The Types of Seaweed Soap and Their Purposes
In China and Japan, seaweed soaps have been used for hundreds of years because of seaweed's numerous health benefits. Users and manufacturers of seaweed soap praise its ability to exfoliate, moisturize and nourish the skin with the concentration of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Some people claim the soap has the ability to reduce fat and cellulite and promote weight loss. It is not possible to categorize seaweed soaps into types by their ingredients or purposes, as each individual brand has different ingredients. In addition, the soaps are not usually marketed according to different purposes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Types of Seaweed
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There are thousands of individual kinds of seaweed, but scientists generally group them into either green, red or brown. All seaweed contains chlorophyll, but red and brown seaweed have additional pigments that mask the green color. Most soaps use brown seaweed types, although if they don't have too much brown pigment they can be olive green.
Seaweed in Soap
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Most seaweed soaps do not state the type of seaweed they contain. When manufacturers say they contain "three types of seaweed," they define this in their ingredient list as "powdered, extract and flakes." The soaps that list a type of seaweed often list nori, which is the same seaweed used in sheets to make sushi. Nori contains iodine, iron, protein, vitamins A, C and B2, potassium and magnesium. Nori and other seaweeds are eaten because of their health benefits. Manufacturers and users of seaweed soap believe that putting the seaweed on the skin has similar benefits because the skin absorbs the vitamins and minerals.
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Additional Ingredients
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Seaweed soaps are made with plant oils, such as olive, palm or coconut oils, rather than the animal fats used in most bath soap. Seaweed soap also typically has other ingredients that are known to be beneficial to skin, such as aloe vera.
Exfoliating and Moisturizing
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Seaweed soaps are known for their superior ability to exfoliate and moisturize compared with typical bath and deodorant soaps. All soap exfoliates, or removes the dead cells from the top layer of skin, just by cleansing and rubbing. Some bath products, however, add exfoliating ingredients, such as ground peach pits or nut shells, which can irritate the skin. Seaweed grains, being natural and softer, are said to do a good job exfoliating without irritation. Typical bath soaps often dry out the skin, too, which can cause more skin problems, while seaweed soaps do not cause dry skin. In fact, manufacturers add additional moisturizers to seaweed soap, enhancing whatever natural moisturizing effect the seaweed itself may have.
Possible Additional Benefits
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Some manufacturers claim their seaweed soap can also detoxify the body, increase metabolism, reduce cellulite and even have a slimming effect by stimulating the thyroid with the iodine seaweed contains. Research has not been done to prove or disprove these claims, but many users report success with certain soaps for these purposes.
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References
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