Making the Break

Today, I did something I NEVER thought I'd do again. Today, I used a BAR SOAP for my shower ::GASP::
I stopped using [commercial] bar soaps AGES ago, for the simple fact that they made my skin feel sticky, scratchy, tight, and dry. It was gross. I switched to lovely liquid shower gels, and eventually bar soap was nothing but a very bad memory.

Fast forward at least 20 years. I am now making my own bar soap. I can't stop thinking about bar soap. I am obsessed. Bar soap, bar shampoo, bar dog shampoo, bar shaving soaps. Every waking moment, and most of my sleeping moments, I am obsessing about soap!

As my first batch of soap has now cured for a full week, and while it feels like 5 weeks is still a lifetime away, I know that one day soon my bar soap will be ready for it's debut in my shower. And to be fair to it, I want to make sure that by then, I am not still harboring some of the terrible memories from my previous bar soap experiences. To this end, while shopping at the mall with my niece yesterday, I popped into L'Occitane to pick up one of their "famed" Shea Butter Milk Bars. And today, it made it's debut in my shower.

I was a little hesitant as I unwrapped it. I sniffed it, and then really inhaled the scent. It was delightful. I then put the soap in my hand and felt it's smoothness and firmness. The beauty of the bar was in it's simplicity. Once in the shower, I started lathering up the soap and was pleasantly surprised at the thick, rich lather. The soft scent filled the air and I could feel the soap doing it's thing, getting me squeaky clean without drying my skin out.

Once I was done, I immediately toweled off, noting that I wasn't soaking wet as I normally was with my usual shower gel. Not sure what happened there. I also noticed a tiny "drag" on my skin, but nothing that was unpleasant. Once I finished toweling off, I applied my usual tiny bit of home made body butter and immediately noticed the difference. The body butter absorbed nice and evenly and immediately left my skin feeling like absolute silk. I must admit, however, that I did miss my shower gel just a little, but my excitement for using my own, hand made soaps is such that I will continue using the milk bar as a point of reference until mine have cured. I know that with a bit of trial and error, I will be able to find a formula that is absolutely perfect for me, and that journey into the awesomeness that is soap making is what continues to drive my enthusiasm.

Here's to hand crafted soap [bars]!


Share Tweet