Is Using Bar Soap on Your Face Good or Bad?

Throughout the day, our faces collect dirt, sweat, and other debris. This can clog up our pores and lead to aging, irritation, and bumps. A recent TikTok trend says washing your face with a bar of soap helps clear up acne. However, this isn’t necessarily the truth. Bar soap could be very abrasive to your skin, causing drying, irritation, and even breakouts.

There are pros and cons when it comes to picking up a bar of soap. Here are four points to consider when thinking about using a bar of soap to wash your face:

1. Some Ingredients Are Good, Some Are Bad

Bar soap could be better for people with sensitive skin than some harsh cleansers. This is because soap doesn’t contain water that can foster bacteria. As a result, bar soaps don’t need the same preservatives that some cleansers do. The preservative-free formula is often good for those with skin prone to breakouts.

Bars of soap can be loaded up with good ingredients that nourish and moisturize the face. Such ingredients are:

• Ceramides
• Glycerin
• Hyaluronic acid
• Niacinamides

However, a lot of bars are heavily scented and even dyed. The ingredients in these soaps can be very harsh and fine for the hands, but not for your face. Ingredients to watch out for include:

• Artificial fragrances
• Dyes
• Formaldehyde
• Sodium sulfates
• Triclosan

These ingredients can irritate sensitive skin and actually lead to more breakouts. If someone says switching to a bar of soap improved their skin, it’s likely because it has gentler ingredients than those in their previous face wash.

2. Your Skin May Dry Out

Bar soap could end up drying your skin out. Soap is essentially fatty acid salts. It’s made by mixing fats, oils, and a base to make a surfactant (usually with a high pH). Surfactants break down and disperse unwanted particles, like oil and dirt. However, this can also dry your face out and leave it feeling like sandpaper.

Soap can be extra harsh on your skin if it’s not moistened properly. Without the right lather, you’re probably doing more harm to your face than you are helping it.

3. It’s Quick and Cheap, But Not Necessarily Thorough

Bar soap is usually pretty cheap (compared to good cleansers) and a quick way to clean your face. Lather, rinse, and you’re done. While simplicity can save you some time during your morning routine, you might not clean your face thoroughly.

Because of how bar soaps are shaped, it can be hard to get into small areas of your face. Liquid or cream cleansers are often better at reaching all of your pores. There are also other chemical-free options like the MicrodermaMitt, that gently exfoliate and refresh for clean, radiant skin.

Using soap to wash your face might also deny your skin microdermabrasion benefits of other cleansers and exfoliating products. Microdermabrasion is important to help unclog your pores and get rid of impurities that can lead to breakouts.

4. Look At All of Your Options

Not all bar soaps are created equal. More and more beauty brands are striving to make soaps that are gentle and nourishing with extra moisture that can do wonders for your skin. Be sure to compare ingredients in your face products before committing to them.

If you don’t use a bar of soap to wash your face, what should you use? Other options include clay, cream, foam, gel, micellar, and oil cleaners. These may be a better option, as long as they contain high-quality ingredients that agree with your skin. Explore what MicrodermaMitt has to offer with 100% natural products that contain nourishing ingredients like olive oil.

Overall, bar soap is often too harsh for your face. Do your research and be careful about what you apply to your skin. How you wash your face now can determine how healthy your skin is for years to come.