The Wrong Kind of Bubbles?

Bubbles! Everyone likes them! We vigorously rub that soap against our skin, our washcloth, our loofah or whatnot. We thrill at the burst of bubbles and lather that erupts from the friction. They're bubbles! Children (and sometimes adults) play with them...who hasn't had a bubble-beard at some point in their lives?

But bubbles, as loveable as they are, are not what define a good soap. Soap doesn't have to have huge quantities of big, bubbly foam and lather to be the best soap, to be fantastic for your skin, or to clean you. Again, we like it when it does...but a soap that has less lather, or has lather you have to work a bit for, isn't an inferior soap.

Did you know that in just about every shower gel or body shampoo, the first two ingredients (which means the two main ingredients) are water, and sodium laureth sulfate (or sodium lauryl sulfate)? Water's not a surprise for a liquid...but the second means there's no soap in that stuff. The sodium laureth (or lauryl) sulfates are detergents...foaming agents. They're drying, and can cause irritations to the skin.

My daughter as a child, loved her Mr. Bubble nights, when she could have a bubble-bath and play. But after a few times, we noticed that she had an irritation. I took her to the doctor, and he identified the problem. The sodium laureth sulfate in the Mr. Bubble had caused a urinary tract infection. That was the end of Mr. Bubble in our house, and in fact, any soap or bath treatment that had sulfates in them.

Soaps that are saponified...made from the combining of sodium hydroxide (lye) and fats and oils, don't need sulfates. That's not to say that sometimes, detergents like sulfates aren't used...because customers think they want and need lots of lather and bubbles. But what if you knew better?

What if you knew that what's better for your skin is a lack of detergents and sulfates? What if you knew that more lather doesn't automatically equal great soap? What if you knew that bubbles didn't equal clean? Would you choose differently? Would you choose the very best soap for your skin, and not buy into what you've been taught as a consumer for the last few decades?

You have choices. Your skin deserves quality products, not products made as cheaply as possible, with sketchy ingredients that are known irritants, and that serve no purpose...except to make bubbles. Seriously.