Face Serum, For Daily Use

Palm oil is the type of oil derived from Elaeis guineensis trees or more commonly known as palm trees. This kind of oil may either be obtained from the pulp of the palm fruit or the palm kernel.

The center of biodiversity of these palm trees lies in the Western and South-west portions of Africa. They are naturally growing in thick rainforests and they thrive best under tropical conditions.

Aside from the soaps, there are numerous products and trades where palm oil is utilized. We have listed below some of the products that use palm oil:

Naturally, unprocessed palm oils have been culturally used as a moisturizer to the skin. They operate to prevent moisture from being released from the skin keeping it healthy and radiating. Palm oils are also effective remedies for some skin problems like eczema and psoriasis.

On their own, palm oils are one of the most healthy skin-promoting commodities. Palm oil becomes detrimental to the skin once it undergoes chemical processing commonly observed in the soap industry.

The palm oil undergoes a series of manipulation to various chemicals which do more damage than good to the skin.

Palm oil is the main go-to of large corporations when it comes to soap production because of its cheap selling price.

You may opt to buy these oils in bulk and produce several thousand bars of soap from Palm oil. The way companies utilize palm oils in their products is through the use of chemical refinement.

This process separates the natural reddish color of the oil through bleaching rendering it yellowish-white. Phosphoric acid is also added to remove the gum and the oil is deodorized to eliminate its natural odors.

Along the process, palm oil is transformed to alcohols and then sulfonated to produce a compound called sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). Which is a chemical compound that damages the skin.

In hopes to manipulate its adverse skin effects, SLS is ethoxylated to derive sodium Laureth sulfate (SLES) which is responsible for the lathering and sudding effect of the soap. Although another detrimental compound is produced in the process, called 1,4 Dioxane.

The abovementioned chemicals might appear to be foreign words at the moment but they are the primary building blocks that make palm oil soaps unsafe for usage, which I will explain in the following narratives.

Here are the reasons why palm oil containing soaps must be avoided at all costs.

It strips off the natural oil in the skin

The skin is naturally covered by a protective layer of proteins and fatty acids called sebum. This oily compound is released by the sebaceous glands in the body to fulfill a single purpose - to moisturize, lubricate, and protect the skin.

Palm oils in manufactured soaps are converted into surfactants called sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium Laureth sulfate (SLES), respectively. These compounds create lather which washes away the natural oils in the skin.

Although they are capable of cleaning your skin, overexposure to these surfactants on your skin will cause itching and irritation. The skin also becomes weak and brittle against minor scratches and damages.

Removing the natural protective coat of the skin is not a worth it trade-off especially when there are less destructive alternatives. More on this later.

It can promote acne breakout

Due to the removal of sebum when using palm oil soaps, the body is sometimes forced to produce more oil than normal to rehydrate the skin from the damage caused by the soaps.

This leads to unnatural levels of oil production which clogs the pores and causes acne to break out.

Natural sebum does not trigger acne growth because it is within the native levels that the facial skin is used to having. Once it exceeds that level, the balance is affected and acne is an inevitable by-product.

It causes skin breaks

Although the facial skin may reproduce excessive levels of oil in response to palm oil soaps, other areas of the body may remain dry. This makes the skin rough and less impervious to friction and scratches like leather.

On top of that, the highly basic pH levels of soaps make the skin hyper-reactive to microelements in the atmosphere which triggers scratching and inflammation.

Scratching the skin or exposing it to rough surfaces may lead to skin breakage which renders the skin penetrable to microbes and moisture.

Ultimately, once the skin break develops deep into the dermal capillaries, bleeding may occur.