Inexpensive supermarket/drugstore soaps

Ok, so we've got shaving all taken care of but what about that hair and the rest of your face? Get the low down on shampoo's, conditioners, finishers, cleansers, toners and moisturizers right here!
John N.
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Inexpensive supermarket/drugstore soaps

Post by John N. »

As you can see from my posts on this forum, I am a recent enthusiast of bath soaps...a little odd in and of itself :shock:. I currently rotate through six soaps (3 fancy and 3 mundane). I use one soap for a week or so, and then switch. This system seems to work well for me in that I enjoy both variety and the ability to compare different products.
The 3 "mundane" soaps I have been using these days are Dial, Dove 4 Men and Yardley Almond/Oatmeal (the aristocrat of this bunch). They all have or might have tallow in them, and they all work pretty well (lather, rinse & hydrate); though there are differences. The Dial entrant lathers and rinses quite well, but tends to be slightly drying, and the bar gets small fast. I believe Dial makes soaps that have more moisturizer in them...just not the one I am using. Dove 4 Men does pretty well also, but is a little harder to rinse because of the added moisturizer. It obviously hydrates quite well. Of the three, Yardley is the clear winner in that it does everything well in a balanced fashion (no real surprise). It is a quality product, has the added benefits of the best scent (to my nose), best longevity and is gently exfoliating (subtle). My personal conclusion (since I do not have dry skin) is that I will not replace the Dove soap (though I do like the scent), keep the Dial for summer use and also keep using Yardley soaps as the best examples so far of high quality soaps at a good price....now back to the "fancies"...
If any of you have thoughts on inexpensive but high performing soaps, Please pass them along.
J.
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Squire
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Post by Squire »

John we use the Yardley (from Dollartree) as a general purpose house soap and it's cheap enough that it's been years since we bought any supermarket brands.

For higher end yet still reasonably priced TJ Maxx some nice European soaps (Italian, Portuguese, Marseilles) in stock.

I sorta discovered the above when Floris changed their formula and I felt disinclined to pay extra for a label.
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Post by Sam »

Im like Squire. Gordon turned me on to Floris and the Rose Geranium in particular. Kinda got spoiled by the creaminess, the fattiness, of the lather. Then I got a great deal on some Castle Forbes rounded soaps - same thing, that fatty feeling. Got one of those left to break out for a face soap.

Yardley, I get mine at Walgreens. Claus Porto was a great soap and then they went all veggie-based and the price rose about $4 a bar, from $13 to $17. Caswell Massey is nice enough but my local TJ Maxx and Marshalls stopped stocking them. They are running low on the Asquith, if they ever have it, and even the Scottish Fine Soaps.

Ill be haunting the Dollar tree now for the Yardley.
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Post by Squire »

Sam I should have mentioned my local Dollartree usually carries Pears glycerin soap if that interests you. All items $1.00 of course.
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Post by fallingwickets »

Wasnt pears soap a very *fancy* and very good performing soap item once upon a time? i remember that my mom used it, and it is she who passed on the snobby gene haha......or maybe its just a becks induced memory fail

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Post by fallingwickets »

P.S. I have been using the MWF soap and even though its pricier than the supermarket stuff, its worth every extra penny....since you are rotating quite a large inventory, it should last a long time! :D

clive
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Post by rsp1202 »

99 Cent Stores carry the Dial Basics 3-bar combo as well as Cashmere Bouquet 2-bar. At least with the small DB, you know what you're getting; the regular Dial bars have been "sculpted" out and the bar disappears even faster than the small stuff. That's just chicken-s*** of Dial. Dove bars leave too much stuff (call it moisturizer, if you will) behind after rinsing. Never cared for the Yardley, especially the lavender; the scent is cloying to me.
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Post by 95% »

I'm with Clive about using MWF as my go-to bath soap. Its creaminess is its best feature. It's virtually fragrance-free, which is OK with me, since most of my other grooming products are distinctively scented. The cost per use is low. A single bar lasts me a good two months of twice-daily showering.
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Post by jww »

