Monday, July 14, 2014

Confusing Pink Safeguard Soap



I decided to buy another pink Safeguard soap because I wanted the fungi protection on top of the germ protection it claims to have (despite not containing triclocarban). Unfortunately, I unwittingly picked up the pink Safeguard that contains triclocarban without the claim of fungi protection.


The front of the package looks the same except for some minor detail. Both have the same price (and same barcode).

It is important to note that the one with triclocarban almost has the same set of ingredients as the pricey Safeguard Derma Sense for Acne Prone Skin. The difference in price is still suspicious.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Safeguard Derma Sense: Does it make sense?

Ingredients of Safeguard Derma Sense for Acne Prone Skin

Procter and Gamble released the Derma Sense variant of Safeguard with a price of about double of other Safeguard variants. One might ask, what is in the Derma Sense soap that is not in the other variants. I have listed the ingredients of two Safeguard soaps below, namely the Derma Sense for acne prone skin and the pink variant.

Safeguard Pink with Aloe (PhP 38 for 135g bar) Safeguard Derma Sense For Acne Prone Skin (PhP 78 for 135g bar)
aloe barbadensis leaf extract CI 42053
CI 14700 CI 47005
CI 45410 eucalyptus globulus leaf extract
citric acid fragrance
fragrance glycerin
glycerin palm kernel acid
palm kernel acid sodium chloride
pentaerythrityl tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate sodium palm kernelate
sodium chloride sodium palmate
sodium palm kernelate tapioca starch
sodium palmate titanium dioxide
talc triclocarban
tapioca starch zinc pyrithione
tetrasodium etidronate
titanium dioxide
water
zinc pyrithione
zinc sulfate
* Font color for the similar ingredients and the coloring agents are lighter to make the unique ingredients standout.

Two unique ingredients are present in the soap for acne prone skin, triclocarban and the eucalyptus extract. These are known antibacterial agents.

Older Safeguard soaps used to have triclosan and/or tricarban as their main ingredient to protect against germs. It is surprising that neither of the two is present in the pink soap yet there are claims that the pink soap can help protect against bacterial and now, some fungi, too!

Label and ingredients of the Pink Safeguard (with Aloe)

Now that both soap claims to protect against bacteria, is the high price of the Derma Sense soap cost effective? Does the pink soap lack protection against pimple causing bacteria? If so, is it more cost effective to buy the pink soap and buy another product for the pimple? Does it make sense to prefer the Derma Sense soap?

I tried both soaps (one whole month each) and both helped in the pimple reduction on my face. The thing is, I am also using  other products (those  with tea tree oil and/or salicylic acid) on my pimple while I used the two soaps. With my skin condition, I cannot rely on Safeguard soaps alone. My skin reacts well to salicyclic acid. So for me, it is really more cost effective to just pick the pink one. Also, if I'm going to rely on triclocarban alone for my pimple protection, I would use less expensive soaps (about half the price of the Derma Sense soap) that has triclocarban.