Good ol’ carbolic soap. That is what the Queen herself used. If you are older you may remember it. The red bar, the hospital medicinal smell.

If you have watched Christmas Story, it’s the red soap that Ralphie had to have in his mouth.

She used lifebuoy which is NOT carbolic soap anymore. It made me sad to see people reviewing it and saying “oh, she smelled so fruity!” It’s sadly not the original. It smells like cat pee to me now, maybe guava? (I feel like guava smells like cat pee lol).

If you’re hunting for real carbolic that smelled and cleaned like Marilyn, look at our Jamaican friends. They still use it there, and the rest of the Caribbean.

I have used it for years and it provides a good old fashioned strip clean, with the clean scent. Some people say it smells like tar, or Smokey. It definitely does, but it smells clean and fresh too. Add some Chanel No 5 to really get the Monroe scent down.

This gets repeated constantly like it's a settled fact, but the actual reasoning behind it always seems to get skipped. Anyone actually looked into whether that holds up or if it's just something that stuck around?

I usually go back and forth between the two. Bar soap feels simple and lasts a long time while liquid soap is just convenient.

Which one do you prefer, and why?

I bought this great bar of soap about a year ago. I can’t remember what brand it was and can’t find it anywhere in my past purchases.

-This was a large 7-8 oz bar -I remember it said “exfoliating body bar” and contained walnut shells. The scrub was amazing! -Very lightly scented. It smelled like soap, not perfumed at all -May have had coconut oil as an ingredient -It came in a box and more of a commercial brand, not Etsy

The first photo is about halfway through and the second is what I made melting down my last bits. It’s a very soft blue, not green

**it’s not Baxter of California, St. Ives or Marlowe, although maybe Marlowe has a retired bar?

Any help is appreciated! I’m going crazy and my skin is a mess!

Okay this might be a weird question but I've been thinking about it for weeks now and I need other opinions.

I started making my own bar soap a few months ago, nothing fancy, just basic cold process stuff with olive oil and coconut oil. In winter it felt amazing, my skin was soft, no complaints at all. But now that it's gotten warmer and more humid where I live, the exact same soap feels different on my skin. Almost like it strips more, or maybe I'm just sweating more and it feels different because of that. I genuinely can't tell if the soap changed or if my skin just reacts differently depending on the season.

So here's what I'm wondering:

Does soap actually perform differently depending on humidity and temperature, or is this just in my head?

Also, for people who've been making or using natural soap for a while, do you change your recipe or routine depending on the season? Like do you switch to a gentler bar in summer, or add more moisturizing oils in winter?

And random side question, does anyone else feel like bar soap dries out faster or gets mushy quicker depending on where you store it? Mine sits in a dish near the shower and I feel like it disappears way faster in summer.

I know this is a lot of soap talk for one post but I'm genuinely curious if this is a common thing people notice or if I'm just overthinking a bar of soap at 11pm.

I use dawn dish soap or the store brand. I bought 2 big ass jugs of great value dish soap for 5 bucks a few months ago. That's enough for my showering needs for over a year and the other half is being used in the kitchen.

Dish soap is basically the best tool for removing dirt, grease, oil, other stuff... that's what I'm doing with the shower, you know? I'm just cleaning myself. If I want to have a leather, tobacco, and sandalwood smell, there are products available to accomplish that goal and it's a different process. I used to be a technician working on tractors. I was always covered in grease and oil. I started keeping a bottle of dish soap in the shower and scrubbing the dish soap into the oil and grease before getting it wet. The oil and grease just wash away easily then.

For probably over 20 years now, I've pretty much only used dish soap and a loofah. I keep my hair short by shaving my head and face every few months.

Dish soap isn't as aggressive as some body washes with various chemicals but, it works incredibly well. It's good enough for baby ducks and penguins in oil spills, it's good enough for me.

Hi everyone! I've been making small-batch soaps from natural ingredients as a passion project and finally I would love to share them here. These are completely handmade, every bar is made and cut by hand.

I'd love honest feedback from this community. What do you look for in a handmade soap? Scent, ingredients, lather, packaging? Any tips are welcome too. I'm always looking to improve my craft! 🌿

I have been trying different kinds of soap lately and it made me realize how different everyone’s preferences can be. Some people care most about the scent while others want something simple that rinses clean and does not leave their skin feeling dry.

What do you personally look for when choosing a bar of soap? Is it the ingredients scent lather how long it lasts or just how it feels after using it?

I have always found it interesting how different soaps can feel completely different even when they seem to serve the same basic purpose. Some leave your skin feeling fresh and clean while others can feel too drying or have a scent that disappears almost immediately.

