Bits of stuff in soap

[KiwiMoose]

In general I’m not a fan of anything abrasive in soaps. It’s mostly because my OCD forces me to pick at them.

The other part is that I grew up in Hawaii, going to beaches all time, getting sand all up in places where it doesn’t belong. Try using bar soaps to wash your body and it finds a patch of sand which it then fuses to on a molecular level, becoming a bar of bubbly 80 grit sand paper. . . No thanks!

Hell, I don’t even like chocolate chips in my ice creams! But that’s a story for another day....

What!? No choc chips in ice cream? That's going a bit too far!

 

[hungryhawaiian]

What!? No choc chips in ice cream? That's going a bit too far!

Hahahaha.... I can’t.... I have some serious OCD’s when it comes to that stuff. You should see how long it takes me to eat a damn pomegranate. I have to eat the pulp from each individual seed, one at a time, then pulverize the seed with my teeth before moving onto the next seed. It’s a horrible way to live! lol

 

[hungryhawaiian]

Try being female with those problems

Such a wee little problem [emoji6]

 

[amd]

I can't remember who said ages ago, when i was asking about this, that they didn't like botanicals in their soap. (AMD? Shunty?)

Haha, there's so many of us in the forum... I have a shampoo bar that picked up in China, there's a large calendula flower parked right in the center of it. It's driving me crazy! I have some conditional exceptions... Some things when they are IN the soap are okay, but if they're "free floating" on top of the soap, it's a no for me. I can't even explain my own rules :/

 

[Rogue-Soaper]

I can't remember who said ages ago, when i was asking about this, that they didn't like botanicals in their soap. (AMD? Shunty?) but after having now used a few of my earlier soaps with 'bits' in them - cinnamon and oatmeal (ground), lemon and rosemary (dried), lime and coconut (with finely desiccated coconut) I can conclude that I feel the same. The only exception might be the lime and coconut - the proviso being that if it is used solely as a hand soap it is good.
As they wear down they get bits sticking out of them that look horrible - rosemary (ground) went all brown and made the soap look like an alien. Not pleasant at all.
So I've tried, and learnt my lesson - no more 'bits' in my soap!

OMG I am laughing so hard!! Chunks in crevices...Hamster outhouse....HHHAAAAHHHHAAA!.. Wait, let me get up from the floor...AND Oh yes Glitter NNNOOOO!!! I always imagine where that could get stuck Y'all are too funny.

 

[zanzalawi]

i looooove different things in my soap, and i will use a different bar of soap depending on the tactile sensation i want at that particular time
sometimes its salt bars that are kinda prickly, fine ground oatmeal, poppy seeds, and sometimes when i want the really scratchy i go for the bar with loads of coffee grounds in it. come out of the shower lookin like i got scrubbed within an inch of my life lol. but other times i like the super silky feel of no additives.
wee bit moody i suppose lol

 

[Laurabolyard]

NO ‘STUFF’ in soap! Besides the obvious, I don’t want to be washing it down my drain or picking it off of the shower floor!

 

[midnightsoaper]

I'm firmly in the "no bits of stuff in soap" camp. Sometimes the soaps with flower buds/petals on top are kind of pretty, but I'd never use them. Soaps with whole pumpkin seeds and oats on top? Let's just say I prefer my granola in a bowl in the kitchen, not on my shower floor

And I don't like exfoliation in bar soap AT ALL, so even fine sea salt is a bit too rough in a salt bar. I'll have to try table salt.

Sort of along the same topic, I love the speckled look of coffee grounds/pumice/etc, but hate the exfoliation. Is there anything to get the same look without the feel?

 

[karon L adams]

The 'trick' about the color is to learn which botanicals hold color and which do not. and work with that. one of my FAVORITE colors was Honey soap. it left a Warm, Nut Brown color and it smelled SO rich and delicious. for fragrance, My first choice is ALWAYS Vanilla, I use Vanillin for that fragrance. stands up far better than real Vanilla and is far less expensive. Add Rose Geranium and you have Baby Powder.

 

[smengot0]

No clay? No purée? I love herb infusions. Love extra fine activated charcoal

 

[DWinMadison]

I can't remember who said ages ago, when i was asking about this, that they didn't like botanicals in their soap. (AMD? Shunty?) but after having now used a few of my earlier soaps with 'bits' in them - cinnamon and oatmeal (ground), lemon and rosemary (dried), lime and coconut (with finely desiccated coconut) I can conclude that I feel the same. The only exception might be the lime and coconut - the proviso being that if it is used solely as a hand soap it is good.
As they wear down they get bits sticking out of them that look horrible - rosemary (ground) went all brown and made the soap look like an alien. Not pleasant at all.
So I've tried, and learnt my lesson - no more 'bits' in my soap!

Kiwi, I couldn’t agree more with a couple of exceptions. I do like ground black walnut hull in small amounts. I buy it finely ground then grind it more with a mortar and pestle. It makes a beautiful speckley brown that doesn’t bleed into nearby colors and doesn’t fade and in small amounts is a good exfoliant. Also, I’ve used alfalfa powder very successfully although it does fade a little over several months.

 

[DWinMadison]

I don’t like stuff in my soap or on my soap. Exception, finely ground (almost powder) oatmeal. I also make a scrubby soap for hands with coffee and pumice.

Oatmeal from the baby aisle works perfectly

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I love a bar with oatmeal and honey and I like lemon with poppyseeds and I like soap with charcoal in it-oh and coffee. I don't know if I would use soap with flowers in them though--yep I draw the line at flowers . I guess the only thing I have seen in my shower have been some of the poppyseeds

 

[DWinMadison]

No clay? No purée? I love herb infusions. Love extra fine activated charcoal

Activated charcoal is another I like, but like walnut, I grind the crap out of it with a mortar and pestle.

 

[Micchi]

I get a wee bit picky about the Stuff in my soap. I really like ground coffee for all-over soaps, and blueberry seeds or similar for a foot scrubbing soap. I'm also a fan of biodegradable glitter on top, but that's probably because it washes off after the first couple of uses lmao. (But it HAS to be biodegradable, and very fine.)

Other stuff just is either too messy, or too rough on my skin. (I have a chronic illness that means my skin tears very easily, though, so blueberry seeds and ground coffee are about as rough as I can go. Even poppy seeds are a bit too much.)

 

[KiwiMoose]

Activated charcoal is another I like, but like walnut, I grind the crap out of it with a mortar and pestle.

I use charcoal all the time - but to me i don't see it as being 'bits of stuff,' it's such a fine powder.

 

[DWinMadison]

I use charcoal all the time - but to me i don't see it as being 'bits of stuff,' it's such a fine powder.

I bought mine in capsules at the Rx. Clearly it’s less refined than what’s ideal for soap. It’s not a major deal to grind it up a bit.

 

[Guinevere]

My soaping teacher said don’t put anything in soap that can stuck in someone’s crevice.

That right there, funny.

Guinevere

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I bought mine in capsules at the Rx. Clearly it’s less refined than what’s ideal for soap. It’s not a major deal to grind it up a bit.

I bought mine in the fish isle--wasn't to bad getting it ground up and much cheaper. thing is now I have a whole bunch of charcoal

 

[artemis]

Other stuff just is either too messy, or too rough on my skin. (I have a chronic illness that means my skin tears very easily, though, so blueberry seeds and ground coffee are about as rough as I can go. Even poppy seeds are a bit too much.)

Have you tried cornmeal? Is feels a little softer to me, but still a little scrubby.