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 A Pears
bath followed by a soothing
massage of organic coconut oil (found a
large jar at Bargain Max, one of my
favorite
Asheville haunts for $2.50) is about as
luxurious as it gets
-- and a lot
healthier for your skin (and you) than
bars loaded with chemicals like
propylene glycol. In fact, Pears
soap was one of my all-time favorite
"bargain goodies" until I
discovered Sheatex Shea Butter Soap (see
below)... which turned my skin literally
into "butta".
And so,
when my last $1 bar of Pears was gone,
and I had stopped kicking myself for not
having stockpiled a ten year supply, the
Great Soap Hunt began.
Why hunt
for soap when you find it everywhere...
and pretty cheap too?
I don't
care for most of the standard brands you
see in grocery stores with their
chemicals. They tend to dry my skin, and
I don't hear such wonderful things about
some of the chemicals either. I'm
not phobic, but who needs them!
Your skin is a very absorbent (and
large) organ -- so why put something on
your skin that you wouldn't willingly
put in your mouth.
There are many wonderful soaps in health
food stores that have all natural
ingredients, but cost $3 a bar and up.
And when you've been spoiled by
wonderful dollar soap for as many years
as I have, I simply was not willing to
settle for anything less... or I should
say, "more".
 Photo
to left shows some of my wonderful "soap
hunt" discoveries... one with the TJ
Maxx markdown labels still on the box.
Discovered: some wonderfully scented
Sheatex Shea Butter Soap by FA
International. I've since found it
online at
Omololu International $ at $2.50
a bar, plus a $10 S&H charge. But
I discovered it in a Johnson City TN
dollar store called The Silver Dollar
for just $1 a bar. I love it so much...
it makes one's skin feel delightfully
soft and smooth... like silk! I'm
going back the first chance I get and buy
more.
Would make great stocking stuffer
Christmas gifts too.
 What's Great
About Glycerin and Shea Butter as
Ingredients?
Both are
pure vegetable products that
humidify and soften the skin.
Glycerin soap actually attracts
moisture from the air. Shea Butter
is not only moisturizing, but is also purported to
have some added healing qualities.
I love
the way glycerin soap looks and
feels -- and when you throw some
shea butter into the mix, which is
what Sheatex Shea Butter Soap
does (although it does take away the
wonderful transparency) --
then you really have a winning
combination. Top it off with a
coconut butter/oil massage, and you
have skin that feels like the
smoothest satin, without paying
exorbitant prices.
The
African Shea Butter
Company has some excellent information on shea butter.
Eat and Drink the Right Oils to
Have Great Skin.
If you
want to have great skin from the
"inside out", incorporate some
essential fatty acids into your
diet. Start with coconut oil.
It can actually help you lose
weight! Other important oils
to look at are flax oil and hemp
oil. I use a product created
by Udo Erasmus, author of Fats
That Heal, Fats That Kill.
It's called
Udo's Choice and you can
find at most health food stores.
This is one place that I am willing
to pay "full price". It's that
important and that good.
HINT: Do a Google search on "Udo's
Choice". You may unearth some
bargains. Too many to list in this
brief mention.
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I also bought a bar
of plain citrus-scented glycerin soap
for a $1... just in case the Sheatex
bars didn't pan out. Okay in a pinch, but not nearly the sensuous experience
as the Sheatex.
While I
was in Johnson City, I stopped at my
favorite
TJ Maxx store and found
a bar of
Crabree
and Evelyn Lily of the Valley
soap that retails for close
to $5 in the deep mark down section for
only a dollar. If I don't use it
first, this will make a great
contribution to someone's Christmas
stocking or basket. Could also be
used to scent one of my drawers.
While in
TJ Maxx,
I purchased two bars of
wonderful-smelling soap from Ellen
Morrow Apothecary... with the words
"Live, Love, Laughter" in raised letters
on the delicious-smelling ovals. A
real buy at $3 (the package said $8 and
up). More stocking stuffers or drawer
scenters.'
Bottom
line, do I now regret having not
stockpiled the Pears soap?
A
resounding "NO!" For if I had, I
would have been stuck in a rut and never
have found the other wonderful soaps
that my "Great Soap Hunt" led me too.
A good
case for ONLY stockpiling absolute
basics -- and then only when it's a
savings of 70% or more.
It's far
better to "live in the moment" ... and
without fear of lack than to stockpile
out of fear of "running out".
Besides,
stockpiling takes a way from the "thrill
of the hunt" -- and could keep you from
making your own wonderful and
serendipitous discoveries along the
"yellow brick road of life".
Resources
Where to locate some of soaps mentioned if
you're not lucky enough to have a dollar store or a
TJ Maxx with deep
discounts.
Crabtree-Evelyn
Crabtree-Evelyn
Clearance Sale Items... 25% to 50% off
Also check the "deep discount" sections of
TJ Maxx very frequently as you'll find C-E products there with some very
substantial savings over TJ Maxx's
normally low prices.
African Shea Butter
Company Soaps, butter, lotions. Wonderfully soothing
and healing for your skin. These products have been naturally
extracted.
Sheatex Shea Butter Soap
Sources:
Omololu International
$2.50 a bar. S&H $10.00
Pears Glycerin Soap
Incense Zone $2.59
Clearly Natural Glycerin Soap
Good Earth $1.29
National Wholesale Liquidators
Stores in:
New York
New Jersey
Connecticut
Pennsylvania
Maryland
Washington DC
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Soap is one
of those products that is both a luxury
and a necessity. What could be more
necessary than staying clean? What
could be more pampering than a nice long
hot shower or
tub bath with soap that not only cleans
you, but has the added bonus of turning your skin
into delightfully scented satin that you
or anyone would love to touch!
Well, that is what a really good bar of
soap can do -- and why some people seem
willing to pay exorbitant amounts of
money for a single cake of really good
soap.