The Dirty Truth About Soap

Style.com

This column features weekly tips and advice from a revolving cast of industry leaders, on hand to discuss your beauty dilemmas, from blemishes to Botox.



I find that a lot of cleansers leave me feeling dried out, but not washing my face at least two times a day makes my skin feel grimy. Is there a certain kind of soap or scrub that's less harsh?

I have been known to stupefy friends with my "Don't wash your face with soap" dictum. Soap totally degrades the precious, silky, trace lipids that seal your skin barrier. If you know any science jargon about your skin, it should be two words: stratum corneum. This is the top layer of the skin, the one you touch, the one you wash, the one you scrub, exfoliate, pick, scratch, massage, and kiss. It also repels environmental assaults, and soap destroys it. How does this happen? Imagine red, tightly overlapping shingled roofs in China, Spain, or Mexico, where layered tiles are sealed together with mortar or glue as a simple waterproofing technique. The stratum corneum is constructed similarly from deeper cells that mature upward and outward, and, before they die, form a divine layer of lamellated cells locked together with permanent bonds and sealed with lipids. Now imagine that the roof mortar is defective. The tiles weather, crack, split, and fall away. This is what happens when you use harsh soaps on your skin: They seep in and disintegrate the lipids holding the stratum cornea together. You need to cherish your oils, rather than stripping them away twice, three times a day in the name of hygiene. Warm water and a simple wash cloth will remove 99 percent of the daily residue you detest. If aromatherapy is essential to your routine, squeeze lemon or ginger into a sink full of water before you splash, or make a lovely pitcher of mint and strawberry water with a dash of honey and use it anytime you feel the need for clean. New toners, which possess less alcohol than those in the past, are a great way to remove traces of mascara or makeup (but spare your cheeks whenever possible). I even multitask my creamy moisturizer as a makeup remover. Keep it simple, know your skin, learn, and be gorgeous.

Ellen Marmur, M.D., is the Chief of Dermatologic and Cosmetic Surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. A skin cancer survivor herself, Marmur specializes in skin cancer surgery, cosmetic surgery, and women's health dermatology. She recently published Simple Skin Beauty, a book that focuses on how to maintain the health and beauty of your skin at every stage of life.

Photo: Getty Images

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