The surfactant guide - Part 2

Today we continue with our surfactant guide. Last week you already learned a lot about the properties and behavior of surfactants and now we will take a closer look at the great micelles and, above all, I would like to give you a few tips so that you can properly and gently Cleanse your skin in the future! 

#4 Micelles are not a new invention 

Fig. 1

In the context of surfactants, micelles are of course also an important topic! Micelles are often sold as an incredibly "new type of cleanser". It is advertised as being particularly mild and well tolerated and thus entices with many promises! 

The fact is, however, that wherever we find surfactants, i.e. in almost all cleansing products, we also find micelles! In reality, surfactants are simply present in water as micelles, among other things.

They do this precisely because of their amphiphilic character. They have a tendency to group together in the water. They arrange themselves on the surface of the water and thus stabilize the interface between water and air. This is also how soap bubbles and foam are formed, for example.

So they stick their water-loving head into the water, while the rest would rather avoid the water and prefer to rise into the air or combine with fat-soluble substances. The stronger the surfactant, the stronger and more stable the foam formation. (3) 

In addition to this phenomenon, surfactants also do the following: They arrange themselves in a spherical or rod-shaped form. This is called a micelle! 

So not new, not special and not milder! It still depends on which surfactant is in your cleanser. So it's always worth taking a look at the INCI list! :)  

# 5 It only gets really clean when it foams!

This is a very widespread fallacy! 

Because nowadays, our skin is really struggling with our cult of washing! We scrub, wash, fragrance and Cleanse ourselves to the max! Many of us are already aware that this is not ideal for our skin, but we still want to feel clean, fragrant and pure. 

Many people think of a bubble bath, foam crowns on the head or even a foaming Cleansing Gel for the daily evening routine. 

However, as I have already explained, the very surfactants that give us that cloudy whiteness are often the most aggressive to our skin. Especially to its fine protective layer. As always when the protective acid mantle is unhappy, this leads to irritation, redness or even allergies. The moisture in the skin evaporates more easily and it dries out.

Thank goodness research never stands still and there are now also mild surfactants that have good foaming power. Our amphoteric candidates are among them! So we can satisfy our need for foam and our skin still says thank you! 

# 6 Are surfactants harmful to the environment? 

Of course, we must also always be aware that the products we use to cleanser our bodies can end up in our rivers and soil via waste water. 

In the past, insoluble surfactants made their presence felt in lakes and rivers in the form of mountains of foam, severely polluting the living organisms in them. Thank goodness the German Detergents and Cleaning Agents Act has introduced a rule that surfactants must be at least 90 % biodegradable. Not 100%, but still. So we have to take the last 10 % into our own hands. 

Biodegradable means that a substance can be broken down by microorganisms into simple metabolic products. Bacteria do this job in sewage treatment plants and also in bodies of water. 

This makes it all the more important that we use surfactants that are made from renewable raw materials. For example, from vegetable fats, as these taste much better to bacteria than purely synthetic ones and can be digested much better by them. 

How do I cleanse my skin properly? 

This topic cleanser is simply so important to me because it is one of the most essential steps in your skincare routine. We are exposed to so much pollution every day. Dirt, fine dust from the air, make-up, creams and many other particles are deposited on our skin. It doesn't sound so pleasant at first, but that's the way it is! Especially when we spend a lot of time in cities and densely populated areas.   

That's why I would really like to recommend that you PM remove all these deposits from your face before going to bed. And you should do this with as mild a cleanser as possible cleanser, which does not use aggressive surfactants. For the sake of your skin and the environment.  

These are my most important points for facial cleansing: 

• Daily cleanser of the face (especially PM, even if you are not wearing make-up) 
• not too often! 1-2 times a day is perfectly sufficient 
• Mild surfactants that do not attack the skin barrier
• Do not use drying alcohols (not even for blemished skin)
• toner support the cleanser of the skin and provide it with additional active ingredients

I know that many people only wash their face with water. I have to admit that I was one of them for a long time. However, this works for very few people. They often don't use make-up and have very insensitive skin. But in the long run, even pure water with its neutral pH-value of 7 can attack the skin and its rather acidic pH-value of 5.5, irritating and drying it out. Apart from that, we know that water can only dissolve substances rinse-off that can also be dissolved in water. What about the fat-soluble components? 

How Cleanse works at junglück - We use these surfactants

We use a combination of different plant-based surfactants in our cleaning products, shower gel, shampoo and Cleansing Oil we use a combination of different plant-based surfactants. 

• Sugar surfactant: Coco Glucoside
• mild anionic surfactant: disodium/sodium cocoyl glutamate 
• amphoteres: Cocoamidopropyl Betaine 

They come in our shower gel and in the shampoo for use. The sugar surfactant further weakens the anionic surfactant. In this way, we create a super cleansing power, good foam formation and yet the skin barrier remains intact. 

If you would like to know how our Cleansing Oil works, you can also here to read more about it!

I hope I have been able to give you a little insight into the world of surfactants and make you even more aware of what you are putting on your skin and why your skin may not be improving. Perhaps it was due to the wrong or simply too aggressive cleanser? 

Click here to go directly to our gentle cleaning products! 

Take time for yourself & be good to yourself!

Your Leonie 

Sources

1. Cosmetic ingredients from A to Z, Heinz Knieriemen, 6th edition, 2005, AT Verlag Baden and Munich
2. Body care science and cosmetics, Sabine Ellsässer, 2nd edition 
3. Guide to the world of cosmetics, Esther Witte, 2nd edition, 2019