If you have a beautiful piece of jewelry such as a string of pearls or a diamond ring, you aren’t going to put them in harsh chemicals or detergents to clean them, right? And guys, if there’s a beautiful shine to your car, you are just as careful not to ruin it with an abrasive cleanser, correct? But yet, everyday millions of people are stripping their skin of their natural emollients (lipids) with harsh detergents and soaps. These natural lipids help your skin to glow and keep it healthy. So why strip them away?
You probably think that bar of deodorant or anti-bacterial soap you put on your skin is just that, soap. It’s most likely not; it’s probably a detergent with synthetic ingredients that are very harsh on the skin, especially dry skin. According to the U.S. government definitions, soap is made from fats and alkali–that’s it. Basically anything that makes a claim such as being a deodorizer, being anti-bacterial, beautifying, etc. is considered a cosmetic, not a soap.
Interestingly, the reason some synthetic ingredients are added to body cleansers is not so much about cleaning or improving your skin. It’s actually there to keep scum from forming in the tub or shower. Pure soaps (fat and alkalies) form a “tub ring” in hard water. So that body cleansers can work the same in all water types, manufactures created products with synthetic ingredients that work in both soft and hard water. This is what also causes the soap to bubble and lather. Consequently, the same ingredients that keep your tub clean are also the ingredients you are using on your body. You also clean with bleach…would you bathe in that? Alright, a bit of an exaggeration…but still.
Our body scrubs use a combination of plant oils, plant botanicals, and exfoliants, such as sugar or salt to clean the body. Using plant oils to cleanse the body is hardly a novel idea. Many cultures used plant oils for these exact purposes. The Romans, Greeks, and the ayurvedic practice in India promoted the use of plant oils and essential oils to keep the skin not only clean, but moisturized as well. That is what our scrubs; they clean, exfoliate, and moisturize all in one.
