Are Your Cleansers Wreaking Havoc on Your Skin

You slather, lather, rub, scrub, and rinse. Surely in those few minutes, it’s highly unlikely that your soap and shampoo could be doing any harm to your skin or scalp, right?

Think again. Although these rinse off products don’t sit on your skin as long as things like moisturizers; they do contain harsh chemicals that cause several skin and scalp problems.

In fact, you may be surprised to learn that your body cleanser is the most important product in your skin care regimen. Before you put on toners, moisturizers, creams, lotions or any other treatment you may be using, you need clean skin or that next product just won’t work as well.

Unfortunately, many of today’s cleansers and shampoos can actually damage your skin, encouraging dryness, dullness, and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Surfactants: What are they?

Surfactants are chemical detergents that are used in personal care products (soap bars, liquid hand and/or body soaps, shampoos, and toothpaste). They are also in dish washing detergents, bathroom cleaners, and car wash cleaners. They are an inexpensive and very effective foaming agent that has cleansing and emulsifying properties (thickening or hardening of ingredients). They behave similarly to soap but are not soap and most of us have been sold on the notion that the “foam” aspect of this ingredient is significant to the cleansing process.

But the truth is that Surfactants have the following harmful effects:

• After-wash tightness (AWT)
• Dryness
• Scabs or Chaffing
• Redness
• Irritation
• Itching
• Dandruff
• Acne

Aside from skin irritation, other troubling data has emerged that shows surfactants might pose more of a threat than first imagined. There have been studies that suggest that some of these surfactants deeply penetrate our skin, leaving behind trace amounts in our body and causing inflammation in our skin. There are also studies that indicate that SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) mimics the effects of certain hormones in the body, causing hormone disruption and making the body produce more oestrogen (a type of estrogen) than necessary – causing chaos on the endocrine system.

The safety levels of these surfactants are hotly debated in both the medical and health communities, so we suggest that you do your own research on them to make an informed decision.

Here are some of the most commonly used surfactants.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Sodium laureth sulfate (a milder form of sodium lauryl sulfate)
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
Ammonium Xylene Sulfonate
TEA Lauryl Sulfate
Sulfur (in dandruff shampoos)
Selenium Sulfide (in dandruff shampoos)

Rest assured, there are no surfactants in any products at Natural Skin Revival. We use goat’s milk and nourishing plant ingredients that clean your skin without being too harsh or too drying.

Our Goat’s Milk Soaps, all Natural Facial Cleansing Oils and Healthy Shampoo Bars promote smooth, healthy skin while they moisturize and heal sensitive, dry, aging and problem skin.