Neutrogena Facial Bars: An In-Depth Review of Ingredients

Bar soaps have garnered attention for their simplicity and effectiveness. Neutrogena's facial cleansing bars, known for their translucent appearance, have become a popular choice. This article delves into a detailed review of the ingredients found in Neutrogena facial bars, examining their functions, origins, and potential impacts on the skin.

The Appeal of Bar Soaps

In recent times, the beauty of a simple, no-frills bar soap has become increasingly appreciated. Soap's ability to cleanse and potentially save lives is notable. While individuals may remain loyal to favorite moisturizers and lotions, experimenting with face washes is common. Bar soaps intrigue many due to their aesthetic appeal, whether in the form of a cube or curve.

First Impressions of Neutrogena Cleansing Bar

Neutrogena’s "Original Formula" Facial Cleansing Bar presents itself as a pale orange, translucent, rectangular block. The appealing orange color raises questions about the presence of dyes.

Key Ingredients and Their Roles

A closer examination of the ingredient list reveals several key components, each with specific functions:

Triethanolamine

Triethanolamine, often listed as the first ingredient, plays a crucial role in creating the soap. It neutralizes fatty acids, resulting in a translucent bar. According to experts, a large amount of triethanolamine is added to overneutralize the fatty acids. This process creates a softer bar soap, which may be used up more quickly but is gentler on the skin. Triethanolamine functions as a fragrance ingredient, emulsifier, and pH adjuster. It is synthetically produced. It also helps to set the pH of a cosmetic formulation to be just right.

Read also: Unveiling Neutrogena's Magic

Controversy: There are concerns about triethanolamine because it can potentially be contaminated with diethanolamine (DEA), a byproduct. Diethanolamine is among the 400 ingredients that Brandless bans from its personal care products. The Environmental Protection Agency has indicated that diethanolamine can be harmful when inhaled and irritating when applied to the skin. Animal studies have shown that it can cause skin irritation and negatively affect vision when exposed to the eye area.

TEA-Stearate

TEA-Stearate functions as a cleansing agent and emulsifier. It can be derived from botanical sources, produced synthetically, or sourced from animals.

Sodium Tallowate

Sodium Tallowate acts as a cleansing agent, emulsifier, and foaming agent. It also helps control viscosity. This ingredient can be either synthetic or animal-derived.

Glycerin

Glycerin is a popular moisturizing ingredient, functioning as a humectant and emollient. It can also serve as a fragrance ingredient, denaturant, solvent, and viscosity controlling agent. Glycerin can be sourced botanically, produced synthetically, or derived from animals. Glycerin is a powerful humectant.

Sodium Cocoate

Sodium Cocoate is a cleansing agent and emulsifier, often used in soaps. It assists in removing excess oil and dirt from the skin. It is derived botanically or produced synthetically.

Read also: Get Rid of Facial Hair

Water

Water is a fundamental ingredient, acting as a solvent. It is naturally occurring. Water doesn’t moisturize the skin by itself and is used in skincare as a solvent for other ingredients.

Sodium Ricinoleate

Sodium Ricinoleate is a cleansing agent and emulsifier.

Sodium Oleate

Sodium Oleate functions as a cleansing agent, emulsifier, and viscosity controlling agent. It can be derived from botanical sources, produced synthetically, or sourced from animals.

Cocamide MEA

Cocamide MEA is a cleansing agent and emulsifier. It also functions as an emulsion stabilizer, foaming agent, and viscosity controlling agent. It is derived botanically or produced synthetically. Chemically speaking, it is the little sister of Cocamide DEA and has similar properties to that guy.

Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate

Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate is a cleansing agent that also acts as a foaming agent and hydrotrope. It is derived botanically or produced synthetically. A soft, mild cleansing agent with amphoteric structure meaning that its head contains both a positively and a negatively charged part (surfactants are most commonly anionic meaning their head has a negative charge).

Read also: Choosing the right facial peel mask

Fragrance

Fragrance is added to provide a pleasant scent or mask undesirable odors. It can be derived from botanical sources, produced synthetically, or sourced from animals. If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it. Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. It’s the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics. It’s definitely a smart thing to avoid with sensitive skin (and fragrance of any type - natural is just as allergic as synthetic, if not worse!).

Sodium Stearate

Sodium Stearate is a cleansing agent and emulsifier. It also helps control viscosity. This ingredient can be either synthetic or animal-derived. A very classic, old-school cleansing agent, a soap (the sodium salt of Stearic Acid). It is known for its rich, creamy foam and being quite harsh on the skin. If it's not in a soap bar, it can also function as an emulsifier or consistency agent.

BHT (Butylated Hydroxy Toluene)

BHT is a synthetic antioxidant used as a preservative and fragrance ingredient. It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. It's a common synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative. There is some controversy around BHT. It's not a new ingredient, it has been used both as a food and cosmetics additive since the 1970s. Plenty of studies tried to examine if it's a carcinogen or not. This Truth in Aging article details the situation and also writes that all these studies examine BHT when taken orally.

Tocopheryl Acetate

Tocopheryl Acetate is a form of vitamin E that functions as an antioxidant. It can be derived botanically or produced synthetically. It’s the most commonly used version of pure vitamin E in cosmetics. You can read all about the pure form here.

Tetrasodium Etidronate

Tetrasodium Etidronate functions as a chelating agent, emulsion stabilizer, and viscosity controlling agent. It is synthetically produced.

Trisodium HEDTA

Trisodium HEDTA functions as a chelating agent. It is synthetically produced.

Sodium Metabisulfite

Sodium Metabisulfite acts as an antioxidant and preservative. It also functions as a reducing agent. It is synthetically produced.

Additional Observations

Some users have noted that Neutrogena Fragrance-Free Facial Cleansing Bar gets used up more quickly compared to other bar soaps like Dove Sensitive Skin Beauty Bar. This may be due to the absence of "hardeners" in the Neutrogena bar's formulation. The soap produces a slick surface feel rather than an aggressive foam.

Concerns and Considerations

The presence of triethanolamine raises concerns about potential diethanolamine (DEA) contamination. While the bar soap is gentle and does not dry out the skin as promised, the rapid consumption rate may deter some users from repurchasing. Additionally, the individual plastic wrapping of each bar within the paper box is a point of concern for those mindful of environmental impact.

It's also important to note that if a product contains so-called N-nitrogenating agents (e.g.: preservatives like 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, 5-Bromo-5-Nitro- 1,3-Dioxane or sodium nitrate - so look out for things with nitro, nitra in the name) that together with TEA can form some not nice carcinogenic stuff (that is called nitrosamines). But let’s assume a bad combination of ingredients were used and the nitrosamines formed.

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