REVIEW: Glutamansi Soap | Yung Totoo!

So ayun katulad nyo nagpadala din ako sa hype. Sa sobrang excited I ordered 20 pcs agad kasi mura. Until I suddenly remembered something. Its about Baking Soda being too basic and alkaline.. On this blog post we discuss the importance of PH balance on our skincare products in detail as well as my full review on the Glutamansi Soap at the end of this post.

 

VLOG

 

So Why Is Something Alkaline Bad for Skin?

The pH of the products you use is super important for maintaining healthy skin. Here’s how the pH scale works: It runs from 0-14 with 7 meaning neutral. Anything above 7 is considered alkaline, or a base, and anything below 7 is considered an acid. The skin naturally falls somewhere around 4.5 to 6.5, and is maintained by sebaceous glands, sweat glands, and normal skin flora, among others. This skin acidity is called the “acid mantle” (Exogenus Dermatology).

When you apply a product with a high pH, aka something alkaline, negatively disrupts the skin barrier. A study on skin products found that using an alkaline cleanser, even once, can do damage to the skin (Dermatology). An alkaline cleanser disrupts the skin’s acid mantle (affecting the skin barrier), and changes the bacterial flora composition on the skin and the activity of the enzymes in the upper layers of skin, as these have an optimal pH level. And the damage is cumulative: The longer you use it, the more damage it does to your skin.

So, with baking soda and water, you’re already disrupting the acid mantle, but you’re also manually exfoliating, making it even more damaging and drying.

Because of this, you want mildly acidic products, which help the skin hold moisture and also improve the skin barrier. But it’s important that they’re mildly acidic, as you can, in fact, go too low. If you go too low with products, you risk skin irritation, sun sensitivity, and hyperpigmentation (International Journal of Cosmetic Science).

_{*source: https://zerocares.com/not-use-baking-soda-skin/}

 

Review

Packaging – Um.. I bought 10pcs and it’s enclosed in a thin plastic sheet. Really a bit unsanitary *shrugs*

Price – Super cheap! A bar costs roughly around 20 pesos more or less

Texture – Smooth with small bits of what I think are calamansi peels.

Ingredients – Calamansi, Baking Soda, Glutathione, Soap Base

Scent – The soap I got has no synthetic fragrance so it smelled like mild soap with light citrus.

Thoughts – I wonder if the acidity of the calamansi neutralizes the alkaline of the basic soda making it safer to use? After 1 month of using it on my body (sorry I’m scared af to try it on my face) it lathers well, generous with bubbles and it doesn’t sting.

What I appreciate about this soap is its deodorizing factor. It helped a lot in preventing that “amoy pawis” feeling when you’re out in the sun and soaking in sweat. I didn’t observe any change on my body’s complexion during use nor fade my current scars. So no skin whitening effect there if you’re curious.

I’m sorry but I will not use this soap again on my body. BUT I found that it works super great on my pets fur! It kept them smelling fresh and clean longer!