Seaweed bath soap takes a bow in Ilocandia

MANILA, Philippines - A village-level industry is taking shape in coastal areas in Ilocandia.

It is the making of bath soap from seaweeds, a technology developed by the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU), a multi-campus tertiary institution in La Union whose main campus is in Sapilang, Bacnotan.

The potential of “Seaweed Bath Soap” is bright considering that its ingredients are locally available, thus its price can be made affordable, said Rogelio M. Estacio, who developed the soap in his research titled “Seaweed Gel Extract Product Formulation and Development.”

In fact, he reported, “there are now seaweed bath users at DMMSU.”

As its name suggests, it is primarily made of seaweed, which people in coastal communities can easily gather as they are just washed to the shores by the sea. Other primary ingredients in making the bath soap are papaya, atsuete and coconut oil.

“In the Ilocos Region, seaweed such as sargassum, gracilaria, and eucheuma are abundant,” Estacio stated in his report on the results of his research entered in the 2011 Aquatic Technology Competition and Marketplace (ATCOM) sponsored recently by the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD).

Headed by OIC Executive Director Cesario Pagdilao, PCAMRD is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) agency that coordinates the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development System (NARRDS) composed of more than a hundred state colleges and universities (SCUs) and research agencies in the country.

Estacio reported that eucheuma is cultured in some parts of La Union.

Sargassum, on the other hand, is just washed to beaches in large quantity or are floating near shores. It is usually ignored by coastal dwellers and treated as waste in seaside communities.

But the good thing is that even low-grade seaweeds or those rejected for export can be used as ingredients in making the bath soap, he said.

The process of making seaweed bath soap comprises the following steps: preparation of alkaline solution and seaweed gel, papaya and atsuete. These are mixed to produce a thick solution, which is later placed in a milder, cooled and solidified at room temperature, aged, and finally packaged.

In the DMMMSU study, the soap product was taken to the DOST-Cagayan Valley Herbal Processing Plant in Tuguegarao City (Cagayan) for testing and bioassay analysis. The product later underwent sensory evaluation by a panel composed of faculty and staff members and students of DMMMSU.

Results of the study showed that the seaweed bath soap preparation was “highly acceptable by the respondents.”

“The formulated bath soap causes no erythema or edema occurrence to the skin. This means that the soap is suited for all types of skin,” reported Estacio.

(Edema is abnormal excess accumulation of serious fluid in connective body tissue while erythema is abnormal redness of skin).

The new soap has also been found to contain a protein that helps fight premature skin aging, makes the skin supple which in turn reduces and softens wrinkles.

It likewise contains betacarotene that promotes slow skin aging, treats acne (skin disorder) and irritated skin, as well as eczema problems. Moreover, it can be used as detoxifier when applied to the skin.

The soap gently scrubs away dead skin and other skin impurities caused by environmental pollution, sun exposures, and stresses of everyday life.

Estacio concluded: “Seaweed bath soap making can create employment by putting small and medium enterprises of the product in small communities as livelihood projects of housewives, out-of-school youths, and jobless adults.”