How Beneficial is Soap Really?

[Mobjack Bay]

Thank you @DeeAnna! My first soapy lesson for the new year


Hardness and longevity.... If palm, tallow and lard aren't options hehehe

I'm gonna go on a limb here and say that I think they do, but I won't go as far as saying you absolutely need them, and won't be able to tell you what exactly lol. One of my mom's friends has tried several of my soaps - she buys my sample sized bars at cost to help me she says - and has now decided that the triple butter one is the best for her. She has spread the word to others in their group and some who have tried n used my other soaps have converted to this one. Must be something in the butters then, no?

I also have a few testers who can pick out the butter soaps and like them the best. One of my BILs wants butter based soap and only butter based soap. Someone mentioned above that butters may cut lather. I found that to be true in younger soaps. With aging, on the order of 4-6 months, the butter soaps I made are making a very lovely lather. I’ve also been testing a soap made by another member that I believe is butter-based (no animal products for sure and likely no palm) although the recipe is still unknown to me. To me, it is very close to a lard-based soap, but feels just a tad lighter, in a good way.

I’m not willing to totally write off the potential for benefits from some EOs and natural additives in soaps. We know that some of the scents make it through saponification, as do plant color pigments, and we rely on constituents of rosemary for anti-oxidant protection. The published science is incredibly scarce, IMHO. If nothing else, some of these additives make soap that is very pleasing to use, which is enough for me to include them when the cost of doing so is not substantial.

 

[lenarenee]

Would be interesting to know, I am dubious about that theory personally as much as I would like it to be true. I do find water plumps up the skin yes ( I am a male by the way so perhaps use stuff in a slightly different way) but that does disappear reasonably fast. Any glycerine on the skin in my experience has had a tacky feel IMHO, but to know what actually happens scientifically would be interesting. Going back to the OP saying about a U Tube vid stating about all the benefits of the ingredients in soap, that I dont go with and there are many out there, great sales hype but I dont think its founded is it?

I didn't see the video. But I do know that general consensus on this forum is that because once sodium hydroxide hits an oil/fat the molecular structure is changed from fatty acids to salts of fatty acids. Those oils no longer have the same attributes and many people on the forum know that.

Lol, you definitely don't want to put straight glycerin on your skin because everything will stick to you!

I'll leave this here for you to read, if you want. Other than a cursory look, I didn't validate the scientific accuracy of the article. I know a fair amount about how the integumentary system works, and my quick read through of the article didn't throw up any red flags (and the site isn't selling it's own product)

All I know is, I love glycerin water when it's 5% humidity here in So California. It works far better for me than plain water, or the most expensive lotion/creams. I also know that I used to need lotion daily before making my own soap. Now I only keep lotion during the winter. (except for hands....I'm in child care so washing then dozens of times a day!)

ETA: reread your post; when you say benefits….are you also including the "vitamins, polyphenols and etc. that some people claim will "nourish" or "cure" your skin? I believe that lye destroys/changes the oil so much that there's little if any of that left. However, I don't remember ever reading that info as proven fact (Yes, I did read my Kevin Dunn book, but …..)

On this forum many people often suggest using the expensive luxury oils for lotions, due to that same belief.