Soaps are some of my favourite things to indulge and while I try to refrain from blogging about it, I have a variety stacked that I just need to review. Now I know that people tend to overlook soaps, but that's where skincare starts for me. For those of you that doubt me, I should have taken a picture of my skin when we were in Florida. The soap that was provided by the hotel left my skin a wonderful ashen colour which is why we ran out to get a bottle of Dial NutriSkin Replenishing Body Lotion Sensitive Skin. Sure, hotel soaps for me are notorious for drying out my skin which is why I'm a strong believer of proper skincare, but that's also why I feel as though it starts in the shower.
Well, that and when I was younger my skin used to be so dry that I used to have to use either a cocoa butter based soap, olive oil soap, or African Black Soap. This is why I'm pretty specific when it comes to soap -- I'm willing to experiment but not willing to change (sometimes, it takes a lot for me to make that switch or add something into the rotation permanently). Now that you've made it past the spiel, let's move on to the actual soaps!
Wholly Hemp Soothing Soap in Geranium Rose
This was my first time trying out a hemp based soap and it was provided to me by Wholly Hemp. Hemp soap, or at least this particular one was slightly different than anything I had used before. It was clearly filled with several different types of essential oils which made it kind of... creamy. I'm not sure how to really describe it but it wasn't oily, just very enriching. It didn't work up too much of a lather but still gave off a lot of moisture. The ingredients are as follows: "Saponified hemp-coconut-palm-sunflower oil,
lavender oil, rosemary extract."
Overall, I liked the feel that this one gave my skin and when paired with the Wholly Hemp moisturizer, it was magnificent. (Also, speaking about the moisturizer, if you have problematic skin, it turns out to be really good for your skin. My boyfriend has been giving it a shot and he's had glowing reviews about it especially for dry spots). I think the soaps are great as in they work and they don't dry out my skin but they also don't leave me feeling like there was too much oils (as in a residue).
Price: $5
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: As with the other products I've tried from Wholly Hemp, I love the soaps. They are filled with oils which actually comes out to be a bit creamy. It provides just the right amount of moisture back to your skin without drying it out (which is fantastic for dry skin).
Sappo Hill Soap in Oatmeal (Fragrance Free)
This one has caught my eye at Whole Foods before but during my last trip to my local health food store, I finally decided to give it a shot. Unlike other soaps, this one was sold without any extra packaging (no wrapper) and therefore not very many labels. (Just as a note, you can get them packaged in cellophane which is a bit extra). I grabbed an oatmeal soap and weirdly enough, while I noted that there was no scent to it when I showered, did not realize that that was because there is a fragrance free version and a fragrant one (that smells like oatmeal cookies).
The soaps are free of: parabens, phthalate, SLS, detergent, sulfates, harsh chemicals, and gluten. They are also vegan, and cruelty-free. They are made of saponified palm and coconut oils, glycerin, and organic oats. Basically these soaps are all vegetable oils and simplistic in nature. However it kind of left me wanting more. See, while I generally feel that oatmeal is great for my skin, I don't think this particular soap is good for me as it's not as moisturizing. It was kind of like I just got a random glycerin soap that did very little.
This is definitely not to say that all of the other soaps are inherently bad. It's just that this one wasn't good for me. I do look forward to trying other soaps in the lineup but I have my suspicions that I will have to follow up with a heavy moisturizer thereafter since it seems to lack a moisturizing agent (such as cocoa butter or shea butter).
Price: $3.99 (or $1.90 online)
Stars: ★★☆☆☆
Takeaway: While it's a great simple soap, it's not that great for the dry skin as it lacks a moisturizing element.
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap Rose Bar Soap & Baby Mild Bar Soap
I will absolutely admit that there was nothing that ever trully called to me before to ever try this out, even though I saw it everywhere that I shopped (that is, the Dr. Bronner's line). After trying out Wholly Hemp though, it opened my eyes to the mystical powers of Hemp Oil so I figured that I should at least give another brand a shot. So what better item to try then a soap with hemp and rose and a mild bar.
Unlike Wholly Hemp, neither of them are packed with all those moisturizing oils. It's not too drying but it's not as moisturizing either. Nonetheless both soaps offer up quite a lather. As for the scents, the rose soap is very light and barely noticeable which made me slightly sad since I was hoping to get a bit more of that scent coming through. I already knew that I wouldn't be getting any scents from the baby mild since that was is fragrance free. Overall, as I mentioned, they are both good, but they seemed more of the bareboned type of soap rather than a luxurious one.
Price: $4.49
Stars: ★★☆☆☆
Takeaway: These are great simple soaps (actually, they remind me of the types that I use to hand wash bras), but they aren't "luxurious," which means that I like having fun with my bars of soap -- these are your average types without much scent or moisturizers. So while they are great to have around, if you're a scent driven person (and you need heavy moisturizers), these might not be for you.
Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Bar Soap
As I might have mentioned before, Olive Soap (along with African Black Soap) is something I grew up with seeing as my skin was really dry. So when I saw this one on the shelf, I figured that it's been awhile since I've had a normal soap and there's no way that I could be upset with a good bar of olive soap.
