What is the difference between Dove Beauty Bar and Goat Milk Soap?
As we attend events through the year, we hear a lot of commentary on Dove soap & beauty bars. Many visitors have used Dove for years, as have their family and their family’s family. Others tell us Dove was recommended by their dermatologist. I have scratched my head at this commentary. So I began a study of the ingredients in Dove’s Sensitive Skin Unscented Beauty Bar and other “versions” of Dove. My conclusion is that Dove is probably the least “offensive” of the commercial soaps that are available on the market.
When I say “commercial” soap, I mean big box corporate manufacturer with huge production facilities and distribution networks. This is the type of soap that the majority of the people in the world have access to.
But does easy accessibility and long-term name recognition make it the right for your skin? In the end, you have to be the judge on what “feels good”, but more importantly how your skin reacts.
Dove Beauty Bar vs. Goat Milk Soap
Many of the following ingredients may be researched further in various cosmetic databases online. The Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients is a great resource for the investigative minded consumer.
So just what does Dove contain?
Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar Ingredients
- Sodium Lauryl Isethionate – synthetic detergent
- Stearic Acid – Cleaning & softening agent
- Sodium Tallowate- Fat renderings from the meat packing industry.
- Sodium Palmitate – sodium salt of palm kernel oil
- Lauric Acid – saturated fatty acid for
- Sodium Isethionate – detergent – emulsifying agent to hold water & oil together
- Water – dissolves the NaOH to start the reaction
- Sodium Stearate – emulsifier, aids mixing of water & oil
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine – Suds & foaming agent
- Sodium Cocoate – sodium salt of coconut oil, used as a cleaner
- Sodium Palm Kernelate – combo of palm kernel oil and sodium hydroxide
- Sodium Chloride – SALT – used as a thickener
- Tetrasodium EDTA – used as a preservative & water softener
- Tetrasodium Etidronate – preservative, reduces soap scum
- Maltol – fragrance aroma enhancer
- Titanium Dioxide – used to whiten soap – purified crude titanium dioxide.
So where is the 1/4 cleansing cream?
This is ingenious marketing only. NONE of these ingredients comprise any sort of cream, only detergents.
From a corporate perspective, many of the above ingredients will also preserve and enhance soap longevity. After all, commercial soap must be able to sit on a shelf in a shop in the mountains of Peru for months as well as in a grocery store in Cincinnati. Hence the copious amount of sodium (salt) based ingredients fulfills this need by allowing long term preservation of the bars. If cleansing is your only goal with soap, then such a product will definitely do the job. With so much sodium content, is it any wonder your skin dries out in the wintertime?
Our mantra has always been in line with the Mediterranean philosophy on diet and skin care. One simple statement will help you to improve your skin care…..”What you consume, you should apply”. The goal of each and every one of our products is to “FEED” your skin. As the largest organ of your body (20% by weight), your skin needs nourishment, not just cleansing. This viewpoint is slowly finding its’ way into mainstream soap purchasing. So many consumers are simply not aware that a soap based in nature with nourishing milk, oils, butters, and other ingredients can literally nourish, strengthen and revitalize their skin.
Take a walk on the wild side…..if you have never tried a milk-based, organic oil soap…..give your skin a treat with a single bar and compare the difference for yourself. We are betting you’ll love it.
