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Posted by on May 29, 2017 in TellMeWhy |

What Is the Difference Between a Shaving and Toilet Soap?

What Is the Difference Between a Shaving and Toilet Soap?

What Is the Difference Between a Shaving and Toilet Soap? Shaving soap is produced like a traditional soap with an ingredient selection oriented to producing a stable, slick lather.

Its manufacture often differs slightly from normal bath soap in that both potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide may be used as saponification agents. Sodium hydroxide creates a harder soap such as is used in pucks, where potassium hydroxide facilitates creation of a softer soap which loads on the brush more easily.

Historically, tallow has been a popular ingredient in shaving soaps and is still in use in some traditional products. Palm oil is frequently used as a substitute for tallow where animal fats are not desired. Other oils such as coconut oil are commonly used. Component fatty acids such as stearic acid are also used in shaving soaps for the properties which they contribute; stearic acid contributes to a more stable dense lather.

Due to the controversy over parabens, many soap-makers have begun to advertise their soaps as paraben-free. Due to their lower moisture content, hard soaps often do not require preservatives.

Toilet soap is the soap used as a toiletry and the toiletry means – an object or cosmetic used in making up, dressing, etc. Due to the word toiletry, we misunderstood the concept of toilet soap. Cambridge dictionary defines the toilet soap as “a sweet-smelling soap that is intended for washing the body”.

Higher fatty material in the soap increases the cleansing ability. Toilet soaps contain more fatty material than bathing bar (i.e. 60-80% while bathing bars contain 40-60%), so they soften the skin and also cleanse better than bathing bars. However bathing bars often add other stuff to make up for the moisturizing part like glycerin (pears), moisturizing milk (dove) etc.  Most of the soaps present in the market (Lux, Liril, Lifebuoy, Dettol, Margo, Cinthol) are toilet soaps.

Content for this question contributed by Sam Kruger, resident of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California, USA