Soaps

The Dish About Soap

Many people have strong soda pop preferences. Some lean toward brown eggs over white. Others think laundry powders are better than liquid. Six of one, half-dozen of the other.

The politics of the bar soap seem similarly split. If you grew up using body wash, your hand instinctively reaches for a container full of sweet-smelling liquid. But many others feel they aren’t really clean unless they’ve lathered up with a bar of soap.

If that’s your tune, this blog posting is for you.

At Thymes, we’re proud to cater to all cleansing preferences. Indeed, all our bath and body collections feature bar soap (and body wash).

For anyone who has studied the soap-making practices of colonial America, the days of lye, coal ash and animal fats are long gone. (How those worked as heavy-duty cleansers boggles the mind!) The soaps Thymes blends today are a world apart, falling into two categories: glycerin and triple-milled.

Here’s the difference:

GLYCERIN SOAP

Soaps in the glycerin category are made with humectant glycerin, an all-vegetable ingredient that draws moisture to the skin while it cleanses away impurities. The translucent nature of glycerin gives the soap a colorful gem-like quality. This formula also offers excellent fragrance retention, the ability to keep skin hydrated, and provides a wonderful lather. Discover the beauty of glycerin soap with the Eucalyptus Bar Soap and Lavender Bar Soap.

TRIPLE-MILLED SOAP

Also made from all-vegetable ingredients, this gently moisturizing soap goes through a “French” milling process to make it ultra-creamy and rich. Most of our bar soaps are made through this French triple-milled process, which means the formula goes through three stages of refinement to disperse the ingredients evenly throughout the bar. This process ensures that the skin-conditioning soaps provide a luxurious bathing experience from first to last use. Customer favorite triple-milled soaps include Olive Leaf Bar Soap and Goldleaf Bar Soap.

THE BEST WAY TO USE BAR SOAPS

Bar soaps lather best when used with warm water. Take the soap and rub it between your hands for a few seconds to generate a lather and apply to either your washcloth, loofah, or even directly to the body. Continue to lather until the desired cleanliness is achieved and rinse thoroughly.

Proper storage in between uses is key to helping your bar soap live its longest life. Keep the bar in a spot that allows any excess water to drain, such as a soap dish with an elevated holder, a wire rack, or somewhere that doesn’t collect water. The bar should be able to dry between uses to prevent cracking and color degradation, keeping the bar looking and performing its best.

GIFTS GALORE

Scented soaps make an outstanding gift as a stocking stuffer, hostess offering, or paired with a fragranced body lotion or hand cream. Better still, they’re unisex, good for both gander and goose.

For a gift with even more oomph, we offer the Mandarin Coriander Bar Soap — a clever combination of refreshing, odor-neutralizing soap. And as the holiday season nears, fans of Frasier Fir will certainly relish a gift of Frasier Fir Bar Soap. To find a bar soap that’s right for you or someone on your gift list, shop all of our bar soaps or find your local specialty retailer. Your next shower or bath could be a bar above.

PRODUCT DEEP DIVE: NEROLI SOL BAR SOAP

Each Thymes bar soap formula is custom developed for the featured sophisticated, high-end fragrance and beneficial extract blends. All our formulas contain a high level of glycerin to provide a deeply moisturizing experience. Let’s take a look at the additional ingredients that make the Neroli Sol Bar Soap unique. The tropical fragrance has been specifically blended with other botanical extracts that reflect a warm, island locale and deliver the cleansing and moisturizing benefits our fans love.

Aloe vera (Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice): known as the “first aid plant,” aloe vera gel is well-known for its anti-inflammatory, soothing, and healing properties to skin.

Certified organic coconut oil (Cocos Nucifera Oil): this beneficial moisturizer restores and replenishes dry, flaky skin. Coconut oil helps to strengthen skin and sweeps away dead skin cells while deeply hydrating your skin.

Blue green algae extract (Spirulina Maxima): Spirulina is a type of oceanic algae that contains a wide array of nutrients. It has protein and large concentrations of vitamins and minerals and is known to boost skin’s recovery and improve the overall appearance and health of skin.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOAP FOR YOUR SKIN AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Natural soaps beat the everyday drugstore options for more reasons than you might think. When it comes to choosing between liquids and bars, however, you might want to consider these four specific factors.

