Palmolive Soap Review: Benefits, Uses & Side Effects

Palmolive Soap was first introduced in 1989 as a palm and olive oils bar soap. From that product, the Palmolive brand evolved into a wide range of products now manufactured by the Colgate-Palmolive partnership.

Like many others, I’ve used Palmolive soaps as a kid and even as a teen. It has been around for ages and it’s still a soap that my parents and grandparents swear by.

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Benefits of Palmolive Soap

Palmolive soap is great for gently but effectively cleansing the skin while moisturizing it as well.

The formula is very straight forward and its benefits are as well. They include:

Gentle cleansing
Moisturizing

This soap does not do much more than that. It is not a skin treatment and it’s not used for any particular skin condition.

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Is Palmolive Soap anti-bacterial?

These soaps are not designed to be antibacterial. They are mild soaps.

However, Palmolive does have a range of antibacterial hand washes available separately.

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Can you use it on your face?

If you are sensitive to fragrances or have dry skin, you may not benefit from using this soap on your skin. However, if you have normal skin and you are not overly sensitive, then this soap can be used on your face.

Just make sure that you moisturize your face well afterwards.

I recommend using the aloe and olive one or the milk and honey one for your face. These are gentle, hydrating and sensitive-skin-friendly ingredients.

Will Palmolive Soap help acne?

It can help by cleansing the area, but it is not antibacterial so it will not kill or get rid of all the acne-causing bacteria. So it will not treat acne.

The fragrance in this soap may also be irritating to your already inflamed and irritated skin.

To see soaps that will help acne, check these articles out:

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Can it lighten skin tone?

Palmolive Soap will not visually lighten your skin tone. It does not have bleaching properties.

However, it does cleanse your skin. When you cleanse your skin well and often, your tone naturally evens out over time. But this will be very subtle.

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Can you use Palmolive Soap on private parts?

You can use Palmolive Soap to wash the skin around your private parts but you cannot use it directly in your genitals or inside any orifices.

While Palmolive is a mild soap, it is not pH-balanced. It is also not designed with the kind of ingredients that are healthy for that area. It might be too harsh still and drying. The fragrances can also cause irritation and ultimately, infections.

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Ingredients In Palmolive Soap

Initially, Palmolive Soap was marketed as a soap made primarily of olive, palm, and coconut oil.

At that time (in the 1980s) this was a big deal because many soaps back then did not have skincare ingredients. It was further made popular by a campaign that advertised it as a soap that would have been favored by “the Pharaoh’s Daughter” – alluding to its luxuriousness.

As the years went by, of course, the formula has changed, but its basic properties remain the same.

Each bar of palmolive soap will contain Sodium Palmate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Water, Talc, Glycerin, Palmitic Acid, Fragrance, Titanium Dioxide. However, the fragrance will change depending on the kind of soap. The dyes and other ingredients will also be added depending on the kind of soap.

So, for example, if you choose the Palmolive Naturals Milk & Honey Moisture Care Bar Soap, it will contain the ingredients above, but it will also contain Nonfat Dry Milk, Honey Extract, Ci 15510 (dye), and Ci 47005 (dye). Other kinds like the Aloe and Olive option will contain Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, and Ci 74260 instead.

Side Effects Of Using Palmolive Soap

The only concerns with using Palmolive soap are irritation and dryness.

Allergic reactions are very rare. However, I always recommend that you check the ingredients list to make sure that you are not allergic or sensitive to anything that is used in the soap.

If using this soap makes your skin too dry, you can either moisturize religiously after every bath or consider using a soap that has more hydrating and moisturizing ingredients.

If the soap irritates your skin and it does not stop after the first few initial uses, then you need to stop using the soap. It could be that the dyes or fragrances are causing a reaction in your skin.

Where To Buy Palmolive Soaps

These soaps can be easily found at most major stores (Target, Walmart, Walgreens, etc) and they can also be found on Amazon.

Now keep in mind that the package might look different depending on which country it was manufactured in. But always check your labels and barcodes to make sure that you are buying an authentic product.

Palmolive Soap Review: Benefits, Uses & Side Effects