Is Soap Bad for Your Skin?

Soap can be bad for your skin, especially the skin on your face. Depending on the type of cleanser you use, your daily face washing routine may be doing more harm than good. Much of the problem comes from how we were taught to wash and the feelings we come to associate with cleanliness.

In the past, we were often told that soap was important for skincare. A proper wash was supposed to make the skin feel tight. By achieving this, we knew for sure that we had stripped off all of the nasty dirt and oils that could block our pores. We then would then follow up by using a good astringent to ensure that no trace of oil or dead skin was left.

This routine on paper sound pretty good until, of course, the day the obvious happens: we start to realize our skin is not only tight but dry, itchy, and inflamed. Now is the time to start recalibrating our thinking and to take a good, hard look at how soaps actually affect our skin.

How Soap Works

Soaps and facial cleansers are designed to remove dirt, sweat sebum, and oils from the skin. They do so with the use of surfactants, chemical agents that surround dirt and oil, dissolving them and making it easier for water to wash them away. They also aid in the skin’s natural exfoliating process by removing dead cells from the epidermis (the outermost layer of skin).

Surfactants have many different functions: they act as detergents, wetting agents, foaming agents, conditioning agents, emulsifiers, and solubilizers. In addition to soaps and facial cleansers, surfactants can also be found in lotions, perfume, shampoo, and a multitude of other hair and body products.

While the surfactants found in soap are meant to leave the skin feeling fresh and clean, it’s not always the case.

By doing so, toxins, bacteria, and other unhealthy substances are able to penetrate deeper into the skin where they can do long-term harm.

How Soap Affects the Biology of Skin

The stratum corneum is made up of layers of dead keratinocytes, or protein cells, that are constantly being shed. Once a single layer of keratinocytes reaches the outermost layer, they become corneocytes. When this happens, the cell loses its nucleus and cytoplasm and becomes hard and dry. Surfactants bind to these proteins and over-hydrate them, causing them to swell.

The swelling allows the cleanser ingredients to more easily penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin, where they can interact with nerve endings and the immune system itself, leading to itching and irritation. Moreover, as the water evaporates from the skin, the corneocytes become even drier than ever as the surfactants effectively strip the skin of its natural moisturizing factor (NMF).

The stratum corneum also contains lipids that help skin retain moisture. While the exact effect of cleansers on these fat cells is still not fully understood, it is believed that surfactants are able to get in between and disrupt the lipid bilayers. These are the fat cells that surround and provide a protective barrier for all cells.

When this happens, the cells can become more permeable and vulnerable to damage. Surfactants can also damage the lipid structures themselves, causing a reduction in the fats within the external skin layers

Surfactants are broadly divided into two categories: soap-based surfactants and synthetic, detergent-based surfactants (also known as syndets).

The Negative Effects of Conventional Soap

Conventional soaps can change the normal pH of your skin. They can also eliminate good bacteria, which help prevent pathogens from causing skin problems.

Other negative effects can be more visible, like dry skin, wrinkles, and acne.

It Can Dry Your Skin

Bar soap can cause skin irritation and dryness. This is because they strip away the natural oils in your skin, and most don't contain moisturizing ingredients.

It Can Give You Wrinkles

Prolonged use of bar soap on your face may damage the top layer of skin. When your skin is stripped of oil and moisture, it may sag and you may develop wrinkles prematurely. 

It Can Make Skin Conditions Worse

It may seem counterintuitive, but stripping the oils and moisture from your skin can make acne worse. When you remove your skin's natural oils, it will respond by overproducing oils to compensate for what has been lost. The result can be worsening acne.

Similarly, bar soap can also worsen skin conditions like eczema. This is because people with eczema have a weakened skin barrier, which is the outermost layer of skin. Soap can damage that already sensitive part of the skin, making eczema worse.

Cleansing Tips

Choosing the right cleanser for your face shouldn’t be a chore, but it sometimes is. As a rule of thumb, it is best not to use bar soap on your face, particularly if you have dry or sensitive skin.

The best soaps for your skin aren't traditional soaps at all. Liquid facial cleansers and body washes are usually better than soap since they tend to have a lower pH and often include moisturizers, called emollients, that can counteract any dryness traditional soaps can cause.

Emollient moisturizers contain either occlusives or humectants. Occlusives are oils that reduce water loss and help keep the stratum corneum moist. Humectants increase the amount of water the stratum corneum can hold. One is not better than the other; it's all a matter of personal choice.

When finished, always pat your skin dry as opposed to rubbing it vigorously. In the end, the more gently you treat your skin, the more you help it retain its natural softness, resiliency, and moisture.

To help retain skin softness and moisture, add a light layer of moisturizing cream or lotion, especially after a hot bath or shower. There are even those with sun protection factor (SPF) if you plan to go outdoors.