It’s not the first time we’ve heard this question: “I have sensitive skin and can’t use regular soap. Can I use Botanie’s organic herbal soap?”
Imagine Skincare Products That Cared for the Skin
Chances are the caller who asked the question didn’t mean real soap when she said “regular.” She meant soap generically, and most likely the skin detergents shaped and labeled to look like real soap.
The reason our caller can’t use synthetic versions of soap is because they are, by definition, incompatible with her skin’s chemistry. Skin aggravations aren’t initiated by the body. They’re reactions to substances the skin comes in contact with. And most of those substances are skincare products. In a more sensible world, skincare products would be made not to irritate the skin. Manufacturers would put in the time to perfect their foundations and add only what skin can accept. But in this less sensible world, where flash and surface sell best, most of the products we use to care for our skin – lotions, creams, make-up, and soap – actually contribute to skin conditions and aggravate them over time.
Stopping Eczema Before It Happens
The key to avoiding the circular madness of commercial skincare is using soap – real soap – that doesn’t contain aggravating synthetic ingredients. For our customers with eczema who’ve had success with our soap, it’s not because our soap is medicine. It doesn’t heal eczema. It simply doesn’t contain the ingredients that inflame, irritate, or cause eczema to begin with. It minimizes both the redness and itching these customers have always associated with using soap.
Better Than Sensitive Skin Soaps? Doctor Recommended Isn’t Always a Good Thing
The problem with sensitive-skin products – even those recommended by dermatologists – is the same as for non-sensitive ones. They begin with detergent, add a lathering agent, then fill out the recipe with ingredients intended to minimize the skin-stripping nature of the detergent. Skin-sensitive products just add more of those ingredients. It doesn’t make sense but it’s certainly true. Skincare products specifically made for sensitive skin often contain synthetic ingredients that irritate your skin.
Which brings us back to soap made correctly from the beginning, with oils meant to nourish and moisturize as well as to lather and clean. When the foundation of skincare is right, additional ingredients are truly additional. They’re not there to compensate for a flawed base or to spice up the label with the promise of a better product than you’re actually getting.