Say it ain't soap!

[nineveh_uk]

On cleaning the bathroom at the weekend, I decided that I couldn't be bothered to transfer the soap to another surface and then back to the sink having wiped it, because there wasn't much left, and transferred it straight to the bin instead. Inevitably I then discovered that the bathroom cabinet, while rich in shower gel, lacked replacement soap. But not quite! There was a bar of olive oil soap purchased on holiday because I am bad at purchasing non-edible souvenirs, and it was cheap. So I opened that instead, and am now remembering why after last time I had decided not to buy olive oil soap in future.

It's not that it doesn't work, because it does. It also smells pleasant. It is gentle on the hands. It's just that the texture is dissolving from the bottom up (i.e. the part that doesn't immediately dry out after use) into something hideously snot-like, or possibly the ichor secreted by the lesser tentacles of Cthulhu. I fear it has to go. The sink looks like the victim of a more than usually spectacular nose-blow, and I am fed up of having to keep wiping it. Soap is supposed to make things clean, not green. Adieu, olive oil soap! My lesson is thoroughly learned.

Comments

[naraht]

Oh dear! Soap is tricky all round.

I bought some ridiculously expensive soap from Toast a few weeks back, and was storing it in my knitwear drawer. It made my knitwear smell lovely and, when I finally put it on the bathroom sink, it made the bathroom smell lovely too. All was well until my housemate said "is that new smelly soap yours?" His standard for scents is clearly different than mine. I took it away for a while as he had a cold, and it seemed unfair to add more olfactory provocation to that, but I've put it back now (as I ran out of my other soap) and am hoping that the scent diminishes a little now that it isn't fresh out of the packaging...

[nineveh_uk]

Soap policing! I do sympathise a bit with people who don't like smells in their space - I lasted only a very short time in a house where the landlady liked plug-in air freshener - but it's only soap!

[naraht]

Yes, I sympathise as well. At least I detest air freshener and dryer sheets - I know essential oils are not always exactly 'natural' but they do smell more real to me.

I think the smell has dissipated a bit now that the soap is not new, but I'm going to check with my housemate tomorrow to see if he agrees.

[ironed_orchid]

This is very close to the reason I stopped using the olive oil and Dead Sea mud soap from Palestine. It was great for my skin and I want to support the Palestinian olive growers, but I don't want muddy snot in my bathroom anymore.

[nineveh_uk]

I am imagining what this soap would by like with the addition of Dead Sea mud, and the image is not one that I would be keen to have in my bathroom, either.

[ironed_orchid]

I really like it on my skin, but I think the water here must be either softer or harder than Canberra, whichever makes the soap more likely to dissolve, because I didn't have the same issues when I lived there.

It looks like this when straight out of the packet, the colour on the second photo is a bit more typical. The lather is also grey, which took awhile for me to adjust to, and the smell is neutral with a hint of earthiness.

[nineveh_uk]

I suppose it makes sense that water hardness could make a difference, as it does for "normal" soap.

I enjoyed the dead sea mud in situ, but the bits of my skin it was on took some getting it off, and it is STILL on the swimming costume in question (I took it with the intention of chucking it, but couldn't bear to because it is so comfy. So it is comfy with muddy marks on).

[clanwilliam]

I've got one I keep in a box because the slime is exactly what I need for my chiropody sponges, which are the greatest foot exfoliators ever. You *have* to have a good wodge of soap on them if you want to actually have feet left after using them.

[nineveh_uk]

I'd not come across chiropody sponges before, but they look amazing!

[clanwilliam]

They are really good. Loads of black grit in the bath first time you use them, but they're small enough to tackle awkward corners too.

[nineveh_uk]

Definitely now on my shopping list.

[bookwormsarah.livejournal.com]

Olive oil soap is very good for felting (when in solution), and also for hand washing delicates. However, this does mean that you either need to grate the drier portions into a pot, or keep it in tupperware for times of need...

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that might make me feel a bit less wasteful about throwing it away, because I do do a certain amount of handwashing.

[helenajust.livejournal.com]

It is this tendency in soap bars that converted me to liquid soap, as well as the feeling that germs were left on the soap after use. Also, the containers don't make a mess on the basins the way soap bars do.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I prefer bars of soap in the bathroom for some reason (though not in the kitchen), but I tend to avoid the creamier ones because they're just messy, and green slime is not an improvement on remnants of Dove everywhere.

[bookwormsarah.livejournal.com]

What sort of soap dish do you use? I found that one with open bars on the bottom allowed air to circulate underneath and kept the lower regions of the soap from getting too squishy, unlike a saucer like dish which promotes gungyness.

[auntyros.livejournal.com]

I have a clever one from Muji which has a shaped bed of a stiff acrylic sponge to put the soap on, which allows for almost complete airing.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that I really hate soap dishes of all kinds, and because the sink is shaped to do the job itself, don't use one. And this normally works fine - but not in this case.