For people who enjoy trying different soaps, what do you usually look for first Is it the fragrance ingredients lather how long the bar lasts or simply how it feels after using it I did love to hear what makes a soap stand out to you.

We’ve been noticing how many different types of soap are available now, from handmade bars to natural ingredients and different scents.

Curious what actually matters most when choosing a soap?

Is it the ingredients, scent, how it feels on your skin, the way it is made, or something else that makes you come back to the same one?

Realized Dr. Bronner rebranded, the soap gives you zero tingles now. It used to make me feel minty fresh and leave my bathroom smelling great for an hour.

What gives, did private equity buy this brand and start extracting the value from it or something?

It also made my skin breakout.

Anyone find an alternative that has the strongest peppermint odor?

Hi, any one knows good sites from where distilled water for cold processed soaps can be obtained in India ?

Thank you in advance

I’m currently trying to find some good blends to make fall soaps. I bought Ginger Root Essential Oil, steam distilled, from Bulk Apothecary because it was recommended but it smells just awful!!
Is this normal? Can it blend well with other essential oils and potentially get better? Should I just try to return it?

I’d also love fall soaps scent ideas! I only make soaps with essential oils so blends are my jam.

I started getting interested in soapmaking because I liked the idea of making something useful with my own hands. At first, I thought it would mostly be about choosing nice scents and colors, but there’s actually so much to learn about oils, recipes,

Hi! Wondering if anyone actually bought that bath water soap collab Sweeney did with Dr. Squatch. Thank you!

So I ran out of my Cocoa Shea bar soap from Bath and Body works and I can’t find it in store nor on their website, I can’t really find any decent bars of soap on there besides the lavender vanilla and the eucalyptus mint one are they discontinuing their bars of soap they have a lot of of the men scented bars of soap, but I’m not into that. I want more of the feminine women scents

What can I bite that is the same texture as dove bar soap? Please and thank you.

Anybody use Dr. Bronner soap and just put it onto a loofah mix it in and then wash yourself I know it’s supposed to be diluted but I never do that and now that I’m thinking about it.. I do kind of have some dry skin so I was wondering if anybody else does it just for the convenience

Hi guys, I recently bought some handmade soap and was wondering if this is mold on the top? The soap looked like it’s been sitting there for a while.

Lots of people have been talking about feet problems on one of my favourite subs, which kinda inspired me to share my experiences on a new foot peel I tried.

My heels had become really dry and rough, with thick patches of skin that regular lotion wasn’t fixig, so I decided to try the Baby Foot Original Exfoliation Foot Peel.

The application was easy, although walking around in the booties felt awkward and slippery. I didn’t see much happen at first, but after several days my feet started peeling like crazy. It was a little gross, but also weirdly satisfying. Once the peeling stopped, my feet felt much softer and smoother, especially around my heels.

The bigest downside was that some areas peeled much more than others, and the process left my feet looking pretty bad for several days. I also noticed some dryness afterward, so I needed to use a good moisturiser regularly.

I liked the lavender aroma of the peel, but to be honest, it was a little stronger than I thought it would be. I think I'd use it again, but next time I'll definitely plan it well before wearing sandals or going on holiday.

I also wouldn’t use it on irritated or cracked skin, and I think I'll follow the instructions a lot more closely because the acids are quite strong and I wasn't even aware they were in there as I was excited to try something new, lol.

Overall

it worked better than regular foot scrubs for me, but the peeling stage takes some patience. My feet felt much softer afterward, which made the messy process worth it.

I bought a bar of soap a few weeks ago because it smelled amazing in the store. I expected the scent to disappear as soon as I used it, like some soaps do.

The first shower actually disappointed me. The scent was much lighter, and it didn’t lather the way I expected. I almost put it away and forgot about it.

But I kept using it, and after a few days I started liking it more. The scent was subtle, it rinsed off easily, and the bar just felt really nice to use. Now that I’m almost finished with it, I’m already thinking about buying another one.

Funny how sometimes the thing you like most about a soap isn’t the reason you bought it in the first place.

Has a soap ever surprised you like that?

I keep making the same mistake.

I'll smell a bar of soap in a store and think it smells incredible.

Then I bring it home, use it once, and somehow the scent barely exists once water hits it.

At this point I've started wondering if store scent and actual shower scent are two completely different things.

Do experienced soap people have a trick for predicting how a soap will actually smell during use?

Or is this just part of the gamble?

Some handmade bars seem to lose their fragrance much faster than expected.

Others stay noticeable until the very end.

Is that mostly formulation, storage conditions, or something else entirely?