Produced by Unilever, Dove soap represents just a small part of a very large body care line of lotions, hair products, face washes, anti-aging treatments and beauty bars. First launched on the American market in 1955, Dove soap had been previously produced in the Netherlands as De Duif that translates the dove. Then and now this beauty bar is advertised as containing one fourth moisturizing cream, which explains the softness and hydration of the skin after usage. The insistence on this cream content was scientifically tested and proved by a dermatological study conducted at the end of the 70s.

Based on such scientific data, the company started an even more intense marketing promotion of Dove soap, meeting the expectations of many other users. Dove soap has nothing special in terms of composition: the ingredients mainly include synthetic surfactants and some vegetable oil extracts. The efficiency results from the balanced neutral pH that is very close to that of the skin, between 6.5 and 7.5. Lots of Dove soap varieties have flooded the market, each special in its way: there is Dove soap for dead cells exfoliation, Dove for sensitive skin, nourishing Dove, anti-aging Dove and several energy glow versions.

The skin moistorizing properties of Dove soap seem to be justified and obvious if we think about how soft it leaves the skin afterwards. Unfortunately, this achievement is not the merit of some herbal or essential oil action but that of chemicals that act as foaming and wetting agents; this is the role played by the main ingredient in Dove soap: Sodium Cocyl Isethionate. The emollient function is supported by the streatic acid extracted from animal fats and plants. Therefore, the cream bar, as Dove soap is usually called may not totally justify its higher price.

Presently, there is a very intense Greenpeace campaign carried against Dove producers who are being criticized for purchasing palm oil supplies from Indonesian sources that massively deforest the South Asian globe areas. Greenpeace has even created some product parody sketches in which the Dove soap beauty commercials are replaced by images from Indonesia, with trees massively destroyed. Yet, the solution is not that of changing customer’s mind about whether to buy or not but to get a modification in the company’s policy concerning ingredient supplies and suppliers.

Tags: dove soap

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 4:19 pm and is filed under General Skin Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.