Can you guess why this laundry soap is hypoallergenic?

There are products that become generational brands as they continue to be used from generation to generation. One of those household staples that I remember around the house, growing up with my Dad and Mom, was Perla.

Perla was our kitchen soap. I remember my Mom always had a bar of Perla on a soap dish beside our kitchen sink. Come to think of it, in many houses, including my relatives’ houses, Perla was often the kitchen soap. I always presumed my Mom was using it because Perla was less expensive than dishwashing liquid but apparently, it was THE dishwashing soap during my generation.

When my four kids were born, they all had very sensitive skin. My kids’ dermatologist recommended unscented soap. The problem was…most of the baby soaps available locally, at that time, had fragrance and some would cause skin irritation. Hypoallergenic products then were also quite expensive and often, not readily available.

My yaya would always ask me to buy Perla for my kids’ clothes because she said it was the only laundry soap that their skin could tolerate without breaking out in rashes.

In my head, I always had this notion that other laundry products offered by other brands were superior. I was wrong and I found out the hard way. One day, I ran out of liquid detergent for my delicates. I hand-washed them with another brand’s powdered detergent (the one with blue specks in it), and not even a minute later, my hands stung like crazy! Ang hapdi talaga (it really stung!)! I immediately understood why my yaya and labandera (laundrywoman) preferred to hand wash clothes with Perla.

I discovered one very important ingredient in Perla over lunch with the Perla team. Hint: It’s there on the packaging label. COCONUT OIL! Yes, Perla is 50% coconut oil!!! Go check the ingredients of the other laundry soap brands out there. Most are petroleum-based.

Much has been said about coconut oil. I know that in this day and age when natural and organic products are gaining ground, young mothers prefer to use products on their babies that have no synthetic components or toxic ingredients. At the very top of these desired natural ingredients is coconut oil. Books have been written about the wonders of coconut oil which is so versatile that it is found in products from household cleaners to personal and skin care, makeup, and now, laundry soap. We are so lucky here in the Philippines to have a large coconut industry!

There was a second “reveal” at our lunch. Some showbiz celebrities (as well as friends of mine who reacted to my Facebook post about the Perla lunch) apparently have been using Perla ON THEIR FACES! Seriously, I never imagined that a laundry soap could double up as a facial soap. But come to think of it, with 50% coconut oil as its active ingredient, why not? It’s a hypoallergenic laundry soap that also doubles as a facial soap.

Here are a few more things about Perla and coconut oil that you would want to know:

• The formulation of Perla has not changed. It’s the same Perla goodness known for generations.
• One of Perla’s ingredients is glycerin, a natural moisturizer. You can actually feel the glycerin when working up a lather because you can feel the slippery, soft texture.
• Perla is very mildly scented, with just a hint of lavender — one of the essential oils used.
• Coconut oil contains lauric, a natural cleaning agent. Lauric traps oil and dirt and makes it easy to wash away.
• Coconut oil, based on recent studies, has antibacterial properties and antifungal capabilities
• The higher PH of Perla causes mercerization — a natural phenomenon that fluffs up the fiber of clothes. It is believed that this mercerization actually makes the fibers in clothes stronger than detergents that do not cause mercerization.
• Perla supports the Philippine Coconut Oil industry. Every bar of Perla supports the livelihood of our local coconut farmers.
• Dermatologists actually recommend Perla!
• Perla is available only in the Philippines (at least for now)
• Perla currently comes in 3 variants: Original White (available in both long bars and cut bars) which is the most popular variant and is known for gentle whitening; Original Blue (currently available in long bars) and which is the whitening specialist and prevents yellowing of clothes due to hardness of water; and Papaya (available in cut bars) which has papaya extract making it great for your clothes AND skin!

Perla is in my household and it will be here to stay. I have no grandkids yet but when I do, I will definitely recommend Perla for their clothes. I want nothing but the best for my family and I am now going more and more into products which do the least harm for them (that’s another long story). Knowing that Perla is a hypoallergenic laundry soap, because half of it is coconut oil, comforts me a lot and I know that it will continue to be gentle on our skin and still be very effective in removing dirt and whitening our clothes. I’ve got the best of all worlds in Perla.

Have you used Perla before? I would love to hear your own stories. Leave me a comment below.