use on the face–despite whatever moisturizing additives are included. We feel that what you wash with is one of the most important steps in a skin care routine. If you wash with something that raises the pH balance too high, it instantly dehydrates the skin and that does not benefit the skin. So it’s all about the pH level. But it sounds like you use a soap that you like and it works well for you, then that’s great! It’s just not something we promote. Thank you for sharing your comments!
Posted By: Renée Rouleau |