What kind of soap should you use? One with a moisturiser, one with a hydrating agent or one with Vitamin E in it? Is a medicated soap be better? Or should you just stick to face washes? Dermatologists say deliberating so much on the type of soap is not necessary. The basic function of a soap is to remove all the dirt and grease from our skin and any good toilet soap does the trick. Toilet soaps are milder and ``safer'' detergents and work by mixing with the grime, which then gets washed away with the lather.So would special ingredients added to soaps work better for the skin? No, says a senior dermatologist at GMCH. He says a normal skin does not require any special soaps and any special ingredients like moisturisers, hydrating agents or Vitamin E, technically have no role in a soap which is applied only for a very short time, so how can a moisturiser work, he asks.
``Besides a soap is used to wash away the extra grease. Why add grease to it?'' he questions. Dr Maleeka Sachdev, a city dermatologist, on the other hand, says a soap with moisturiser does help in a small way by leaving a lubricating layer on the skin. But she agrees that the same can be easily achieved by applying a moisturiser later.
Medicated soaps too don't help the skin. Instead, they can cause irritation.Dermatologists also dispel the myth that soap is harmful for the skin. Even if the skin is very dry, use of soap once a day is necessary to maintain proper hygiene. Doctors also dismiss the myth that soaps cause ageing. ``A soap does not cause any permanent loss of oil on the skin or cause any kind of wrinkles,'' says Dr Sachdev. What about face washes? Doctors say these've a very mild percentage of detergent and the astringents in these wash away dead cells on the skin, leaving a fresh feeling. Dr Sachdev feels face washes are a better option though they are not as cost-effective as soaps.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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