I like using soaps instead of shower gels these days because soap bars are sold with minimal packaging, perhaps only a plastic film or paper just to wrap around it. However, if I purchase shower gels which often comes in plastic bottles, I’m producing more household waste unless I decided to reuse them. But soaps are often lighter and more compact than shower gels. And I just love the feeling of scrubbing down your skin with a soap bar which isn’t too drying for your skin.
But when it comes to bath products, I encourage you to go for those products which use mainly natural ingredients and has a shorter list of ingredients added. To really clean yourself, you don’t actually need more than 30 ingredients to kill bacteria. Even the presence of a single anti-bacterial ingredient like tea tree oil and other plant essences can prevent the growth of bacteria. That’s how plants protect themselves from bacterial and fungal infection too. The answer lies in nature.
I’ve tried a couple of natural soap bars before but I haven’t tried organic soap bars just like the one offered by The Soap Haven. The Soap Haven, which is a homegrown brand in Singapore, offers natural handmade soaps as well as other natural remedies for Eczema, Psoriasis, Acne and other skin problems. Their soap bars contain no sulphates and parabens.
But this soap bar can soap up very well.
The organic soap bar with activated charcoal is made with organic ingredients – organic palm oil, water, organic sunflower oil, organic coconut oil, sodium hydroxide, organic olive oil and activated charcoal. Some of you might think that oils would just worsen the acne problem, lo and below, oils actually help the skin to regain moisture balance. And natural facial oils, by the way, are amazing skincare products which I once thought that it gave me a skin breakout when actually, it was the commercial skincare products I was using that causes my skin to break out.
This organic soap bar is gentle enough to be used on any part of your body especially for the skin on your face. I also like the fact that the soap bar itself doesn’t have much scent on its own. And if you are searching high and low for a suitable facial cleanser for your trouble or sensitive skin, I suggest going for such organic soaps which are less drying on the skin and avoid using products with a list of artificial ingredients which might aggravate your skin condition,
Another type of soaps which is found at The Soap Haven is their Goat’s Milk Soap which comes in different scents made with natural ingredients too.
With the Zika virus going around in Singapore, you might want to rub your skin with natural oils like lemongrass and citronella which are effective in warding off mosquitoes. Forget about spraying insect repellent on your skin! What about using natural insect repelling soaps like lemongrass? At least, it smells really pleasant too.
It is made out of food grade saponified soybean oil, coconut oil, goat’s milk, palm oil, lemongrass essential oils, sea salt, cottonseed oil, botanicals, herbs and mineral colourants.
One of the bestselling soaps at The Soap Haven is their Himalayan Salt Soap bar which is my personal favourite too. It could be used on your skin as well as your hair and scalp. I’ve been using it as a body soap and I really like how it actually cleanse and keep my skin soft and moisturise at the same time. It felt like I had a thin coat of shea butter over my skin while using this soap bar.
To use it as shampoo, you can get their bamboo charcoal soap saver mesh bag to create extra lather to soap up your hair. And the Himalayan salts act as a gentle exfoliator to give your skin a gentle scrub.
It is made out of Saponified Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Organic Palm Oil, Shea Butter, Himalayan Salt and Sea Salt.
Less is more. It’s wonderful that their soaps don’t have a chunk of hard-to-produce ingredients stated on its label. Put your trust in nature which could work miracles for you.
Now one importance difference I noticed between these soap bars from The Soap Haven and other natural soap bars which I’ve tried is its ability to maintain its shape. Some natural soaps which I’ve used before melted very easily under the warm temperatures here in Singapore. It always seemed to be wet all the time and the soap doesn’t last as long. On the other hand, The Soap Haven’s soaps can last longer in our warm and humid climate and it still retains its shapes after it is left to dry.
It’s important that you store your soap bars properly in soap boxes and place them on soap dish like this pinewood soap dish which absorbs all the water that drips off from the soap bar. It doesn’t get mouldy and it actually helps to keep the soap dry.
The pinewood soap dish is made in the USA and it smells of pinewood too!
Are you convinced to switch to soap bars now? Soap is the new black. Remember those days when we use LUX soap bars during a shower? Yes, they smell really nice but the chemicals in the soap can cause skin irritations. The safest bar is to go for things which are made with edible ingredients. But I wouldn’t think you want to eat a soap bar when there is other delicious food out there.
You can get these soaps online at The Soap Haven website, https://www.thesoaphaven.com.
