Soy lotion is a beauty product made with emollients that help to maintain a good level of moisture in healthy skin and to heal dry skin. The quality and usefulness of soy lotion can vary depending on the type of soy products that are used in the lotion. Some lotions are made with soy lipids while others are made with soy proteins. Soy protein can be a very healthy part of one's diet, but soy lipids are often more useful for the skin.
Soy lipids contain essential fatty acids, lecithin, mixed tocopherols, and vitamin E, all of which are great nutrients for the skin. Soy protein contains none of these. Many people have a general sense that soy lotion is good for their skin, but do not know the difference between these lipids and proteins. While soy lotion made with soy protein may moisturize the skin, lotion made with soy lipids often offers many more benefits for the skin. Some soy lotion is made with both soy lipids and soy proteins, but it is common for lotions to be formulated with just one or the other.
Most lotions made with soy will say what type of soy is used in the formula. If this is not the case, check the ingredients list to see whether the formula includes protein or lipids. While doing this, also check to see how high soy is on the ingredients list. If it is one of the last ingredients, this means that the soy lotion actually contains very little soy. If it is close to the top of the list, this means that there is a high concentration of soy in the product.
Soy lotion is often more expensive than lotion made with more common emollients such as petrolatum and glycerine. A bottle of soy lotion can range in price from $8 USD (US Dollars) to $40 USD. By comparison, similarly sized bottles of lotion made with the more common kinds of emollients listed above usually range in price from $2 USD to $10 USD.
Lotion bars that claim to include soy are often made with hydrogenated soybean oil, which does not contain any of the skin benefits listed above. In fact, the process of hydrogenating the oil destroys all of the nutrients that benefit the skin. To benefit the skin with soy, stick to lotions and avoid lotion bars.