I really enjoyed the soap as it had a light scent and worked up a great lather. It also makes me feel good knowing that it is made without unnecessary stuff such as parabens, phthalate, SLS, and artificial fragrances. The problem though was that it was just not very moisturizing. It had a certain element of moisture in it (much more than Dr. Bronner's but still not enough to keep my skin from turning ashen.
While that might be my own skin's fault, it does mean that this can't be in the rotation (and mostly that I can't deviate too far from shea butter or cocoa butter based soaps).
Price: $3.99 (8 oz.)
Stars: ★★★☆☆
Takeaway: Another good simplistic soap that is a bit more moisturizing than others I've come across but not enough for dry skin.
Well, that and when I was younger my skin used to be so dry that I used to have to use either a cocoa butter based soap, olive oil soap, or African Black Soap. This is why I'm pretty specific when it comes to soap -- I'm willing to experiment but not willing to change (sometimes, it takes a lot for me to make that switch or add something into the rotation permanently). Now that you've made it past the spiel, let's move on to the actual soaps!
Wholly Hemp Soothing Soap in Geranium Rose
This was my first time trying out a hemp based soap and it was provided to me by Wholly Hemp. Hemp soap, or at least this particular one was slightly different than anything I had used before. It was clearly filled with several different types of essential oils which made it kind of... creamy. I'm not sure how to really describe it but it wasn't oily, just very enriching. It didn't work up too much of a lather but still gave off a lot of moisture. The ingredients are as follows: "Saponified hemp-coconut-palm-sunflower oil,
lavender oil, rosemary extract."
Overall, I liked the feel that this one gave my skin and when paired with the Wholly Hemp moisturizer, it was magnificent. (Also, speaking about the moisturizer, if you have problematic skin, it turns out to be really good for your skin. My boyfriend has been giving it a shot and he's had glowing reviews about it especially for dry spots). I think the soaps are great as in they work and they don't dry out my skin but they also don't leave me feeling like there was too much oils (as in a residue).
Price: $5
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: As with the other products I've tried from Wholly Hemp, I love the soaps. They are filled with oils which actually comes out to be a bit creamy. It provides just the right amount of moisture back to your skin without drying it out (which is fantastic for dry skin).
Sappo Hill Soap in Oatmeal (Fragrance Free)
The soaps are free of: parabens, phthalate, SLS, detergent, sulfates, harsh chemicals, and gluten. They are also vegan, and cruelty-free. They are made of saponified palm and coconut oils, glycerin, and organic oats. Basically these soaps are all vegetable oils and simplistic in nature. However it kind of left me wanting more. See, while I generally feel that oatmeal is great for my skin, I don't think this particular soap is good for me as it's not as moisturizing. It was kind of like I just got a random glycerin soap that did very little.
This is definitely not to say that all of the other soaps are inherently bad. It's just that this one wasn't good for me. I do look forward to trying other soaps in the lineup but I have my suspicions that I will have to follow up with a heavy moisturizer thereafter since it seems to lack a moisturizing agent (such as cocoa butter or shea butter).
Price: $3.99 (or $1.90 online)
Stars: ★★☆☆☆
Takeaway: While it's a great simple soap, it's not that great for the dry skin as it lacks a moisturizing element.
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap Rose Bar Soap & Baby Mild Bar Soap
Unlike Wholly Hemp, neither of them are packed with all those moisturizing oils. It's not too drying but it's not as moisturizing either. Nonetheless both soaps offer up quite a lather. As for the scents, the rose soap is very light and barely noticeable which made me slightly sad since I was hoping to get a bit more of that scent coming through. I already knew that I wouldn't be getting any scents from the baby mild since that was is fragrance free. Overall, as I mentioned, they are both good, but they seemed more of the bareboned type of soap rather than a luxurious one.Price: $4.49
Stars: ★★☆☆☆
Takeaway: These are great simple soaps (actually, they remind me of the types that I use to hand wash bras), but they aren't "luxurious," which means that I like having fun with my bars of soap -- these are your average types without much scent or moisturizers. So while they are great to have around, if you're a scent driven person (and you need heavy moisturizers), these might not be for you.
Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Bar Soap
As I might have mentioned before, Olive Soap (along with African Black Soap) is something I grew up with seeing as my skin was really dry. So when I saw this one on the shelf, I figured that it's been awhile since I've had a normal soap and there's no way that I could be upset with a good bar of olive soap.I really enjoyed the soap as it had a light scent and worked up a great lather. It also makes me feel good knowing that it is made without unnecessary stuff such as parabens, phthalate, SLS, and artificial fragrances. The problem though was that it was just not very moisturizing. It had a certain element of moisture in it (much more than Dr. Bronner's but still not enough to keep my skin from turning ashen.
While that might be my own skin's fault, it does mean that this can't be in the rotation (and mostly that I can't deviate too far from shea butter or cocoa butter based soaps).
Price: $3.99 (8 oz.)
Stars: ★★★☆☆
Takeaway: Another good simplistic soap that is a bit more moisturizing than others I've come across but not enough for dry skin.
