skin cleansingIn winter time, our skin requires gentle cleansing, and that's when plant-based, low foaming cleansers come handy. All cleansing products, whether they are meant for use on the face, body, or hair, are based on one of three types of cleansing agents: detergents, plant soaps, and saponins.

Detergents are the most ubiquitous type of cleansers. Essentially, all soaps and saponins work as detergents, since they all allow oil and water to mix so that oily grime can be removed during rinsing. But in the cosmetic industry, detergents refer to anionic and nonionic surfactants: one side of a molecule prefers water (hydrophilic) and another side prefers oils and fats (hydrophobic). The hydrophilic side attaches to water molecules, and the hydrophobic side attaches to oil molecules, allowing them to be washed away.

Detergents include non-ionic surfactants like polyethylene glycol esters (PEGs), anionic surfactants ammonium laureth or lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth or lauryl sulfate, and gentler amphoteric surfactants such as cocoamidopropyl betaine (cocobetaine) and lauryl glucoside.

Natural plant soaps are made by saponifying olive, jojoba, or coconut oils with an alkali (potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, wood ashes, or the ashes of other plants ). Soaps are classified as anionic surfactants. While there are many wonderfully informative books on soap making, Iâ??ve never ventured into cooking my own soap at home, due to some safety-related reservations because I prefer the convenience of certified organic, ready-made castile soap base. While there are many wonderfully informative books on soap making, I have never ventured into cooking my own soap because I prefer the convenience of using a ready-made castile soap base.

For my own cosmetic products, I use ready-made organic Marseille castile liquid soap made of certified organic olive oil saponified with minimum alkali. Saponins are plant glycosides that derive their name from their soap-like properties. They occur in a great many plant species, including soapwort (Saponaria officinalis), soap lily (Chlorogalum pomeridianum), and soap berry tree (Sapindus mukorossi) - the latter produces nuts that make a wonderful all-natural laundry detergent when dried. You can dilute the natural detergent with witch hazel (for oily skin) distillate, rose water (for dry skin) or melissa/lavender waters (for sensitive skin). (Based on an extract from THE GREEN BEAUTY GUIDE)