Hi everyone! I've been going down the soap rabbit hole lately and I'd love some recommendations.

I'm looking for one bar I can use basically everywhere: face, body, hands and feet. I know most people use different products for each, but I'd love to simplify.

What I need from it:

Gentle on dry skin. My skin is already dry, and a lot of bars leave it tight and flaky within minutes of washing.

Doesn't turn to mush. Humid bathrooms, summer heat and winter cold all happen where I live, and I'm tired of bars that go soft and slimy after a week.

Reasonably priced. I'm not looking for a luxury bar, but I'm happy to pay a bit more for something that lasts.

I'd also love to learn more in general. What should I look for on the ingredient list for dry skin? Does a high superfat percentage really make that much difference? Is it worth switching to handmade soap, or are some store-bought bars just as good?

Any recommendations, brands, or tips are welcome, whether it's a bar you love or one you'd warn people away from. Thanks in advance!

Do people really use organic soaps in Pakistan and if you have used any organic soaps, have you noticed any difference on you skin?
Also which brand is selling good organic soaps?

Found this at a Ross today. $3.99.

I was sent this as a gift in an online order (individual not company) Sadly their profile is gone from the platform I where purchased my items from them
It has jasmine, musk, I love it and wondered if anyone could help identify it. I’m sure it a super long shot but any help is appreciated.

curious what everyone uses to keep a bar dry between uses. a draining dish, a hanging net, a wooden rest, something else? and does it actually make the bar last longer or does it mostly come down to the soap itself?

They offer a free bar (normally like $12) for first-time customers (you only pay $5 shipping), and I got my bar today. Seems very heavy and solid. Doesn’t smell very appealing It’ll likely be a while before I get to trying it.

For over a decade, I only made vegan soaps. I’m just now exploring tallow and could use some advice about the idea of using a 45/25/25/5 % recipe with tallow, coconut oil, olive oil, and castor?

I’m not familiar yet with the hardness of the finished bar when tallow is the main ingredient, so I guess I’m mainly curious if I’m using too much or too little liquid oils?

Also, would it be a good idea to add sodium lactate to the cooled lye solution? (I just use lye and distilled water, nothing fancy).

*Pic of yesterday’s test batches, I will likely unmold this evening; colorants are TD and spinach powder*

I tend to buy whatever shower gel is on offer in the supermarket (Original Source, Dove, Radox, Cousins etc). I've never had an issue with body odour.

I bought a load of soap from The Black Stuff and began using it and I was getting wiffs of my own BO throughout the day. My partner would complain that the smell off my shirts when she was taking them out of the washing basket to clean them was making her gag.

I use a microfibre scrubbing mit with shower gel/soap to clean myself. The MIT is one of three and is regularly washed with towels at 60°C, so it isn't the problem.

I've gone back to supermarket shower gels and the issue has disappeared.

Why would natural soap not clean me properly?

Hello, I remember how the first times I purchased Dr. Squatch soaps, a couple of years ago, after getting out of the shower, the smell stayed on my skin... But recently I ordered again, 100$+ worth of soaps, and even though the fragrance still smells great and the lather is awesome, the smell just doesn't stay on my skin after I get out of the shower

This has now made me wonder if anyone in here has any alternatives to Dr. Squatch, in regards of the smell of the fragrance staying on the skin after shower, or any Dr. Squatch soap that still carries that level of fragrance adhesion

Would be great if it also lathers as good as Dr. Squatch

Looking for soaps with a similar size and pricing

Based on a couple reviews I've seen, I've discarded Dr. Bronners and Duke Cannon, and a couple more but can't remember the name...

I don't really know if the smell of their soaps stays on the skin which is exactly what I'm looking for, but The Black Stuff seems pricey to me at 10$/bar

Bonus points if the have a wide range of soaps 😍

Please let me know your best alternatives in this regard, I'd really appreciate it 🧼🫧🫶🏻

Any advice on why my soaps would be drying? I’m using soap calculator. Using milks, oils and waters. Doing basic combinations to get the hang of it. Waited 4 weeks and currently trying them. However, after I wash my hands they feel very dry. I used olive oil, shea butters, etc. low on the coconut oil. Super fat I think is 5% . Any advice on why or how to fix this?

