Dry Skin Defeated Thanks to Homemade Soap

I've always had what you might call "tricky skin." I'm prone to breakouts, but my skin is so dry that it's practically impossible for me to use any topical medications for acne. For years I used the gentlest cleansers and moisturized religiously, but the dry, flaky skin persisted. I had already accepted that my battle with dryness would be a lifelong one until one impulse buy changed my life.

Last Christmas, while visiting my boyfriend's family in Washington State, we took a short trip to scenic Whidbey Island. One morning, we visited a cute, local shop that was full of enticing knick-knacks. I had no intention of buying anything except a fresh pastry, when a barrel of homemade soaps caught my eye. The first one I picked up smelled like loganberry, and I liked it so much that I plopped it on the counter. Now, I'm not one to make frivolous purchases, and to me, this soap was a very frivolous purchase at $5 for one bar. To this day, I still can't say quite what made me do it, but I'm oh so glad that I did. I'll tell you why.

I had intended to use the loganberry-scented soap as a decorative hand soap, but I decided to give it a whirl on my face, just to see what happened. Immediately, after the first washing, my skin felt softer, smoother, and most strangely of all, it felt moist. I continued to use the olive oil based soap for the next few weeks, and the results were astounding. I found my skin to be so moist that I scarcely needed to moisturize. Not only that, my skin cleared to an extent that I had not seen with any other facial cleanser. I was completely won over, and even though I had considered the soap too pricey for an everyday hand soap, it was very reasonably-priced compared to other facial cleansers I had used, not to mention the fact that the bar of homemade soap lasted about three times as long as much larger, industrial-made bars.

Curious about the strange and wonderful changes in my skin, I started to do a little homework about homemade soaps and soapmaking processes. Web page after web page revealed that many of the makers of homemade soaps had gotten started after discovering how effective it could be in solving their personal skin problems, most commonly dry skin. I learned that homemade soaps are primarily composed of natural oils and fats mixed with lye; the lists of ingredients in the soap recipes I found never included any unpronounceable chemicals. The oils/fats neutralize the lye in a process known as saponification and act as moisturizers of the skin. Unlike homegrown soapers, many industrial soapmakers harvest out the moisturizing glycerine after the saponification process for use in other industries. So basically, industrial soapmakers add harsh chemicals that dry the skin, like sodium laureth sulfate, while removing the soap's natural moisturizers. No wonder I had spent years struggling with dry skin!

With homemade soap, I don't have to worry about what I'm putting on my face, and my skin looks the best that it ever has. It absolutely glows. I would recommend that anyone with dry skin try homemade soap; it could be the answer you've been looking for. To try the soap that converted me, visit www.sudsymamas.com and look for "Loganberry Fragrance Soap." In general, homemade soaps can be found at local shops, farmers' markets, and stores that sell all-natural products. Always look at the label: if you can't pronounce all of the ingredients, it's probably not the real deal.

Happy skin to all!