OUR DIFFERENCE
The Science
The main active ingredient in Babington Soap’s moisturizer is Chitosan (pronounced “kite-o-san”), and it’s what makes our moisturizing sanitizer different from almost all others on the market. Our pharmaceutical grade, plant-based Chitosan is an amazing product that enables your skin’s cells to work as nature intended. That’s the beauty of using an ingredient that’s derived from mushrooms, as Chitosan, and other beauty products extracted from mushrooms, correct imbalances and restore vitality by aiding the body’s stress response. When applied topically, Chitosan works with your body’s natural chemistry to moisturize damaged skin and trap that moisture at dry or inflamed spots. This process will ensure that after you use Babington Soap’s hand sanitizer, your skin will feel soft, silky and smooth.
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Repeated use of alcohol on the skin not only pulls moisture out of skin cells, but also weakens the protective barrier that functions to keep moisture in. The results are inflammation and a reduced barrier against germs and bacteria, as well as hands that feel like sandpaper to the touch. Chitosan not only provides its own barrier but activates the body’s sebaceous glands to produce sebum, which coats, protects and moisturizes your skin. Sebum is the main ingredient in your body’s natural oils, and Chitosan stimulates its release, making it a perfect ingredient to keep hands smooth and silky even while sanitizing.
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Among both the cheap and expensive moisturizing sanitizers currently on the market, most are formulated with aloe vera and/or glycerine as hydrating elements to combat the harshness of alcohol. Although these ingredients provide some rejuvenation and moisturization, their effects are generally short-term.
Glycerine is a humectant and is mainly plant-based. It works by pulling moisture out of the air and by creating a barrier that keeps the moisture trapped. However, glycerine is only effective in climates with 65% humidity. That can be a problem, since the average home is only 30 to 50% humid. If you find yourself in a low humidity climate and use glycerine, it will find the extra moisturizer from somewhere. In these cases, glycerine actually pulls water from the deeper layers of your skin to the outermost layer. So while this may make your hands feel supple in the short-term, you’re actually drying your hands from the inside-out, and eventually, users start to report a “tacky feeling on the skin.”
Aloe vera (the viscous liquid extracted from the aloe barbadensis plant) can indeed be healing for the skin, but as it hydrates skin it doesn’t form any kind of barrier to lock in that moisture. It also contains latex, which is a common irritant to those with latex allergies. If a person has a latex allergy, mild or severe, they may experience symptoms when using aloe vera such as skin rashes, irritation, redness in the eyes and burning sensations.
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Babington Soap wanted to produce a moisturizer that does more than provide temporary relief in a losing battle. Chitosan works very differently than other plant-based beauty products, as Babington Soap includes it for its long-term effects. Chitosan ensures that hands maintain their moisture after sanitizing and beyond by trapping your skin cells’ water stores, which are needed for smooth, healthy skin. Much like the body’s natural moisturization functions, Chitosan replicates the role of sebum by forming an impermeable barrier over the skin to prevent water loss from skin cells. Through this process that is created by Babington Soap’s moisturizing hand sanitizer formula, your skin cells will continue to operate exactly how nature intended. All the while, as a barrier is formed, the lemongrass oil – which is also an antibacterial agent - remains longer on the hands for a pleasant fragrance to match your silky touch.
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If your skin had a choice, the choice would be Babington Soap’s moisturizing hand sanitizer.