The dangers of pH neutral soap

Here is a list of known and consistent evidence that calls into question the safety of a surfactant based on its pH alone.

However, most synthetic surfactants with neutral pH are recognized as irritants.

The best and most well-known example is SLS. SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) is known and recognized as a strong skin irritant, harmful if ingested, causing serious eye damage, and harmful to aquatic organisms. However, its pH is 7.3 when used at 2%. SLS is the surfactant used in most shower gels, shampoos, and even in your dishwashing liquid...

The recent massive increase in cases of eczema and atopy.

Since the commercial appearance of shower gels and other synthetic cleansers in the 1970s, we have seen the number of cases of eczema and atopy increase, with the number of people affected tripling over the last 30 years in industrialized countries. In France, this affects 2,500,000 people, more than half of whom are babies and children up to the age of 16. (3

The skin pH generally indicated at 5.5 is only an average!

There are differences in pH depending on the skin area, gender, and age. The average pH of a baby's skin is around 7, and it will reach around 5.5 by the time they reach puberty.

Variations in the pH of the skin can be due to several external factors, including simple contact with shower water, the pH of which, remember, can reach up to 9 (according to the quality standards of the Ministry of Health).

Certain skin pathologies develop at an acidic pH, particularly mycoses!

Mycoses are very common infections of the skin and mucous membranes, caused by microscopic fungi. CANDIDA ALBICANS is the species responsible for many human mycoses, including vaginal mycoses.

Local factors that promote the appearance of mycoses include:
– The acidic pH of the skin.
– Humidity and maceration: Baby diapers, sanitary towels, urinary leak towels… all potentially occlusive and sometimes worn for too long.
– Sweating with friction under the arms, in the groin creases or between the toes.

We are therefore entitled to question the causal link between the use of pH-neutral soap and the development of certain skin pathologies. Could the manufacturers of these synthetic products not be arsonist firefighters who create the problem and claim to solve it with the same product?

IS PH NEUTRAL SOAP THE TREE THAT HIDES THE FOREST OF IRRITATING AND POLLUTING SURFACTANTS?

The constant promotion of a pH neutral soap, which becomes the sole argument supposed to guarantee you a gentle cleanser, looks like a diversion aimed at diverting attention from the main question: what is the impact of these synthetic surfactants on your skin and nature?

So why is SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) recognized as an irritant even though it has a neutral pH?

According to the American College of Toxicity, SLS has corrosive properties that cause corrosion of the fats and proteins that make up the skin. It affects keratinocytes, cells present in the epidermis and crucial for its reconstruction. Even at 1% in the formula, SLS causes skin dehydration (transepidermal water loss) due to the breakdown of the hydrolipidic film.

SLS causes changes in the expression of keratinocyte RNA and enzymes involved in corneodesmosomes degradation. SLS causes epigenetic changes affecting skin quality.

It is the strong detergency of SLS that is the cause.

Note that no soap is classified or labeled in ECHA.

SLS is labeled for several types of risks by ECHA:

– H302: Harmful if swallowed
– H315: Causes skin irritation.
– H318: Causes serious eye damage
– H412: Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects…

And for many of the following risks it is indicated: “Conclusive data but insufficient for classification”

-Acute toxicity – dermal, Skin sensitization, Aspiration hazard, Reproductive toxicity, Germ cell mutagenicity, Carcinogenicity, Specific target organ toxicity – single (STOT-SE), Specific target organ toxicity – repeated (STOT-RE), Hazardous to the aquatic environment, Hazardous to the ozone layer. (7)

And what about other synthetic surfactants?

I'm talking about SLS because it's been used extensively and for a long time by industry and has therefore been the subject of numerous studies. But all other synthetic surfactants, including those that are said to be "naturally derived" (like SLS, which is produced from palm oil) and that have an acidic or neutral pH, are the result of similar manufacturing processes.

Although they have been the subject of fewer health and environmental impact studies, they are all labeled dangerous in one or more categories by ECHA, for example: H319: Causes serious eye irritation / H412: Harmful to aquatic life with long-lasting effects… (detailed list at the end of the article)

Of course, it will surely be argued that diluting the molecule in the product makes it harmless. But for example, SCI can be found at 50% in the finished product. This is very important considering that SLS is present between 10 and 30% in shower gel and shampoo formulas.
If SCI and other surfactants touted as mild replace SLS, what will be the results of long-term human health impact studies? What will happen to bioaccumulation and ecotoxicity?

It is therefore clear once again, in view of this information, that the acidic or neutral pH of these surfactants is absolutely no guarantee of their safety. On the contrary, they are known to be irritants and pollutants.

And the worst part is that to counteract these harmful effects, they are often combined with occlusive fatty substances that do not benefit the skin: esterified oils, silicones or other petrochemical film-forming agents such as paraffin directly derived from petroleum.

THE SKIN IS CAPABLE OF REACHING ITS “RIGHT PH” IF ITS PROTECTIVE HYDROLIPID FILM IS WELL-FORMED.

Maintaining healthy skin depends on a set of linked factors, of which the quality of the hydrolipidic film and the skin microbiota are essential parts.

A cold saponified soap helps maintain the hydrolipidic film which constitutes the first line of our skin barrier by:
– Hydration which allows cell renewal and the proliferation of commensal bacteria, thanks to the 8% vegetable glycerin contained in each soap.

– The contribution of fatty substances which will form a protective lipid barrier for the skin and the microbiota which plays a leading role in the health of your skin, thanks to the superfatting between 5 and 8.5%, made up of organic vegetable oils and butters.

Healthy, homeostasis-prone skin, meaning well-hydrated and nourished, can restore or balance its pH on its own. This is called the skin's buffering capacity.

Homeostasis is a phenomenon by which a key factor (for example, pH) is maintained around a value beneficial to the system considered (the skin), thanks to a process of regulation of a set of key factors (hydration and lipid barrier), particularly in a living being.

The pH of the skin, whatever it may be, is therefore a consequence and not a cause of the state of health of the skin.

MAINTAINS HYDRATION: CALIQUO SOAPS CONTAIN 8% glycerin NATURAL PLANT

Indeed, glycerin has a restorative, nourishing effect, which makes it the ideal active ingredient for many indications: it smoothes chapped lips, fights against crocodile skin, soothes cracked and chapped heels, it maintains silky, easy-to-style, beautiful and shiny hair.

MAINTENANCE OF THE HYDROLIPID FILM: CALIQUO SOAPS CONTAIN 6 TO 8.5% SUPERFAT .

The superfatting in CALIQUO soaps is a surplus of unsaponified organic vegetable oils. Superfatting provides a gentle cleanse and helps maintain the hydrolipidic film. Vegetable oils have many benefits. They protect the skin through their film-forming action. They also contribute to its good health thanks to the vitamins, trace elements, amino acids, and other compounds they contain.

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Our rechargeable toothbrushes , our children's toothbrush , our razor and our shaving brush .