Though the labels often allude to lovely natural elements like coconut and lavender, most common soaps aren’t nearly as “clean” as you might think. Bodywashes and other liquid versions tend to contain synthetic ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate, a foaming agent that is extremely drying to the skin and can be contaminated with carcinogens. Bar soaps, meanwhile, are based on synethics and petroleum products, which are equally drying as well as toxic to the environment. (When those suds wash down the drain, they ultimately wind up in bodies of water where they stunt plant and animal ecosystems.)

On the other hand, all-natural soaps are typically formulated with organic vegetable oils as their main ingredients. Bodywashes might include some vegetable glycerine and a little guar gum to add thickness, but that’s just about it. Compared to conventional versions, the natural options obviously represent the wiser choice – but is it better to go with liquids or bars?

Below, we’ve broken down four factors to consider when choosing your next sudsy product for the shower or the sink, plus a few surprising tips and tricks.

1. Which lathers best?

Although bars and liquids tend to make the same volume of suds on bare hands, liquid soaps usually create a richer lather on loofahs and washcloths. Regardless, you’ll get more bubbles for your buck and conserve the soap for longer if you use one of those scrubbing tools instead of applying the formula directly to your hands.

2. Which lasts longer?

Bar soaps last longer than liquid soaps. To further sustain a bar’s lifespan, store it in a dry, well-drained spot instead of a damp dish, so it doesn’t melt away when it’s not in use.

3. Which is more sanitary?

A lot of people believe that liquid soaps are more sanitary than bar soaps, but let’s debunk that myth. Numerous studies have shown that even though there’s a tiny bit more bacteria on a used bar of than a brand new one, it all gets rinsed off as it’s being used, right along with the grime on your hands. In other words, we can call this one a wash.

4. Which is best for the environment?

Bar soap usually comes in less packaging, which is a plus. But bodywash in environmentally friendly packaging can definitely hold its own. Look for a bottle that’s made of an eco-friendly material like PET plastic—it’s produced without leaving any toxic chemicals behind, and it’s the most easily and widely recycled plastic in the world.

Activated Charcoal Shampoo Bar

Activated Charcoal strengthens hair and absorbs oil.

Our hand-cut, activated charcoal bar is for both guys and girls who want to clarify and condition.

Argan oil nourishes hair and scalp while Menthol cools and refreshes.

INGREDIENTS:

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Cocoate*, Water (Aqua) (Eau), Glycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Charcoal Powder, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Vegetable Oil (Olus), Menthone Glycerin Acetal, Goat Milk (Caprae Lac) (Lait de Chevre), Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Threoninate, Sodium Chloride, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Iron Oxides (CI 77499) *May Also Contain Sodium Palm Kernelate

  

Fig Leaf Pure Goat Milk Bar Soap

Enriched with lavender oil which gives lasting moisture to this creamy goat milk soap bar. 

Scented with notes of fig leaves, fig nectar, and fig wood.

Goat milk is a key ingredient (a natural anti-inflammatory) which leaves skin clean and well moisturized. 

Sulfate, Paraben, Petroleum & Phosphate Free. Clean and simple. 

INGREDIENTS:

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Cocoate and/or Palm Kernelate, Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Fragrance (Parfum), Caprae Lac (Goat Milk), Aleurites Moluccana Seed Extract (Kukui Nut Oil), Ficus Carica (Fig Fruit Powder), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Oil, Sodium Chloride, Pentasodium Pentetate. 

  

Lump of Kohl - Triple-Milled

DETOX PURIFYING BAR - Have you been bad to your skin? Time for a lump of Kohl! Our bestselling formulation of goat milk soap coupled with real activated bamboo charcoal removes toxins to purify and refresh.

And the frankincense & myrrh add antioxidants and a captivating scent.

Gentle enough for everyday use.

Sulfate, Paraben, Petroleum & Phosphate Free. Clean and simple.

INGREDIENTS:

Sodium Palmate, Sodium Cocoate and/or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Sorbitol, Palm Kernel Acid, Fragrance (Parfum), Charcoal Powder, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Menthone Glycerin Acetal, Caprae Lac (Goat Milk), Disodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate, Sodium Cocoyl Threoninate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Sodium Chloride, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Iron Oxides (CI 77491).ils.