Mild Soaps

Soaps have been made for thousands of years. Aside from making fire and cooking food, "saponifying" oil and fat into soap is one of the oldest and simplest chemical reactions known to mankind. The first soaps were accidentally made thousands of years ago by fat dripping into the ashes of cooking fires.

Soap can be made with almost any fat or oil. The fat or oil binds to the dirt on your skin and then the water washes the oil and dirt away. Depending on the ingredients of the soap, it will remove more or less moisture from your skin while it's removing the dirt. If you have dry skin -- either naturally dry skin or skin that is dry because of a skin condition -- you should wash only infrequently with soap, and you should use a mild soap - ie, one that removes the least moisture from your skin. Avoid soaps made from tallow. Look for soaps made from shea, hemp or palm oils. All soaps dry the skin. Soaps made from shea, hemp or palm oils make a mild, smooth, creamy lather, have good cleansing properties, and they dry the skin the least.

If you have dry skin, then after you wash you should, if possible, always apply a moisturizer. Avoid using a petroleum-based moisturizer. Instead use a moisturizer that goes into your skin to fix the problem that is causing dryness. We strongly recommend using a shea butter moisturizer since more than any other type of moisturizer, it will restore your skin's elasticity and thus restore your skin's moisture retention capability.