Everyone knows to cleanse their skin before bed, especially women, to wash off all the makeup and grime from the day. You’ve likely given a lot of thought to the products you’re using as part of your skin care regimen, right?

In the dermatologist’s office, though, one of the most important questions I ask patients with skin problems such as dryness, flaking, uneven skin tone, acne and inflamed skin is:

“What products are you using on your skin every day?”

That’s because the cleansing products (among all the others) most women use contain many ingredients that may actually be causing skin your problems. And, you may be using these products more than once a day.

Your skin may be victim of an onslaught you didn’t even know about

Most cleansing products today are actually not even true soap and are instead called “synthetic detergent products” by the FDA. That’s because they contain:

• Synthetic fragrances and colors such as dyes with color #s that can cause allergic reactions
• Harsh surfactants (cleansers) such as sodium lauryl sulfate that strip skin of its moisture barrier leaving it open to all irritants
• Alcohol, a known drying agent, which dissolves and strips away skin’s protective oils and makes skin less able to attract and hold moisture
• A high pH level, which dissolves the skin lipids that create its moisture barrier, leaving it open to bacteria, dryness
• Synthetic preservatives such as parabens and petroleum products  which can be allergens

Even the FDA has outlined which products may be called a “True Soap”

The product must be made mainly from the “alkali salts of fatty acids,” that is, the material you get when you combine fats or oils with an alkali, such as sodium hydroxide, also called saponification. That’s the ancient method of making real soap. Those “alkali salts of fatty acids” must be the only material that results in the product’s cleansing action.

If the product contains synthetic detergents, it’s a cosmetic, not a soap. If the cleansing product claims to be a deodorant, with a specific added fragrance, or a moisturizer, it is considered a cosmetic (and probably contains a long list of synthetic ingredients that often do more harm than good, as described above).

What you think is gentle on skin, may not be gentle on skin at all

Certain products that you might think is the purest, most gentle “soap” on earth actually no longer bear the word “soap” on the label. Go ahead, check the labels on your own cleansing bar or bottle. Most likely, they are synthetic detergents. Your nose knows the difference, too. They probably have either a chemical smell or are overly perfumed. What’s more, these cleansers have a high, alkaline (drying), pH level of around 9-10, when normal skin’s pH level is around 5.

Your skin may be acting out because it hates the products you are putting on it every day. If you really want to be kinder to your skin, to help it calm down, use a true soap for gentle cleansing. One without synthetic irritants, allergens and detergents. One with a lower, more natural pH level to normal skin. One without animal fats. A true uncomplicated soap made lovingly, personally and artfully from natural oils and the best skin-loving ingredients available.

Think about it: Could your soap be the cause of any of your skin problems?