natjtan Welcome to another Beauty Finds! This edition is soap. More specifically body soap. One of the first things I switched out when I started wanting to use less plastic was shower gel. Its alternative being soap. An old fashioned bar of soap which I think now is having a huge comeback as people leave plastic bottles behind.
And not just any soap! Firstly it has to be cruelty free, plastic packaging free, palm oil and it’s derivatives free and petrochemical and it’s derivatives free along with being free of a host of other nasty ingredients. With most of my beauty products I try to think about the environment after products have been washed or flushed down the drain. Just like all my other beauty products, in addition to being cruelty free, palm oil and petrochemical and their derives free (I might allow 4th or 5th generation petrochemical) I do my best to avoid parabens, phthalates, SLS, PEGS and a load of other nasty ingredients. I choose to avoid palm oil as I prefer orangutans. Its alias like petroleum can be tricky. I try if possible not to go coconut oil as it’s crops can be just as bad as palm oil crops. If I can I prefer to use sustainable palm and coconut oil. With skincare it’s bit more tricky so I go for cruelty free and try to avoid some nasty ingredients. My skin type is oily, sensitive, acne and now those wrinkles! Body skin type dry.
Outlaw Soaps Home On the Range Soap
I was sad when I finished using this as I know I won’t be able to get it again. It was a USA find earlier this year on holiday from Wholefoods. Blackberry scented but not if you get me. It’s a little more musky than I go for but I liked it nonetheless. It didn’t irritate my skin, it left my skin hydrated, I liked it’s creamy texture and it didn’t leave scum marks in the shower that are a bugger to clean off. It’s scent so strong that between uses it lingered in and around the bathroom. Even the packaging I saved to write it up still has its scent. As for the packaging, I like it for what it is. Undyed cardboard to fit its rustic feel. The only cons I have are: the colourings as it what they are, is it vegetable colouring, is it natural, is it environmental friendly and the fragrance oil: what is it in case of reactions. Would I repurchase? Yes if I could get it in Europe.
Another USA find I was sad to finish. I found this in a weird organic, super health food shop in Oahu. An expensive health food shop. But it is on an island with prices higher due to import. There’s nothing fancy about Sappo Hill’s packaging. Only plastic the price sticker. It comes in a display box which you select from. It was also the cheapest cruelty free soap I found in the USA and for now in Europe that’s plastic packaging free.
It’s minimal ingredient like Outlaw Soaps. It doesn’t have a strong almond smell. After a few uses it’s easier to use than rectangular or square soaps. I can’t remember its scent but I do know my skin didn’t feel as dry like it does later on in the day even with body lotion applied after showering. If anything it left it hydrated. I liked it’s creamy texture! It’s cons, vague ingredient list you have to search for online. I’d like to know what the plant extracts and oils are. Not to use the same ingredients to steal to make my own (hmm, I’m curious to make my own soap now!) but for reactions and allergies. I like that the palm and coconut oil are sustainably sourced. Would I repurchase? For sure if I could get it in Europe and to try out more in their range.
Respire Extra Gentle Soap Wild Pear
I wanted a change from the body soaps I’ve been using for a year bar (hehehe) the USA finds as they can be a little harsh and leave scum marks in the shower. TMI?! This I can get in Sephora Espana being a French brand. It’s also one of the few natural soaps I can find here that doesn’t come in plastic packaging.
Respire soap is a little harsher scented than others I’ve tired. The harsh scent dissipates quickly and it’s actually hydrating and creamy without drying out my skin and foams well. It does have a lot more ingredients in than other soaps I’ve used but I haven’t reacted to it. The sodium palmitate is from olive oil making the bar palm oil free. I don’t know if it smells like wild pears but it’s not an overpowering scent. It doesn’t leave scum marks and it’s lasts about 3-4 weeks. Would I repurchase? Yes, have done and stocked up a little in Catalunya’s ‘2nd’ Covid-19 weekend confinements and curfews. Full ingredient list here. The only con what the fragrance contains.
I also tried Respire’s solid shampoo which my hair didn’t like. That was fine as a regular bar of hand soap as I didn’t want to waste it. I’d happily use that as body soap too!
Shea Moisture African Black Soap
I got this African Black Soap I think in Walgreens on holiday. It’s scent enticed me and I naughtily overlooked the palm oil. The scent when wet changed completely and didn’t smell as nice. It smelt so good until I used it. It hydrated but it left scum marks that took a while to remove. It also left brown drip marks after use into the bath like little rivers. No bother to clean but it kinda annoyed me somedays. It also gunky in the soap dish (a mini bath rack over the bath rack) and at times stuck to it after it had dried. Would I repurchase? No as I wasn’t keen on the scent or the mess it made.
Shea Moisture Fruit Fusion Coconut Water Shea Butter Soap with Imbe Oil and Aloe
This one appealed to me based fruit fusion. Again I overlooked the palm oil. I wish I could have done a sniff test in Walgreens as once I opened it as I didn’t like the scent at all. It lasted a long time, didn’t leave drip marks or get stuck to the soap rack. It didn’t dry my skin out, I liked finding coconut shell in it and I didn’t react to it. It again however left scum marks! Why are scum marks so import? If you clean the bathrooms you know! Would I repurchase if I could get it in Europe? Maybe as I’d like to try out other soaps in the range. A few select UK sites sell Shea Moisture ship to Spain however they don’t carry the bar soaps.
Are you a shower gel or bar soap person? I don’t think I could return to shower gel again. I feel cleaner using bar soaps! I also think they’re better for the environment not just being plastic free bottles also with their ingredients as opposed to gels by containing more natural oils and less foaming agents. Travelling with them can be a pain. Travel soap dishes/pots may not fit them, but I use a plastic (nooooo!) zip lock bag or a small plastic makeup pouches or zip lock plastic free versions that are sealed well against leakages like freebie pouches from Sephora or a small plastic container. Both versions are easy to clean. Repurpose too!
I’m in soap bar camp too! The ones I currently use are handmade by a woman in a town nearby, so they’re also low CO2 haha. She doesn’t add nasty ingredients, only oils. I love her soaps!
I’ve also been using shampoo bars for years and you know what happened? A couple of weeks ago I started using a small sample normal shampoo that I was given at Innisfree the last time I went to HK. That was almost 4 years ago, so fearing it would go bad, I wanted to use it as to not waste it. And… I felt my hair was greasier and dirtier than when I use the shampoo bar hahaha. Must be all the silicones and shit… my hair already got used to not having them!
You’re so lucky to have a local lady make them! I’m still looking for a better body bar soap that smells better than the French one.
I’ve tried various shampoo bars and my hair doesn’t get on with them. I think they’re too harsh for me. I have super fine hair that shows any damage, dryness, scalp damage easily. I use them up as body soap to avoid waste. I avoid all nasty ingredients in my hair care! My shampoo comes in a glass bottle, eco friendly sourced ingredients and I can return the bottle to my hairdressers for reuse/recycling. My conditioner unfortunately comes in a plastic bottle however no nasty ingredients inside! It’s based on the owner’s Grandma’s recipes!