Has anyone tried a Neem oil based soap?

I recently bought a bar of neem oil soap to help with my very dry skin, and it seems to be doing a good job at that so far. While I was playing around with this stuff, I decided to try shaving with it rather than my normal canned creamy goo.

Now, I'm still very much a noob, so I only have a boar brush and still using disposable cartridge razors, but the shave I got with the neem soap was *incredibly* smooth for a long time afterwards, and left my skin moist and refreshed, without the irritation I got from Col. Conk's shave soap. It even attracted the attention of my girlfriend, who noticed my face was much smoother than normal, and I didn't even shave ATG.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has tried a neem soap to shave with. The scent of straight neem oil is a bit ... unusual, but I've grown to like it, and I love how it leaves my skin feeling afterwards. It is somewhat more difficult to wash off, possibly because I bought the maximum strength 20% neem oil soap, but perhaps our soapmistress could chime in with some comments?

I don't even know what neem oil is.....

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Originally Posted by LX_Emergency

I don't even know what neem oil is.....

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It is the oil from a type of citrus tree that grows in india I believe. In concentrated form it is used as a rather effective horticultural oil to suppress the growth of small insects (aphids, scale etc) on many plants. Is safe up to and including the date of harvest which makes it awesome in my book.

I think it smells funny though, but it sure helps with the scale problems I have on my orchids and orange trees. Stupid insects drive me crazy. As for shaving.. I can't say the idea of using it on my skin ever, and I mean *ever* crossed my mind. The smell is quite.. ahh, distinct.

Let's put it this way. My girlfriend immediately orders me to wash my hands to "keep that stench out of the house" if I was recently spraying anything.

Good Morning Gentlemen,

The question of Neem oil caught my eye....of course I had to look and found the comments by m00t sufficient to warrant further research regarding skin care. (aka curious george ;)

Quick research

Neem also called Azadirachta indica is an aboriginal tree found in tropical and semi-tropical countries like Burma and India; Other vernacular names include Margosa, Indian Lilac, Nimtree etc. Neem has been declared non-toxic to humans and each part of the tree is used as an active ingredient in different industries.

........it was only during the 1920's, that neem tree was given its due recognition, with a number of researches being conducted on an international level to understand the benefits and potential of neem. ................neem finds immense use in a number of products in industries ranging from cosmetics to agriculture, from pharmaceuticals to Ayurveda.

Parts used:

Neem seed, leaf, bark, fruit, twig, root and kernal.

Neem finished Products: Neem is used in a number of products the world over in the form of pestidides, insecticides, manure, cosmetics, hair lotions and oils, toothpastes and tooth powders, incense sticks and mostly used to manufacture a number of traditional and modern medicines. Ayurveda and Unani system of medicines makes use of neem for a number of medicinal preparations.

Medicinal Properties - Neem is used to manufacture a number of natural medicines, which do not have any side effects unlike modern medicinal systems.......

• Antiseptic
• Anti Pyretic
• Anti inflammatory
• Anti Bacterial
• Anti Viral
• Anti Fungal
• Anti Parasitic

Based upon what I've read I think I'll order some to play around with. My first thoughts are that it would be a nice oil to add to a facial soap for someone with problem skin....:hmmm:

Definately enough positives to warrant more research!!

Soapmistress

Ah, Soapmistress... I'm glad you found my thread and have decided to look into the oil more closely :D


In spray form, Neem is my most preferred method to deal with pests on my African Violet collection... it takes care of nearly everything, from thrips and flies to powdery mildew and other fungal nastiness... and it's natural and leaves my plants unharmed. The smell of the soap is quite different than the spray, being more mellow but with a few of the same notes, but those anti-inflammatory properties sound *very* interesting.

I just got a decent brush from C&E last night... the lather made by the neem soap (the rest is olive oil) was nice and thick, sooo much better than that boar brush. If you make up a batch using the stuff, you'll send me a sample, right? Riiiiiiiiight?

:w

-m00t!