Although soap and detergent are both surfactants (a compound that reduces surface tension between two liquids allowing emulsification between water and oil) doing similar tasks, they are quite different in their nature. Soaps are made by combining a naturally occurring alkali with a naturally occurring fat or oil. It is possible for soap to be made by nature, in nature (think back to times when you have seen a tan coloured foam accumulated at the edges of a creek).

Detergents on the other hand are synthetic. The process of making a detergent is much more complicated and extensive than making soap (which is actually fairly simple).

Speaking generally, things that are made from natural ingredients through a fairly simple process are things that will break down and return to the environment fairly easily. On the other hand, things that are made with much more refined ingredients and go through a more complex process are less likely to return to their original state in a reasonable amount of time.

Soap is a simple surfactant that is made with natural ingredients, and breaks down in nature effectively and quickly. Detergent is a complex, synthetic surfactant that is made using heavily refined ingredients and is less likely to return to something that nature knows how to handle.

Many companies make very broad and vague claims about syndets (standing for synthetic detergent) versus soaps. And when I say broad and vague I mean about the syndets as well as about the soaps. This is a very big topic so bear with me as I do my best to unravel the ridiculous answer that google gives about this.

This is the response that google gave to the original question:

Companies claim that soapless products are a better alternative because traditional soaps can easily disrupt the skin’s natural protective barrier, leading to irritation, chronic dryness, and breakouts. [1, 2, 3]

By removing traditional soap from the equation, manufacturers can offer formulas that cleanse effectively while actively preserving skin health. [1]

🧬 The Science Behind the Claim

To understand why companies market soapless products—often called “syndets” (synthetic detergents) or soap-free cleansers—it helps to look at how they interact with your skin: [1, 2]

Perfect pH Matching: Your skin has a naturally acidic outer layer called the acid mantle, which thrives at a pH of 4.5 to 5.5. Traditional soap is highly alkaline, usually carrying a pH of 9 to 11. Soapless cleansers can be engineered to sit right at pH 5.5, ensuring they clean without shocking or altering your skin’s ecosystem. [1, 2, 3]

Selective Cleansing: Traditional soaps are aggressive surfactants; they bond with dirt but also strip away the natural lipids and fats your skin needs to lock in moisture. Soapless alternatives use mild, selective surfactants (often derived from plant sources like coconut oil) or micellar complexes that lift away external grime while leaving your natural oils intact. [1, 2, 3, 5]

No Rebound Oiliness: People with oily or acne-prone skin often use harsh soaps to achieve a “squeaky clean” feel. However, stripping the skin tricks the sebaceous glands into panicking and producing more oil to compensate. Soapless bars and gels break this cycle by cleaning gently without triggering oil overproduction. [1, 2]

In response to this - In the 16 years that I’ve been making soap I can’t tell you how many (countless) times I’ve had people tell me that syndets (detergents disguised as bar soap) that they’ve bought from the drug store made their skin so dry and itchy while soaps that they’ve bought from us (or other natural soap makers) do not dry out their skin or make them itchy. So why does Google make this sound like it is backed by science? These days search engines take information from all corners of the internet and compile them to make an answer that seems legit. But it’s still getting all of its information from all corners of the internet.

Big commercialized syndet manufacturers want you to believe what they are selling - which is a product that is cheap to make when it is mass produced and is easy to sell to a market that is looking for convenience. But the days of selling convenience are beginning to come to an end. We (consumers) are getting more savvy to the idea that convenience is killing our planet and are starting to ask questions about the cost of that convenience.

So what do all the google answers mean? Well it’s correct that soaps fall in the PH range of 9 to 11 and that detergents are more likely to fall in the PH range of our skin. But what they failed to tell you is that strong detergents can still have their PH adjusted to match the skin. And a strong detergent is very capable of stripping away oils and grease regardless of its PH.

What happens when a product is closer to the skin’s natural PH is that it may no longer be able to kill bacteria and germs. The high alkalinity of soap allows it to be a natural antibacterial. When syndets are made to have a fairly neutral PH they need to have other synthetic ingredients added into them to act as antibacterial agents. Generally these antibacterial agents are harmful once they make it into our water supply and out into the environment.

On the other hand when we make soap at its naturally high PH and include extra oil in the process we end up with a soap that cleans away dirt and germs but leaves behind some of the oils that our skin naturally produces.

So essentially what my life experience and the experience of talking to hundreds (if not thousands) of people over the course of my career in soap making has taught me is that the information in the google search above is exactly the opposite of what actually happens. People in the synthetic detergent industry (and thus google) have used words in a tricky way to vilify soap and make detergent look like the hero, but in actual application generally it is the opposite.

Anytime we wash our body using soap or detergent it is going to remove some of the natural oils that our skin produces in order to protect us from drying out. Some will remove only a small amount of these oils, others will remove more - depending on the strength of the product being used. The less we disrupt these oils the easier time our body has taking care of itself.

The benefits of washing with soap are its ability to wash away dirt, other oils that were not naturally derived on our skin, germs and bacteria. There are times when it is appropriate to use soap to wash things away other than our natural oils. But if there is no foreign matter on our skin to wash away then we wouldn’t want to use any soap because it is better not to disrupt our skin’s natural defenses.

So, if you are dirty it is a good idea to use soap to wash the dirt off. If your skin is greasy from cooking, doing vehicle maintenance or yard maintenance it is a good idea to wash the greasy/dirty areas with soap. Sometimes bacteria will grow on certain parts of our body so when we bath or shower it’s a good idea to wash those parts of our body with soap. These include areas like our armpits, our bum, our feet and any creases or folds in the skin.

Be mindful that washing too often can take away more of our skin’s natural oils than is ideal. We want to find a good balance of keeping bacteria and germs in check while allowing our skin’s natural defenses to remain intact. The naturally occurring oil on our skin is part of our immune system.

It’s also important to keep in mind that much of our body doesn’t need soap in order to stay clean. It’s best to only wash the areas that are prone to bacteria or have an accumulation of dirt on them. Generally the face does not need to be cleaned with soap - unless for some reason it has a significant amount of excess (not naturally occurring) oils on it.

We make soap. We don’t make detergent. Kirstin, our founder, believes that it’s best to stick as close to nature as we can. She believes that the most sustainable way to live is always going to be the most natural way. And soap strays from nature far less than detergent does.

Soap is something that humans have been making since about 1550 BC (3576 years). Detergent on the other hand was invented in 1916 (110 years). We feel more comfortable using something that we have 3500 years of evidence towards.

Soap can be used successfully for many household chores. Here’s a list to give you some ideas:

• Cleaning floors
• Cleaning countertops
• Cleaning the front and inside of cabinets
• Cleaning the inside and outside of the fridge
• Cleaning the inside and the outside of the microwave
• Cleaning the top of the stove
• Washing dishes
• Cleaning the toilet
• Cleaning the shower and bathtub
• Cleaning patio furniture
• Doing laundry
• Washing the dog

Gentler on the environment and our skin.

When we put products on our skin or eat things that are heavily refined our bodies are not quite sure what to do. Our bodies don’t know how to process things that are heavily refined.

When we put things on our bodies or eat things that aren’t refined our bodies do know how to process those things. Our bodies know how to use them in a constructive way. It’s easier on our organs when we are kind to them with natural ingredients.