Benign Soap?

If you have oily skin then Ivory soap. Tried and true, still the best value and results. Ivory has a better anti-bacterial rating than some anti-bacterial soaps.



If you have normal and dry skin, then the original Dove bar is best. Less caustic and drying than the Ivory and is a synthetic detergent rather than soap.

Thanks!

I've always used Ivory. It was OK (well maybe a bit drying) until we bought this house, as it has well water. The water is pretty harsh on my skin, so I figure something milder would make sense, I've never tried Dove though.

I found that this is the only soap that does not seem to give my skin grief. I wish I had made this discovery a long time ago, it may NOT have cured my cystic acne, but it would have been great to have some relief over the past 30 years.

I have to respectfully disagree about the Ivory and Dove.

Ivory is drying to the skin, and Dove makes me break out.
Aside: when I was a little girl my favorite aunt gave me a bar of Dove soap, and I thought it was so special because it was from her. I'd occassionally buy it as the years went by, until I woke up and realized every time I used it my skin broke out.

Chumly, growing up and into my adulthood I would have breakouts. The thing for me that broke the cycle was Erno Lazlo.

Before you say no, that's far too expensive, just listen....

A hungarian friend of mine who was probably 50ish at the time, but looked 35, recommended it.

If you skin is already good, you don't need to do their entire cleansing regime I don't think. However I strongly suggest you get a bar of their Sea Mud Soap.

If you're using it for just your face, the bar can last well over a year, so in the long run it's not expensive.

A bar is $39, I just looked on their website.

The whole thing about it is lather your face well, take your time, and keep the bar where it will entirely dry off between uses. I highly recommend.


Sea Mud Soap
Facial soap for normal / combination to oily skin
Laszlo's iconic black bar, which is 97% natural, cleans deeply without stripping natural sebum. It is excellent for exfoliating and softening skin texture, too. Medical journals have long documented dead sea mud's ability to promote radiance as well as therapeutic benefits for chronic skin conditions like psoriasis and dermatitis.

I agree with Chai. Most commercial soaps contain detergents and other nasty chemicals that do little more than create lather. I mostly make my own soap using olive oil, but if that's too adventurous for you, I would suggest this product from DHC it's called Deep Cleansing Oil. It's not greasy and feels great on your skin. I get really dirty in my job, so I like good cleansing products:



http://www.dhccare.com/

I use Burts Bee's Milk and Shea Butter soap bar. I love it. It's about $4 a bar but it doesn't dry my skin out and I can use it on my face.

I use whatever soap I've stolen from the motels and hotels I've stayed in. If I run out, I buy whatever's on sale at the supermarket that week.

To all: thanks........lots of stuff to buy and try!
To Green Witch: I have thought about making my own!

Do you have a recipe for olive oil soap?

Yes. Avoid soaps altogether, Chumly. Especially on the face!
There are heaps of good soap substitutes available in the supermarkets, health shops & chemists. Just read the ingredients on the labels & try one that appeals to you.

This is not my favorite recipe, but it's very easy and tends to come out nice. It's also a nice amount to start experimenting with if you have never made soap.If you really want to explore soap making, I would recommend purchasing
The Natural Soap Book: Making Herbal and Vegetable-Based Soaps by Susan Miller Cavitch. It's 5 bucks used on Amazon. It's getting hard to find pure lye (sodium hydroxide)in the grocery store because meth' makers use it. I can still get it at Lowes and some hardware stores. If you buy a lot of it on-line you might invite the Feds to your door.

Simple Olive Oil Soap
16 oz. pure olive oil
2 oz. lye
6 oz. water
A few drops of essential oil
Optional - dried herbs, coloring (spices like tumeric work)

Heat oil to 150° and add the lye to the water slowly while stirring with a wooden spoon.Mix lye solution and oils when the oil is at 120-130° and the lye between 90-100°. Mix them together until it comes to a trace*. Add your scent, colors or herbs at this time. Mix in. Pour finished mixture into a mold.** Cover the mold with either the plastic cover of the shoe box or a piece of wood. Wrap the covered mold with few layers of bath towels or put it into one of those space age bags that keeps food hot or cold. You do not want the soap to cool too quickly or the lye will come to the surface. Let set 72 hours before unmolding. Cut into bars or shapes.

*Trace means it is thick like pudding before it sets.

**You can get some beautiful soap molds on Ebay or from Milky Way Molds. You can also just use a plastic shoebox or any box that will not leak. I sometimes do a batch in a shoe box and later re-melt the soap in a double boiler or microwave and pour it into fancy molds. You do not have to wrap a second pouring.
Store soap in a plastic shoebox with a cotton puff dipped in the essential oil of your choice. The scent will embed nicely into the soap.

sounds scary to make.

I mean because it's so different from anything I ever thought of doing.

What kind of pot do you use, I mean with the lye and all?

I think I could get up the gumption to try it. It seems like it would make lovely gifts.

Oh my goodness!

Those molds on milky way molds are gorgeous!

Now I'll HAVE to do this.

I use an old stainless Farberware soup pot I got at Goodwill. I also like to use those big plastic spoons you get at the dollar store. It's really very easy if you think of it like cooking and following a recipe. You do want to protect yourself from the lye with dish gloves and protective eyeware is recommended. I've never had a problem, but I do gate the dogs out of the kitchen when I make soap and I'm careful pouring the lye. I keep my soap making equipment separate from any other cooking utensils.

I forgot to mention my favorite short cut- Blend the ingredients using a hand held stick blender. It only takes a few minutes with the blender for the mixture to trace. I will take much longer if you stir by hand.

If you want to explore the topic just Google "soap making" - it's a very big hobby and people love talking about it and posting pictures of their creations.

Once you get comfortable with the process you can just use your imagination:





One of the best suppliers of soap making products is Brambleberry: http://www.brambleberry.com/

Very cool, GW. I've always wanted to try to make my own soap (and beer for that matter), but didn't know where to start. I'll check out the book, too.

Mrs. Chumly brought home a three pack of Pears for me to try out. When I opened it, the stuff stunk of excess perfumes!

The last thing I want is to smell six ways from Sunday with clashing perfumes: deodorant / shampoo / hand soap / face soap / laundry detergent / mouthwash / toothpaste etc all having different scents and all clashing into one big bletch.

I think maybe I'll try some of that homemade stuff you-all are chatting about.

Chumly, Neutragena makes a very nice face soap that is glycerine based like Pears. I don't think is overly perfumey. It's widely available in any drug or discount store.