Anything made from sheep squeezin's is a great thing! 8)
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Post by Squire »

We who are about to shave salute thee O Fat.
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Post by John N. »

MWF is one of my "fancies", and it is a very fine soap that will last a long time in my rotation. The other two are a Rampal LaTour verbena round and a PdP verbena...love that citrusy scent. Next up for this bunch could be a Nancy Boy bar, a L'Occitane sandalwood or perhaps something from Caswell- Massey. I'm sure I will settle down to a few favorites,
but right now I'm having great fun with such a variety of fine soaps available...certainly am clean, and so are those close to me :) .
J.
Last edited by John N. on Tue Oct 16, 2012 9:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by rsp1202 »

Not that it's inexpensive, but Nancy Boy has a new body bar called "Hearth" that sounds like it's worth trying; reads as not as fragrant as their Sweetgrass (which wasn't that intense in any event). But eight bucks a pop puts it in the old Vinolia range, and I'm trying to leave that curse behind.
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Post by bernards66 »

John, I agree with Squire and Sam, when it comes to inexpensive, locally purchased general purpose soap I only buy the US made Yardley Lavender, at least it's a relatively quality product and the lavender scent is nicely done. As you discovered with the Dial, most mass market soaps tend to dry out or irritate my skin even if they are tallow based, and if they add sufficent moisturizers' to counteract that they often wind up leaving a slight film. It's because the soap is just basically of poor quality. The Yardley doesn't have these blatant defects. But it is sad; Sam was not the only one here that I turned on to real top quality bath soaps and then over the last few years almost all of them changed their formulas and went with a veg. oil base which, in turn, decreased the quality of the soap. Many of them are basically still fine quality in the sense of careful and proper manufacturing process etc. but the absence of the tallow base is apparent and since they are all quite expensive....well....it became a problem, at least for me. After my last hold-out, Vinolia, went the veg. oil route I too have settled on the Mitchell's Wool Fat for a regular bath soap. But yeah, it's not inexpensive, especially after one adds in the shipping costs. Still, the difference is worth it to me even though funds are tight these days. FWIW, I've never thought that the Caswell-Massy bath soaps were very good...even for veg. oil based ones. And since they are also quite expensive, well, I just think you could easily do better for that amount of money. Just my personal opinion, of course.
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Post by John Parker »

If you like "woody", go to an Indian mart to see if you can pick up some Mysore Sandal bath soap. Very nice sandalwood scent and a very nice bath soap. Runs about $2.50 a bar in Omaha.
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One With Nature soaps

Post by ticman »

Just discovered One With Nature Soaps made in Jordan using Dead Sea Salts. Triple milled soap with various fragrances. Very creamy and long lasting. Whole Foods has some but limited choices. Bought Lemon Sage Verbena online and love the scent.
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Haci Sakir

Post by malocchio »

If you have a Pakistani or middle eastern market near your house check out these wonderful Haci Sakir soaps from Turkey...4 or 5 scents available,nice lather,great price...
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Post by jww »

We only use Yardley English Lavender, Cusson's Imperial Leather and Dove (my wife and recently engaged daughter are the dove users). These are about as inexpensive as they get --- unless you count the cost of travel to the UK to personally shop for the Cusson's, which, of course I don't. Every time we hear of friends or family going or coming to visit, we ask for them to make a trip to the local market and grab a 6-pack, 8-pack, whatever they can scrounge. Keeps the supply up. :D
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Post by Rufus »

Our go-to bath soap is Cusson's Imperial Leather; both SWMBO and I like its scent and effect on our skin. We visit the family in England every year and pick up our annual supply from the local £ Store. In England it costs £1 for a pack of 3 bars; here it costs about £1 per bar at our local British store. When not using CIL we use L' Occitane bath soap, even though their Cade shaving cream is rubbish, or Yardley's Lavender, which we pick up in Winners.
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Post by Sam »

I need to try a MWF. Best place on price for a bar or two?
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Post by Sam »

Found a Stirling soap website that makes a artisinal wool fat soap. Anyone use it? $3 for a 5 ounce bar
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