Thread: Best Natural Soaps for Hippies Like Me ?

I have not used too many soaps but hear a few brand names kicking around like Mike Natural. It makes me think that they may be. Quite a few of they cottage soaps will be very natural as well, Momma Bear comes to mind. I also think that Queen Charlotte and Bald Frog are also pretty chemical free. I don't think there is any shortage of naturals out there.

thegoodoil.com make a nice hemp oil shave stick with a zingy lemon scent to it

Mike's Natural is great, and it'll last you a long time, I'm not in love with the Pine and Cedarwood scent of mine, though.

Madame Scodioli also has some nice soaps, although I admit I've only had the 'Step Right Up' scent. It's lasted ages as I only use it on Sundays. I've found it likes to be loaded really well on the brush; and a bit of warm water on the top before loading the brush works wonders. The 'Step Right Up' scent is really nice, and the after shave is out of this world; like I'd imagine an oil one would use for anointing.

I highly recommend Mike's Natural Soaps, as a number of gentlemen have already done so. This quality soap comes in various scents; I prefer the barbershop. Lather, moisture, cushion and glide all impress. Good stuff.

I work on the administrative end of hazardous waste as well. What exactly are you looking for in a "natural" soap.

All soap out there will have Lye (either NaOH or KOH) so thats not much of an option to leave out. Some of the creams have Potassium Carbonate which is also an alkali, but is mainly used to help keep the soap more fluid. Even fewer creams will have Sodium Lactate in them, which helps impart creamyness (sp?).

From there you can choose if you want a soap with animal products or not. Tallow (predominately beef sourced) and Lard (pig sourced) make for great shaving soaps, but thanks to modern chemistry we have isolated the "good aspects" of these and can source these from plant concentrates (such as stearic acid.... which can also be sourced from animals so read the labels well). Coconut and Palm oil are very good plant based oils for shaving soaps. Castor oil is a popular addition, but is usually only a small percentage.

Finally, you have your coloring and scents. From what I have observed, most wwet shavers are not as concerned about the color of thier shaving soap/cream as they are about the performance and scent. Scent additives are an area I haven't spent much time looking at yet, but a lot of the options are man made and not extracted from actual fruits, flowers, or animals.

There is also the addition of clays, butters, and others but I have rambled a bit much as it is.

Definitely try out Queen Charlotte Soaps! You can see their list of ingredients here

There is one chemical that you definitely want to avoid and that is Dihydrogen Monoxide.
Go to DHMO.org to learn how you can protect yourself.

Los Angeles Soap Company makes vegan shave soap products. Havent tried it myself yet though

Thanks MattCB,

I knew that "natural" would be a vague term, but I just wanted to get the ball rolling on some brands I could research. I'm no chemist, nor do I deal on the remedial side (so not as smart as the scientist minds out there). I deal with legal/liability issues in Superfund, but generally I try to stay away from ingredients I'm not too familiar with, or haven't really researched yet. My Mom is battling cancer and I'm trying to just be more aware of things I use on my body (puts things into perspective).

Thanks again for your thoughts. If you ever want to ramble on about any of this, I'd love to hear it. I'm a newbie in this process and anything helps.

Darren

Originally Posted by Substance

thegoodoil.com make a nice hemp oil shave stick with a zingy lemon scent to it

Sorry my bad I used it again this morning at it is spearmint not lemon