**Receipe**
Water + Lye
Oils
518.70 g Water
186.83 g 100%
Purity NaOH
681 g Olive Oil - All Grades
342 g Coconut Oil, Virgin
69 g Castor Seed
Oil
273 g Shea Fruit
Butter
Additives +
Additional Ingredients
20 gram kaline clay
30 gram
fragnance
15 gram dried lavender

I’m confused. The soap is good, produces foam, and doesn’t dry out the skin. The oil that appeared on top has now dried, but I don’t understand why it appeared on the surface about 30 minutes after I poured the soap batter into the mold. What could have caused this?

Oatmeal is one of those ingredients that shows up in a lot of handmade soaps, but the texture can vary quite a bit.

Finely ground oatmeal can give a bar a different feel from one made with larger oat pieces.

And depending on the formula, those pieces can make the bar feel more textured during use.

It's worth checking the ingredients and product description instead of assuming every oatmeal soap will feel the same.

I wish I had a picture but essentially every dove soap bar I use has this very slight discolouring around the edge of it. I have gone through 2 packs of sensitive unscented bars and a pack of the original and they all have it. They are white bars with this very slight yellowish line around the edges. I swear it never used to be there and now it’s on every one I buy. If I ware down the bar to about 50% I can get rid of it. Makes me think it has something to do with an ingredient settling in the mold. Does anyone else notice this? Is it something to worry about?

Thanks!

Was it discontinued?? Why?? I’ve been using this soap for 30 years :( any similar ones out there?

Here are three things I do to keep my soap nice so long it sometimes annoys me.... I feel it's a sin to throw out still good soap but am so ready to try out a a new batch I made!

• Keep it dry from below! Those ugly cracks that look bad and make you wonder what's crept into them? They are cosmetic but really not nice to look at it. That's from repeated drying on top, mushiness underneath. The has time to dries out but the lower part stays moist and mushy. Allowing airflow from below will really help with that. Consider using a magnetic soap holder that allows the soap to "float". You can also carfully drill a hole in it and thread a string through to hang it up.
• Don't use young soap. Not enough curing time will also make it softer- it still has more water in it. As it cures it evaporates moisture and will last longer. If you don't know how long it has cured (one month is minimum for safety) buy several bars and store them in a container with a few holes in it to allow air movement.
• Stay away from hard and brittle soaps- high amounts of palm oil, coconut oil and even tallow and cocoa butter will make a very hard bar and it will be more prone to brittleness. Stay sudsy you all!

I run a home and bath store and have been selling personal care products online for a few years now. I see a lot of talented soapmakers here and was wondering if anyone just needs a distributor. I have a good system in place to pack orders with care and ship FAST. Let me help you with the orders so you can focus on creating.

i finally put the bath bomb molds from my business up for anyone who wants to make their own :)

a lot of soap makers do bath bombs on the side so figured id share here. you 3d print 3 parts (base, tube and stamp), fill the tube with your mix, press it and pop it out with the design on top

link in comments

I've become more interested in what's inside bar soaps instead of choosing them based on scent alone.

There are so many different combinations, like oatmeal, honey, shea butter, and various oils.

But I've also learned that just because something is labeled natural doesn't automatically mean it'll work for everyone's skin.

For people who make or regularly use handmade soap, what ingredients do you personally look for or avoid?

I had some leftover breast milk in my freezer, so I decided to make soap! 🧼😂

My first attempt was 50% breast milk, but it turned out too soft and sticky..

For my final attempt, I concentrated the milk and added some breast milk butter (left over from my previous video).

This bar turned out much firmer! The only thing that changed was the color, not sure why.

I've already made butter and now soap. Any ideas what I should make next? 🤣

Not bad.

Please I need someone to validate this! I bought this Softsoap in pumpkin scent from Walmart and after first use I definitely smelled something autumny but it wasn’t screaming pumpkin. After some time passed I noticed when I’d move my hands around it smelled like I had eaten a bowl of Pho with my hands (which ironically I have done before so I have experience!) I thought there’s no way its coming from the soap, but lo and behold it was. I’m still using it cause I don’t like to waste, so every time I use it I go nuts having no one around to validate me. Can someone PLEASE smell this soap and tell me i’m not crazy!!

Anyone have a soap business that feels that business has slowed down? Could it be the economy or is it me?