Are soap-based facial cleansers containing lauric acid (lauric acid) harmful to the skin?

There are really soap-based facial cleansers containing lauric acid (lauric acid) What is said online is so scary, is it very harmful to the skin? Is it harmful to the skin? Can it still be used?? Let us find out together:

1. Soap base is the most basic and most commonly used raw material for facial cleansers

Soap base is the most basic and most commonly used raw material for facial cleansers of raw materials. More than 80% of facial cleansers on the market are soap-based formulas. The essence and core are the same as the soap we usually use, but the ingredient ratio, form, and fragrance are different. Because this formula technology is extremely mature and the manufacturers also have marketing needs, so we need to control costs, or add some foam or use different scents to differentiate.

For example, facial cleanser ingredients: water, myristic acid, glycerin, stearic acid, potassium hydroxide, lauric acid, spices… ………This is the soap base. Myristic acid, stearic acid, etc. are fatty acids, and potassium hydroxide is a strong alkaline agent. The saponification reaction that occurs when they are put together will generate a soap base.

Check whether the ingredients contain fatty acids (stearic acid, lauric acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, etc.) and alkali agents (hydrogen Sodium oxide, potassium hydroxide, triethanolamine, etc.), if they appear at the same time and are at the front of the ingredient list, it is basically a soap-based facial cleanser.

The so-called soap base formula is mainly composed of 5 ingredients, the distribution is: sodium hydroxide, lauric acid (12 acid), myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid.

Lauric acid (lauric acid) is a solid fatty acid and is produced from natural vegetable oils, so it is often used in production Raw materials for soaps, detergents, and cosmetic surfactants.

Second, excessive cleaning of soap base will indeed affect the skin

The soap base has a strong cleaning effect. Add facial cleanser to enhance the oil removal effect. However, because the soap base is alkaline, it is not suitable for our weakly acidic skin. After simple soap base comes into contact with the facial skin, due to excessive cleaning, the natural barrier “sebum film” on the skin surface will be destroyed, and the skin will lose too much oil. . For its own protection, the skin will secrete more oil to prevent excessive loss of skin moisture, causing the skin to lose its ability to moisturize and lock in water, causing it to become drier the more you wash it.

Third, facial cleansers on the market have other ingredients. And soap base

However, the ingredients of facial cleanser are not composed of pure soap base, and some greasiness will be added. Raw materials, such as glycerol, will also add some relatively mild surfactant ingredients. In addition, the skin is weakly acidic, so in order not to cause damage to the skin, some acidic ingredients are also added to neutralize it to ensure that the finished facial cleanser remains neutral or weakly acidic (lauric acid (lauric acid) itself is also weakly acidic).

Four. If you are worried, you can choose facial cleanser according to your skin.

It is understood that there are three common types of facial cleansers, which correspond to different skin types: Soap-based cleansers (oily) skin), amphoteric ion surface active cleansing (medium to dry skin), amino acid cleansing (sensitive skin). You can choose a facial cleanser according to your skin type. </span