I was talking to a friend of mine and I was complaining that I was still getting acne at my age and it seems to be getting worse. Let you give you a little history about my skin. Ever since I was about 11, I had dealt with acne. It seems like I tried everthing on the market (not true, I only tried about 75% *lol*) and it either dried out my skin horribly or made my acne worse. My skin is oily and sensitive, so there isn’t much on the market (In the US) that caters to my skin type.
So a friend suggested that I use Dove Pink (or Rose in other countries) soap bar. I gave her a stunned look because with my skin type, I haven’t fared well with bar soaps. They either made my skin dry, flaky, or oozing. But I gave it a try. Since the soap isn’t that expensive in comparision to other facial soaps (In the US BTW) I have used, I decided to give it a go.
The first time I tried it, it wasn’t irritating to my skin. Granted it left a film on my face (but I was away in school and the town’s water is horrible) but I usually followed it up with an alcohol free toner (I can’t use alcohol-based toners or it will aggravate my acne). After a week, my face started to itch. With into weeks, my face was itching so bad that I had to stop.
I think the problem is that the frangrance in the soap was just too irritating for my skin. It was strongly scented in my opinion of artifical roses. There is one of the scents I am not fond of, natural or artificial roses. Don’t ask me why but I just don’t care for it. I guess it’s because it doesn’t blend well with my body chemistry. And secondly, it tends to leave a filmy residue. I know this is excellent for someone with dry skin, but for me it caused problems. So it gotten regulated to as a body soap. I didn’t cause too much problems as a body soap but the smell was getting on my nerves and it was clashing with other scents I wear. So I stopped buying it.
Nowadays, with more knowledge about my skin type, I usually go for unscented soaps. With the weather being cooler, I opt for the creamy bar soap. The Dove unscented is pretty okay. It has a mild scent so no allergic reactions from me. I rarely purchase this soap since I purchase another brand of soap which is similar but I haven’t suffered an allergic reaction.
I think Dove will be suitable as a facial soap for those with dry to slightly oily skin. For those with sensitive skin, try to get your hands on the unscented soap to see how your skin reacts. If you start to break out within a week, please discontinue use and get in contact with a dermatologist if possible. Take my word for it.
A side note: I was chatting with my best female friend and I asked her opinion on Dove soap. This was after I tried it. Mind you this girl has one of the most sensitive skin on the planet. She can barely use any soaps, lotions, or creams. Her experience was that it made her break out in an angry rash all over her body and it took a week for her to heal. Poor thing. So the scent in the soap wasn’t agreeing with her body or the residue it tends to leaves behind *SMH*.