Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap

I would like to start out this post by saying that today I FINALLY went to the grocery store. I loaded my cart up with all sorts of veggies-- broccoli, string beans, corn, carrots, romaine hearts, celery, cucumber, and grape tomatoes. Not very adventurous in my choices but it didn't matter to me, I just needed some green in my life again. When I got home I ate a huuuuge salad for dinner. I am satisfied once again :)

I almost want to profess my love for veggies in a tattoo. Our names enclosed in a sketched heart, like you see scratched in on trees. SKP + Veggies 4 Ever.

On to Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap, which I use for body wash. I bought the almond scent and it is just heavenly. I seriously want to take a shower right now just so I can smell the soap. Here's what else I like about it:

- the ingredients list is nice and natural. No sodium laurel/laureth sulfate (SLS) here!

- I have read a few blogs where people use Dr. Bronner's to make laundry and even dishwasher detergent with it. That tells me people trust it both as gentle enough to not irritate skin when wearing the clothes, and as safe enough to clean the plate they eat off of. Another plus!

- For the past two or three weeks I've had a strange rash (or persistent bug bites) behind my knees. For at least two weeks I had bright red bumps. They were so gross looking I didn't want to wear shorts. After using the soap, I found that the following day the rash/bite was no longer red and completely flat. It is not completely gone but I feel like the soap has helped calm whatever irritation it is.

I even used it to wash my hair! I don't really recommend this... Haha. I only did so once because my current shampoo really irritates my scalp-- it gives me the itchies and every now and then flakes. Ew.

What I don't like about the soap holds true for all bars I've experienced; although lathery and lubricant at first, the soap leaves a weird film of almost sticky, water repellent material. The oil in the soap, perhaps?

I was previously using Pure & Natural's Almond Oil and Cherry Blossom scented body wash. I don't like it for two reasons; it has SLS and the scent wasn't so great. If you haven't already, I urge you to watch Annie Leonard's The Story of Cosmetics, where she talks about SLS a little. It's in the same format as The Story of Stuff. If you haven't seen that then definitely watch it also. You can find it at the same site. Leonard goes through US and global problems that we rarely think about day to day, but that we impact (and are affected by) through almost every choice we make.

I would definitely recommend Bronner's for people with sensitive skin or anyone who just wants to live life with less chemicals infused into their skin.