Billions of dollars are spent each year by women all over the globe on moisturizing products, creams, lotions and serums in an all-out effort to counteract dehydration of the skin, especially the delicate facial skin. On the other hand, many of those same women wash their faces with soap every single day without giving it a second thought, when in effect the soap is directly counteracting what their moisturizer is trying so hard to accomplish: to prevent their skin from drying out.
Science
A soap molecule "consists of a long strand with an ionic water-loving, grease-repelling group on one end, and a non-polar grease-loving, water-repelling group on the other," according to the BBC. When coming into contact with a greasy dish, for instance, the lipophilic (grease-loving) part of each molecule will stick to the grease, taking the soap molecules with it. Now the greasy dirt can simply we wiped off because it has been isolated from the hydrophilic (water-loving) molecules. The same thing happens on the skin.
Features
Soap suspends the oil and dirt on the skin, binds with it and removes it. Unfortunately, this oil happens to be the moisture part of your skin that is supposed to keep the deeper parts of the skin from drying out. In this cleaning process, the skin becomes dry. The nice, clean feeling after washing your face with soap is the feeling of skin that has been completely cleared of dirt as well as moisture.
Solution
The art of cleaning your skin without drying it out is to find a product that only removes dirt, but leaves the skin's moisture content alone. Many facial cleansers on the market will do just that. None of them come as bars, though. Beware of "cleansing bars," which are just soap bars by another name. A nonsoap cleanser always comes either in a bottle or a tube because by its nature. it cannot be hardened into a bar.
Considerations
Many people prefer body washes or shower gels to soap because they feel that they leave their skin softer and better moisturized. However, in general, a non-aggressive soap without strong perfumes will not cause any harm to the skin overall, except perhaps in people with extremely dry and even flaky skin. They should make an appointment with a dermatologist who can direct them to the best personal care products for them. In the meantime, they should definitely cease washing their face with soap.
Benefits
Ideally then, facial skin should not come in contact with soap or hot water so that the natural pH level of the skin, which is slightly acidic at 4 to 4.5, is not disturbed. Leaving the acidity of the skin intact protects it not only from dryness, but also from blemishes and irritations that might come from invading bacteria. The skin has its own protective shield, as it were, and regular soap, which is alkaline, can damage it. Using this simple precaution puts radiant skin within anybody's reach.
