The problem with our modern detergents, surfactants, and washing active substances is that they clean too thoroughly. Our skin is surrounded by a natural protective layer of sebum, sweat, and dead skin cells. This protective layer is washed off with common washing lotions and shampoos and cannot build up again quickly enough until the next wash. The best way to clean the skin is to remove the dirt particles without decreasing the skin too much and thus impairing the natural functions of the skin. When it was said in the 1970s that soap had an alkaline pH value and was therefore bad for the skin, I was still a child. My mother, a modern woman, immediately switched to a new, soap-free shampoo with a skin-neutral, slightly acidic pH value. For a long time, I always use Biocos Beauty Soap in Pakistan. I did not associate this with this change, since the new washing lotion was supposed to be so “incredibly healthy”.
As a young adult, I always wondered what it could be like to have acne on dry skin, and no one could explain that to me either. I never questioned the common washing lotions and shampoos with their skin-neutral pH value because of my character, even if I now used other products than those that my mother once swore by. I tried countless products, conventional or organic, but sooner or later I got cracked hands and an itchy scalp from everything.
The logic that a skin-neutral pH value is important for healthy skin made me stick to these modern, soap-free shampoos and washing lotions for a long time. At some point, however, my scalp was in such a pathetic condition that I had to give serious thought. I realized that a skin-neutral pH value is of no use to me if my skin is degreased too much and is damaged. So, I tried soap.
Since then, I’ve been really happy and satisfied. My skin is no longer too dry, nothing itches anymore and my complexion has improved. Because the skin is no longer so dry, even fine lines have receded. I also wash my hair with this soap that is made with olive and laurel oil. It is important to rinse with a vinegar rinse. Because hard water produces lime soaps during the washing process, the residues of which remain in the hair. If you put a shot of vinegar in a bowl, pour water on it, and rinse your hair with it, these lime soaps are dissolved and the hair shines very nicely. In addition, you have prepared an acidic environment for your scalp again. If the vinegar smell (which dissipates relatively quickly) bothers you, you can then rinse again briefly with clear water.
One reads again and again that people who have switched to such a soap have to wash their hair less often after a while. I’ve had the same experience. My scalp has calmed down and I only have to wash my hair every two or three days.
Latest research shows: modern surfactants affect our energy balance!
Our too strong fat-dissolving surfactants disrupt our energy balance and cause immediate cell damage. As fat-soluble substances, they quickly penetrate the skin, into organs, through the blood-brain barrier, and into our cells. There they damage the mitochondria, small cell organs that are responsible for supplying the cell with energy. The mitochondria have a membrane made of fatty acids that must be intact for proper energy production. If this membrane is damaged, the ATP, the fuel of our cells, which the mitochondria provide, can no longer be transported out of the mitochondria as well. This has an immediate and noticeable effect on our energy balance!
This becomes particularly significant given the fact that high sensitivity is likely caused by a genetic feature, as found in my article High sensitivity genes from migraine research? can be read. Researchers have found that there is one gene that around 20% of people carry. In these, there is a higher concentration of messenger substances in the synaptic gap between the nerve cells, which on the one hand brings a deeper sensation and increased brain activity, but on the other hand, brings about problems with the energy supply. The mitochondria of the nerve cells often cannot keep up with the formation of ATP. Highly sensitive people should therefore pay particular attention to doing something for their mitochondria. And what else you can do besides doing without modern surfactants and switching back to good old soap, I’ll write about in one of my next articles.
If you want to try the best soaps for dry skin, you should consider the following:
Soap is made from fat. Pretty much any fat can be used. Soap is obtained from beef fat, for example. This is an important point for everyone who is vegetarian or vegan.
The soap raw material palmitate is mostly made from palm oil. In order to create palm oil plantations, rainforests are being cut down, which is a major problem for our global climate.
I don’t find soaps with a huge list of ingredients particularly sparkling. Because to make a good soap you only need fat, such as sodium hydroxide. The more ingredients a soap contains, the higher the risk in the end that you will not tolerate something again. The Aleppo soap I use only contains olive oil, bay oil, and sodium hydroxide.
You can use the code check to check whether the ingredients of the soap you are currently using or perhaps want to try out are OK.
I would be interested in how you wash: What experiences have you had with soap, washing lotion, shampoo, etc.? How do you feel in your skin? Please leave me your answers!
For more: https://www.biocospk.com/product-category/best-beauty-soap-for-dry-skin-in-pakistan/
