The Dirty Truth About Commercial "soap"

What’s Really Inside That Cheap Bar?

The Ugly Ingredients They Don’t Advertise

When you buy a typical commercial “soap” bar from a supermarket or pharmacy, you’re not buying real soap — you’re buying a syndet bar (short for synthetic detergent bar).
Let’s break down what’s lurking in these mass-produced bricks and why they wreak havoc on your skin.

1. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)

These are industrial surfactants — compounds designed to create foam and strip oils.
They are so effective at dissolving grease that they're used in:

Engine degreasers

Garage floor cleaners

Industrial detergents

Skin impact:
SLS and SLES strip away the natural lipid barrier of your skin — the oils that protect against moisture loss, bacteria, and environmental damage.
This leads to:

Dry, tight, flaky skin

Increased sensitivity

Premature aging due to chronic dehydration

Fun fact: A 1983 study published in the Journal of the American College of Toxicology found that SLS caused skin irritation at concentrations as low as 2%. Most commercial soaps contain 15–20%.

2. Triclosan (Antibacterial Agent)

Once heavily marketed for "antibacterial" soaps, Triclosan is now banned in the U.S. for hand soaps (since 2016) — but it still sneaks into many bar soaps and body washes elsewhere.

Skin impact:

Disrupts skin’s natural microbiome (your body’s good bacteria)

Contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Potential endocrine disruptor (affects thyroid hormones)

3. Tetrasodium EDTA & Propylene Glycol

EDTA is a preservative that binds metals and improves lather.
Propylene Glycol is a humectant (moisture-retainer) also found in antifreeze.

Skin impact:

Both are skin penetration enhancers — meaning they help other chemicals absorb faster into your bloodstream

Can irritate sensitive or compromised skin barriers

4. Glycerin Removal

Commercial soap manufacturers often strip out glycerin, the natural by-product of real soap making, to sell it separately for lotions and creams.

Skin impact:

Without glycerin, the soap becomes harsh and drying

You’re left with a bar that cleans aggressively but leaves your skin moisture-starved.

Most commercial "soap" bars are technically synthetic detergent bars (often labeled as "beauty bars" or "cleansing bars"). Legally, if it’s not made via traditional saponification (fats/oils + lye), it can’t be called true soap.

Summary: What Cheap Bars Really Do to Your Skin

Bottom Line:

Cheap soap is cheap for a reason.
It’s designed to last forever on a shelf, not to nourish your skin.
What it strips away, they sell back to you in moisturizers and lotions (that you wouldn’t need if you weren’t using the detergent-bar-in-disguise in the first place).

So next time you're staring at that $2 soap bar?

Ask yourself if you’d wash your face with floor cleaner.
If the answer’s no…
You know where to find us