Niod Sanskrit Saponins
Highly-Concentrated Ayurvedic Surfactants
SS is a viscous and intense cleaning balm for the face formulated with highly concentrated, very-unrefined Ayurvedic plant surfactants unsupported by any modern cleaning technology. SS contains no purified or synthetic surfactants, sulfates, oils, esters, or micellar technologies. It is a pH-balanced suspension of the amino acid, Arginine, in saponins from the Ayurvedic plants shikakai and sapindus mukorossi.
Cleaning started with water. Its evolution brought soap. It was later presented that soap was harsh and soap-free surfactants were introduced. Those surfactants became questionable and newer sulfate-free surfactants were introduced — while some sulfate surfactants were far gentler and more effective. It was then suggested that surfactants were bad in general and that oils should be used for cleaning the skin instead. The modern-day has gone further to introduce micellar waters and water-free cleaning systems suggesting that water-cleaning should be less frequent to preserve skin integrity — what has become the beginning of questioning the very thing that started both life and the meaning of being clean: water.
The truth is that every advance in the journey of cleaning deserves respect. Each step criticized the previous step more so that it praised itself — but the truth is that water is good, soaps are good, surfactants are good and what there is today is good — each in its way.
Today, cleaning — or its unnecessarily-privileged language form, "cleansing" — seems to be more focused on removing makeup than actually cleaning bare skin — of dirt, dead cells, and oils. While many modern products remove makeup and surface dirt very effectively, they largely leave the pores unclean of bacteria, dirt, and oils. Such products also leave spent cells more intact than even through water-cleaning, discouraging the skin from behaving optimally.
The alternative to these gentle cleaning products (or makeup removers) is the use of aggressive acids, alcohols, and exfoliants. Products with these technologies go to the opposite extreme — they interact with the skin's bonds to peel the surface and/or specifically dry out as much oil as possible. This approach does clean the surface well but causes inflammation and encourages excess exposure of the skin's lower layers to the environment, allowing for premature aging.
In our distant past, plant saponins were used to clean the skin well — and they did so very well. These saponins clean the surface of dead cells without peeling the skin. They delete dirt. They clean pores intensely. And they remove the skin's oils — yes, the skin's very own oils and sebum secretions that everyone fears removing. The skin is not a cover. It is a living organ. Its function is to produce protective oils. Never cleaning these oils discourages their natural recycling — in a way, it would discourage the skin from engaging in "exercise". Removing these oils too aggressively results in excessive dryness and a compensatory overproduction of oils.
SS is a cleaning balm that concentrates Ayurvedic saponins. They're unrefined and messy. They borrow their color and smell from a place far away from today's madding crowd of refinement. But their near-perfect equilibrium between deep cleaning and respecting skin integrity is evidence that — somehow, somewhere — they are connected to humankind.
With continued use, SS visibly targets all forms of build-up, blemishes, congestion, and impurities. It is suitable for all skin types. After the first use, SS leaves the skin looking nearly pore-free and its surface exceptionally cleaned — as if it's radiating from within.
