Vegetable oils are, by far, more skin-friendly when used as soap base than animal fats or oils. This has been found to be true in several studies and, besides, vegetable oils contain vitamins and minerals not present in animal fats (such as goat’s milk, animal lard, etc). This is also what makes herbal soap a better choice over commercial soap.

The human skin

To understand the benefits of herbal soap, we need to understand our skin’s natural environment first. The skin acts as the body’s first line of defense against infection against many environmental hazards and is able to absorb and use nutrients that we apply topically.

The skin is also capable of detoxifying harmful substances with similar enzymatic processes the human liver does. Unfortunately, our skin is incapable of separating synthetic substances found in many of today’s commercial soaps, lotions, skin care, and cosmetics products that it practically has no use for and can be irritating to its natural state.

How herbal soap works

Animal fats and synthetic chemicals that make up almost all of today’s soap bars and skin care products are too drying for the skin. Many studies have found these chemicals to be potentially irritating and are listed among the carcinogens. Herbal soaps, on the other hand, contain many of the nutrients and essential oils the skin and body needs to nourish new skin cells and help strengthen the skin’s natural defenses.

The FD&A does not strictly regulate the herbal soap industry but released a guideline for consumers a few years ago. Manufacturers can label their herbal soap as “all-natural”, “natural”, and “made of natural ingredients”. The difference in this labelling is in the amount of natural ingredients used in the soap.

Just because they’re made of herbs doesn’t mean that herbal soaps are not formulated for various skin types. On the contrary, the benefits of an herbal soap on your skin depend largely on the type of herbs and vegetable oils it consists of. There are various types of natural ingredients used to make herbal soaps. For instance, coconut oil and olive oil are used as base and are excellent natural moisturizers to various skin types while lemon and mint may be included in the ingredient of an herbal soap for oily skin. Many of the herbal soaps also use natural fragrance derived from pure essential oils that adds aromatherapy benefits.

So give your skin a relief and let it heal itself naturally with natural ingredients found in herbal soap.