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My Reward PointsCountless debates whether we should opt for natural homemade soaps or commercial soaps have been taking place in recent times. This has eventually created a competition between homemade soaps vs commercial soaps. Though both these soap types have their own advantages and limitations, you must understand their differences more minutely before deciding the winner between eco-friendly soap vs commercial soap.
Let’s find more about the skin benefits of handmade soaps in comparison to commercial soaps in this blog today!
What Is Homemade Soap?
Homemade soap refers to the DIY soaps that are usually made at homes using a few ingredients. These soaps are usually made from organic ingredients and may not contain artificial fragrances and fillers. The skin benefits of handmade soaps make them a better choice over commercial soaps that mostly contain some added chemicals, stabilisers, and synthetic colours and fragrances.
What Is Commercial Soap?
Commercial soaps are the soaps that you get from a shop, mall, or any other commercial or retail store. These soaps are manufactured in bulk and sold under various brand names. There are instances where the commercial soaps are manufactured by the same manufacturing or private label company and sold under different brand names. These soaps are commercially viable as they are manufactured in bulk quantities with precise measuring and mixing instruments.
Key Differences Between Homemade and Commercial Soaps
To understand the differences between natural soap vs commercial soap in detail, let’s go through their differentiating factors one-by-one:
Ingredients
- The commercial soap ingredients may include animal fats, chemicals, and artificial preservatives, colours, and fragrances.
- You won’t find these ingredients in a natural homemade soap made with oils, flower petals, essential oils and other organic raw materials.
Production Process
- Large manufacturing units are set up for manufacturing commercial soaps.
- On the other hand, handmade soaps are usually made in a kitchen using a few equipment or utensils that are already available.
- So, the production setup costs associated with a commercial soap can be hundred or even thousand times more than a simple setup integrated for manufacturing natural homemade soaps.
Environmental Impact
- Boiling, melting, mixing, curing and several other processes are carried out on a large scale to manufacture commercial soaps.
- Though a similar process may be required to manufacture a homemade soap, the scale is much smaller.
- So, in the context of environmental impact, the eco-friendly soap options score over the commercial soaps.
Customisation
- Commercial soaps are usually manufactured as per a set process and standards. So, the option of customising the soap ingredients and formulas are minimal.
- In the case of homemade soaps, you can modify the ingredients and formula like different soap bases, natural soap colors and in the next batch if you aren’t satisfied with the soaps of the previous batch.
Pros and Cons of Homemade Soap
Now, let’s look at the pros and cons of handmade soaps vs commercial soaps in detail:
Pros
- Natural Ingredients: Homemade soaps are usually made from simple natural ingredients that can be easily blended into the soap base. So, they are more skin-friendly than commercial soaps.
- Skin-Friendly: As natural homemade soaps do not contain any chemicals such as sulphates, parabens, etc. they are skin-friendly and safer than commercial soaps. So, they are less associated with skin issues and concerns.
- Eco-Friendly: As the production is usually done on a small scale without using any chemicals, homemade soaps score over commercial soaps when it comes to their environment-friendliness.
- Supports Small Businesses: Natural homemade soaps are ideally made by small businesses who want to grow their income with limited budget and resources. So, these types of soaps usually support small businesses and hobbyists.
- Customisable: Homemade soaps are customisable because they don’t work on a predetermined and set formula. So, the chances of customising the ingredients and formula are higher than commercial soaps.
Cons
- More Expensive: Natural soaps are made with organic ingredients and do not involve any chemicals or soap making supplies that are available in bulk in the market. So, when it comes to natural soaps vs commercial soaps, the natural ones tend to be costlier.
- Shorter Shelf Life: Generally, natural soaps do not contain any synthetic fillers and preservatives. So, their shelf life tends to be shortened as compared to commercially manufactured soaps.
- Less Available: As natural soaps are made on a small scale, they might not be available everywhere. This can be frustrating for buyers who might not find these soaps consistently in their nearest retail store or mall.
Pros and Cons of Commercial Soap
To understand the differences between homemade soaps vs commercial soaps better, let’s look at the pros and cons of a commercial soap:
Pros
- Affordable: Commercial soaps are available at affordable prices because they are produced in bulk quantities. Their production cost is lower enabling the seller to offer exciting deals and discounts on them.
- Widely Available: Commercial soaps are widely available because they are manufactured on a large scale and distributed across the country with the help of trusted distributors and retail store networks.
- Long Shelf Life: Commercial soaps are made with deeply researched formulas using preservatives, solvents, and stabilisers. So, they sustain their form, fragrance, and effectiveness for a longer time as compared to the homemade soap bars.
- Consistent: The colour, aroma, and texture would be consistent across all the commercial soaps sold under the same product and brand name. The natural homemade soaps might not be consistent because the proportion of ingredients and their mixing might vary in different production batches.
Cons
- Harsh Chemicals: Some commercial soaps might contain chemicals, solvents, and stabilisers that may be harsh for your skin. Therefore, they might cause some skin issues like irritation, redness, or allergy after use.
- Removes Natural Oils: The harsh exfoliants used in the commercial soaps might expel the natural oils in your skin pores thereby making your skin dry and harsh. This is not the case with homemade soap bars.
- Environmental Impact: The environmental impact of commercial soaps is more drastic due to the large scale production. Also, the by-products of the production are often released into the environment polluting the natural sources such as air, water, and land.
- Limited Customisation: As commercial soaps are manufactured on a large scale, the customisations are rare. So, you won’t find much variation in these soaps even after using them for some months or years consistently.
Which Soap Is Better for Different Skin Types?
Now, let’s see which soap among the natural soap vs commercial soap is better for different skin types:
- Sensitive Skin: Natural soaps are the best soaps for sensitive skin because they don’t contain any harsh chemicals and exfoliants that may damage the sensitive skin.
- Oily Skin: Commercial soaps may be preferred by those having oily skin because they contain powerful exfoliants which are required to remove the excess oil and dirt trapped in the skin pores.
- Dry Skin: Natural soaps are more suited for those having dry skin as they contain natural oils that nourish and hydrate the skin which is dry and rough. They also maintain skin moisture and pH balance without causing any allergic reactions or side effects.
- Acne-Prone Skin: Acne prone skin usually requires a deep cleansing which a natural homemade soap bar might not offer. Therefore, commercial soaps are more suited for these skin types.
- Normal Skin: Those having normal skin can use any type of natural or commercial soap depending upon their specific preferences or choices. However, we would recommend them to use a natural homemade soap as it is more skin-friendly and safe.
How to Choose the Right Soap for You?
Go through the homemade and commercial soaps available on the offline and online sources. Research them on the basis of ingredient list, budget, specific purpose of use, and other factors. Once you compare homemade soap vs commercial soaps on the basis of these factors, you can easily finalise the best soap for yourself and your family!
How to Identify Authentic Homemade Soap?
Check the labels and ingredient list carefully before purchasing homemade soaps. The brands that do not disclose all the ingredients or use synthetic colours and fragrances are not the authentic ones. If the soaps contain labels such as beauty soap bar, hydrating bar, etc. it could be a commercial soap. So, take care of these things to identify the natural homemade soaps from the fake ones.
Conclusion
We hope that the differences between homemade soaps vs commercial soaps are now clear to you. Buy natural or homemade soaps only from credible sources. You can also make the DIY soap bars at your home using the natural ingredients purchased through trusted sources. VedaOils is one such online platform where you will find natural soap making supplies and recipes in detail. Visit their website today and find how to make homemade soap in easy steps!
