I went through years of this detergent and lotion circle. As I made my soaps richer and richer with a lower and lower detergent content, I watched my skin get more balanced. Dry areas were almost gone and oily areas weren’t very oily. I was still touching up a couple of extra dry areas with lotion or more when I exfoliated or shaved. I started to analyze the ingredients in my lotions. Basically it’s two ingredients: oil and water. But then there is another lengthy list of chemical components to keep the oil and water mixed (emulsified). Another group of things to keep it from getting moldy in the container. More chemicals to keep the product from turning color. Now, if you have it in a pump bottle there are another group of chemical additives to keep the pump and tube from clogging. I noticed the less I used lotion the BETTER my skin got. That wasn't "dry" skin, it was irritated skin. Just a touch of oil on my hands or after weekly exfoliating brought my skin to a baby soft condition that I had never seen. Try it! What do you have to lose?
Lose the detergents.....
Detergent is the stuff that makes bubbles and “cuts” the grease from your dishes. It’s a handy for dishwashing. One well-known detergent even shows how their dish washing detergent helped clean sea birds and shore birds during the gulf oil spill. In this case, the detergent’s ability to “strip” the oil from a surface, was a benefit. But when it comes to the human body there is never a need to strip the skin’s protective skin oils. Daily use of detergents in the form of soaps, shampoos and body washes can cause all kinds of irritations and disrupt the skin’s natural protective abilities. You will never find a dermatologist that endorses daily washing of the skin with detergents. So, why do we do it? Basically, we're used to it. We have used product x or y for years or we like to feel “squeaky-clean”. Then we buy gallons of lotions, potions, and moisturizers to put oil back into our skin. It is a vicious circle. Get out of the spin cycle and just simply cleanse and nourish without irritating or stripping.
One day I got particularly disgusted after reading the ingredients in that nasty bottle of lotion. I thought to myself, “There has to be a better way.” I went to my kitchen, I grabbed a jar of organic coconut oil and placed it in my bathroom. I started to use the coconut oil in place of lotion. Lotion is just a way to get oil and water on your skin in the same place at the same time, but it takes a boatload of chemicals to do it. So, from that day forward, I got out of the shower and rubbed a small amount of oil into the water droplets on my skin. When your skin is moist from the warm shower it is more receptive to the oil. Also, the water allows the oil to spread more thinly over your skin’s surface. Within a week not only had the oil completely replaced any need for a lotion, but I realized the lotions were actually CREATING irritations and little bumps. Suddenly, every area of my skin was balanced, smooth and soft. Something in those lotions had been causing far more irritation than it was healing.
Challenge: Try a fresh, organic oil on your skin in place of lotions for one week. You must rub it into very moist/wet skin. There should be some water droplets on your skin to mix with the oil on your skin. Your body heat, the water, and the oil seal your skin in a perfect way. Rub onto your hands or onto body until skin is air-dry. You will see an amazing difference. Now, order a scented after-shower oil from Ray of Soap and you will never go back to lotion.