There’s some things in this life that I just don’t trust. They include:
1. Cats that avoid eye contact
2. Ham which is going silvery green in patches
3. Telephone Banking
4. Online Banking
5. Banks
6. Overly soapy soap.
Overly soapy soap? What is overly soapy soap? One that is too latherly, too bubbly. It makes me wonder what’s been put into into it to make it bubble away.
I used to make soap, fresh in the kitchen. It isn’t easy – you need to mix fats with lye (sodium hydroxide) which is highly caustic with just the right amount of oils. You then have to let it cure for at least a month or it may burn. And no you can’t substitute it for anything else, lye is needed to create the chemical reaction that makes soap.
So I found the Naked Soap Company and their cute little site.
Nestling in the foothills of the North Cotswolds, The Naked Soap Company aims to provide your skin with the richest, natural and most wholesome soap possible.
They come beautifully packaged in a brown box – I got Travellers Bar which can be used all over and Rose Geranium, which is a classic, flowery scent.
Travellers Bar – They Say:
These bars are perfect for everyday use but more so, perfect for travel, eliminating the spillage potential of liquid shower gels, shaving foams shampoo and conditioner in your suitcase – and again, good for business travel when you just want to take hand luggage but can’t take liquids onboard…
Credit Crunch friendly (you can eliminate the need for shaving foam, shower gel and shampoo and conditioner….) this bar, like all our other soap is 100% chemical free (only containing pure natural essential oils, lye and water).
Price £6.50
Rose Geranium - They Say:
Lashings of Coconut, Olive and Palm oils combined with the unmistakable scent of Rose Geranium culminate together to create a heavenly bar for bath or shower… one to keep for yourself! Swirled with a delicate natural pink oxide.
Price: £6.95
The ingredients are all good. There’s a high percentage of good quality oils and butters:
I circled this – the packaging has elephant poo in it (no, it doesn’t smell).
The soap in reality is far prettier out of the box – the bottom side has these beautiful swivels and grooves in it and a swirl of colour. This is totally natural when you are making soap – you can choose to smooth it out or have it quite random – I like it better random:
My verdict?
I like both of the soaps! The one I have been using the most (because I haven’t been travelling) is Rose Geranium. This is not like a bar of Lush soap. It isn’t packed with glitter and it isn’t overly foamy – it has quite a low bubble count, and it’s a very hard bar of soap – this (usually) means that it’s been cured for a good amount of time, so it will last a lot longer – which I think justifies the price. £6.95 is not cheap for a bar of soap but I’ve had a fair few washes with it now and it’s barely made a dent.
I prefer the fact that it’s not super soapy and bubbly, and that it’s easy to rinse off. My skin feels soft and clean afterwards – I hate soap that leaves the skin dry in any way and this one doesn’t *has a stroke*.
In other words, this is an elegant bar of soap that works. If you have not used cold processed or handmade soap before you will notice a big difference between this and supermarket/high street bought soap. A LOT of soaps are actually ‘melt and pour’ (made with a detergenty base) and just have dye and crap stirred into it (even some that try to sell themselves as ‘natural’). Real soap takes time to make because you have to use good (and expensive) butters and oils, and you have to get the balance of oils and lye right and you HAVE to let it cure correctly.
Ooh I’m preaching! Praise the lord!
Naked soap company: Recommended!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Eeeh , gad, I need to buy one of these
They’re so cute! I absolutely adore soaps like this!
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Hey Libby
These are lovely soaps yep,very high quality!
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Just wanted to say the packaging has had a wee bit of a makeover… the wrap around labels weren’t working (all the soaps looked the same on the Waitrose shelves) so we got the designers to “Walkers Crisp” us! We now have a new colour watch strap label per flavour…. all online and fab christmas stocking fillers…. thanks so much for your lovely words Rowena
Emma xxx
The Naked Soap Company
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