Soap Vs. Detergent - Which Is Better?

Soap Vs. Detergent - Which Is Better?
Skincare Secrets Episode 3

What's the difference between soap and detergent?

Soap and detergent are NOT the same thing.

    • 🧼Soap is a natural cleanser made from plant oils or animal fat.
    • 🧪Detergents are synthetic cleansers made from synthetic chemicals. 
Body wash, shower gels, shampoo, and laundry detergents (like Tide) are all detergents. Most liquid hand 'soaps' are also detergents. Many bar 'soaps' are actually detergents. For example, Dove and Ivory bars are both detergents, which is why they are labeled (properly) as "beauty bars", not soaps. 'Cosmetic bar' or 'beauty bar' or 'ph balanced', are words that mean the bar is actually detergent, not real soap.
"Beauty bar" or "cosmetic bar" means it's detergent.
This best-selling shampoo contains multiple detergents and numerous other chemicals such as synthetic moisturizers, preservatives, fragrances, colors, etc.

When Were They Invented?

  • 🧼Soap was invented by the ancient Babylonians thousands of years ago and has been made essentially the same way since. Soap is a naturally gentle cleanser that has been used to safely clean human skin for thousands of years.
  • 🧪Detergents were invented by German chemists about 100 years ago. Because detergents are, by their chemical design, harsh cleansers, their intended usage was for cleaning things, not people. They were originally used solely for cleaning surfaces and fabrics, not human skin.

What's Added To Detergents?

Because it is much cheaper to make detergent than soap, companies decided to market detergents as products for cleaning human skin. To counteract the intrinsically harsh and drying nature of detergents, manufacturers must add more chemicals:
    1. synthetic moisturizers (like EDTA)
    2. skin penetration enhancers (chemicals that increase the effectiveness of synthetic moisturizers by allowing them to penetrate deeper into the skin and potentially into the bloodstream).
Detergents also contains additional chemicals such as emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives, fragrances, colors, chemical thickeners, etc. Hundreds of chemicals are used to make detergents and if you look at the ingredients list of any shampoo, bodywash, or detergent bar, you'll often see dozens of different chemicals, many of which are endocrine disruptors, or of unknown safety

So which is better, soap or detergent?

Because real soap is a natural cleanser made from plant oils or animals fats, we think soap is the better choice for your skin and for your health. If you wish to avoid synthetic chemicals on your skin and in your body, you should choose soap over detergent.  

🌎What About the Environment?

Soap is also much better for the environment because soap usually doesn't come in plastic bottles. (91% of plastic is not recycled.) Moreover, detergents are derived from petroleum which means that detergent manufacturing relies on the fossil fuel industry, an industry largely responsible for our climate crisis. Soap is better for your skin, better for your health, and better for our planet. 

Are all soaps the same? Of course not. We'll get into that in more detail in a future blog post, coming soon.