Body Soap!

a couple of months ago, i had a persistent albeit mild itch on my arms, and though i had an allergy to something I've eaten (I have an averse reaction to peanuts....more on that in future!), and my mum asked if it was the detergent I was using. I figured it can't be cos' I've always used the same detergent (though allergies do sometimes react to something you commonly used. probably the chemicals build up to a point where your skin starts reacting - so you may still want to consider that) and also, I use very little detergent in my washing.

However, it made me consider that the liquid body soap I use might be a possible culprit - so I resumed using the Ergo QV liquid soap which is supposed to be very gentle to the skin and the itch really started to ease!  But at $30 for 1 litre (more than 3 times the usual price of a normal liquid soap for the same amount!) - i was certainly not loving the price!  Also it contains  SLS and parabens (bad bad BAD for us - but it's so commonly used in many of the products we use daily - so while I can't eliminate them, i try to reduce them as far as possible), so i started seeing what could be a longer term sustainable solution to preventing the itch!

[caption id="attachment_62" align="alignnone" width="340"] a body wash that is indeed gentle but pretty expensive.[/caption]

i stumbled upon my stash of L'Occitane bar soaps I had stashed for YEARS!  5 years to be exact - cos' they came in the hotel we stayed in for our wedding!  so i started using it, and yes! it works just as well - still no itch, and psychologically i felt better cos' the ingredients didn't contain all those weird chemicals. and also, another important point - it lasts pretty long!

Over the past couple of months - i tried quite a number of soaps and here's a rundown!

L'Occitane 

didn't pay for this but think it's less than $10 per 100g bar.

[caption id="attachment_64" align="alignnone" width="225"] gentle bar soap[/caption]

pros:

• gentle mild soap

cons:

• slightly waxy after feel which i didn't quite like


• didn't manage to scrub me as clean as I like at the armpits! (i suppose I could use a hand scrubby thingy - but i'm lazy).

Dr Bronner's Organic Soap (I used the Citrus Orange Bar Soap)

$7+ per 140g bar (bought at NTUC Finest Marine Parade - organic section near the escalator)

[caption id="attachment_65" align="alignnone" width="274"] I LOVE the smells - even better when I know they are natural oils![/caption]

pros:

• made from organic oils


• smells darn good


• lathers well

cons

• somehow the soap seems to run down quite fast.  or maybe i love it sooo much that i happily used it so often.

Mount Sapola  (I have only used the Lemon Gingergrass)

$8.20 per 120g bar

[caption id="attachment_67" align="alignnone" width="609"] my stash of Mount Sapola bar soaps which i bought from Bangkok! this is only half of what I actually have! sufficient to last me a good year I think![/caption]

pros:

• smells great


• natural ingredients


• scrubs really well!

cons:

• a tad expensive ($8.20 per 120g bar)

VERDICT

My favourites are Dr Bronner's and Mount Sapola.

I would love to try more of Dr Bronner's soap, but managed to get Mount Sapola's soap cheaper in my recent holiday to Bangkok - and after conversion it's about $5 per bar - so now i have no worries for a good year!

Also, I like the 'scrubbing' effect that the ginger has in the bar soap - makes me pits smell good. :)

So if you do have sensitive / dry skins - you can try soaps that do not contain the normal chemicals and see how your skin reacts (I'm pretty sure it will turn out all the better). I'm sure there are good liquid soaps (you could try Su Kin - a huge bottle at $30 and sans nasty chemicals).  The reason why i use bar soaps? cos' economically it's more value for money - cos' liquids generally are more expensive and run down pretty fast.  The bar soaps generally lasts me 1 - 1.5 months.

I heard that Lush body soaps are pretty good too - made from natural ingredients as well.  I would try it if it's convenient, but meanwhile, I will happily soap up with my bar soap.