Dr Bronner's Magic Soaps... || 5 oz of peppermint pleasure and promise...
Written: Jun 25 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: Great lather; no overpowering odor; organic, natural; 'fun' company, a leader in organic soaps.
Cons: A bit pricey, but not bad for product type. Can be hard to find locally.
The Bottom Line: If an organic, natural, 'fair-trade' product meets your wants ...this will meet your soap needs. I did not find it as 'minty-invigorating' as others do ...still a best-buy organic soap.
sleeper54's Full Review: Dr. Bronner's Bar Soap Peppermint 5oz
... ' Knocked fifteen points off my cholesterol count; had to punch a new hole in my belt to keep my pants up; got the big promotion and corner-office-with-a-view at work; the dog has quit growling at me; and 'business time' with the missus has been deeper (if you catch my drift) and more passionate than ever before. I'll tell ya, life is good.'
I would love to say all these things happened after I began using Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, the peppermint varietal. But no, I can not say all those changes really did happen ...and those that did were probably not the result of using this all-organic 'magic soap'.
With skilled tradesmen soap-making skills that go back to old-world Germany of the mid-1800s, the Bronner family has been crafting and selling liquid and bar soaps under their name since the late 1940s.
Always featuring natural ingredients and a positive (almost eccentric) social and environmental activism message, the Dr. Bronner brand had its first major impact during the turbulent 1960s. The 'turned on and tuned out' counter-culture youth generation embraced the idea of using organic soaps to save Mother Earth ...while still being able to 'clean up' to get with their brothers and sisters.
Labeled as 'pure-castile', the main ingredients of the soap are: ' saponified organic coconut, organic palm & organic olive oils (with retained glycerin), water, organic hemp oil, organic jojoba oil, organic peppermint oil, organic mentha arvensis, salt, citric acid, and vitamin E.'
I note the ingredients here only to reinforce the idea it is a true 'castile-type' soap by being derived from vegetable oils, particularly olive oil, rather than animal fats. For this particular varietal it is good to note the presence of peppermint oil and another mint, mentha arvensis or 'wild mint'.
It is also interesting to compare the simple list of ingredients with that on the packaging of a more popular, name-brand soap. Let's just say ...I can appreciate the seeming healthiness of a more natural product.
Weighing in at 5 ounces, the Bronner bar is definitely heftier than the 4-ounce big-name-brand bar we normally use. Wrapped in a simple hemp-and-recycled paper wrapper (no cellophane here) and a simple inner liner/wrap, the bar is noticeably lacking in a strong 'mint' smell. In use, the bar itself seems to last about as long as our usual bar.
In use it lathers quickly and richly. the lather seems as abundant as our Dial brand bar we normally use. There is not a real noticeable smell until one lathers up to wash the face ...then the smell is . . .well, more soapy than minty. Sitting here now, smelling the small sliver left, it is not really unpleasant, with a hint of mint.
It seems to clean well (that good lather mentioned earlier) and rinses off easily with no strong, lingering odor. I wear my hair (what is left of it) short so a good handful of lather washes that also. Indeed, one of the appeals of the early Dr. Bronner liquid products was their versatility as soaps, shampoos, dishwashing liquid, and even toothpaste. No I have not tried that with the bar, though it is all natural. Hmmm...
Long-term use..?? Well, most of the 'changes' noted in the lead paragraph were not seen. I have not noticed particularly softer skin, have not had anyone notice an after-smell. In fact, hugging the wife and the kid after a shower, neither of them detected a noticeable smell.
The Bottom Line
So, do you buy this..??
... Yes..!!: • Buy this if you do not mind paying a premium price over run-of-the-mill regular soaps. My bar, bought at a GNC, was tagged $3.75 and on sale for $2.99. A bar of our usual soap is about a dollar.
• Buy this if you want an organic, natural product reasonably priced; this seems to be an inexpensive organic soap.
• Buy this if the idea of 'natural' and 'organic' make your heart beat faster and helps you sleep easier at night.
• Buy this if you want to support 'fair trade' companies and 'fair trade' around the globe.
• Buy this if you want a soap not tested on animals.
... No..!!: • Do not buy this if you think you need an antiperspirant soap. Aint none of that in here.
• Do not buy this if you think 'natural' and 'organic' are over-hyped words used to sell stuff.
• Do not buy this if your buddies will pull your man card for not using a 'macho soap'.
Me..??: Hmm. I really like it . . .but for the price ...I will pass.
Gratuitous URL: ...guaranteed 100% natural:
drbronner.com More than you ever wanna know about 'fair trade', commercial hemp use, "All-One-God-Faith", Oregon Tilth, the Moral ABC, Dr. Emmanuel Bronner, and much more. All product-related but not central to this product's review.
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