Soapwort

Saponaria occymoides

Soapwort is one of our most important ingredients, because it is part of our proprietary cleansing plant blend in our Botanical Cleansing Oil and Cleansing Powders! Soapwort contains a high level of saponins, which are compounds found in many plants; their name sounds similar to "soap" because they produce a cleansing foam when mixed with water. 

Saponins are actually very different from soap or surfactants - the two primary classes of cleansing agents found in skincare products today. Saponins are extremely gentle on the skin. Plants with saponins were traditionally used as cleansers by many ancestral peoples in different parts of the world. Soapwort leaves and roots contain enough saponins to be effectively cleansing, but remain gentle enough to not strip the skin or damage the protective moisture barrier.

​

Soapwort grows easily on the farm and makes a gorgeous carpet of pink flowers in the spring.

100% of the Soapwort in our products is grown on our farm.

​

Benefits

- Cleanses without stripping, especially compared to surfactants commonly used in skincare (1)

- Improves skin elasticity (1, 2)​

- Emulsification (1, 2, 3)

- Anti-aging (2)

- Healing (3)

​

Science

1. Jurek, I., Góral, I., Mierzyńska, Z., Moniuszko-Szajwaj, B., & Wojciechowski, K. (2019). Effect of synthetic surfactants and soapwort (Saponaria officinalis L.) extract on skin-mimetic model lipid monolayers. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Biomembranes, 1861(3), 556-564.

2. Kim, Y. G., Sumiyoshi, M., Sakanaka, M., & Kimura, Y. (2009). Effects of ginseng saponins isolated from red ginseng on ultraviolet B-induced skin aging in hairless mice. European journal of pharmacology, 602(1), 148-156.

3. Kim, Y. S., Cho, I. H., Jeong, M. J., Jeong, S. J., Nah, S. Y., Cho, Y. S., ... & Moon, C. J. (2011). Therapeutic effect of total ginseng saponin on skin wound healing. Journal of ginseng research, 35(3), 360.