sensory friendly soaps
I recently have been thinking about soaps and the many problems I have with them. I decided to look into making my own soap and decided on bar soap. Many of my struggles with soap stem from sensory issues, so I wondered if other people felt similarly to me about bar soap. I made a quiz about bar soap to see other people's opinions on varying textures and scents when it comes to soap.
The quiz is 21 questions long all based around soap.
click the link to take my quiz on soap.
https://3i9wqhiph47.typeform.com/to/CpOV9OBU
Done.
I had to lie for the question "What do you dislike about bar soap" because none of the response options applied to me, but I wasn't allowed to move on till I'd checked one. What I really dislike about bar soap is that eventually it dries out, cracks, and makes a mess. Also it doesn't "feel" as hygienic as liquid soap if more than one person is using it, but according to this, it's a myth created by the liquid soap marketers:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/yw4bvb/ ... f-bar-soap
Anyway, otherwise the test went quite well.
I prefer bar soap for two reasons. First is it is easier to regulate on ones hands. Liquid soap can easily come out with too much soap.
Second thing is soap smells can cause me shutdowns.
Third is my skin is sensitive (And my brother) to perfumes put in soaps.
Fourth is that some popular makes of liquid soaps have been found to be cancerous. Oddly it was immediately hushed after the initial discovery and nothing further was mentioned. Bar soaps have not found to have the same issues.
My Mum only buys one or two brands of washing powder (Usually cheap basic brands that contain no extra scents or other things). This is because if she washes clothes in the wrong washing powders my skin will be in an itchy rash!
Size of soap when new need to be practical so one can turn them in ones hands while washing. (Though I have big hands is pointless soaps that are far too big to use such as kitchen soaps!)
I have added all of this in the survey. Hope it helps. (Don't like bits being in a soap! Does not feel nice!)
But you don't have to make soap designed for me. Mum buys certain soaps based also on price and if we can use the brand or not. Both those factors come into play. Smells of soaps are not so much an issue at home but very much an issue in shops where hundreds of soaps sit together on shelves. Shutdown trigger!
blitzkrieg
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Joined: 8 Jun 2011
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Posts: 17,820
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Second thing is soap smells can cause me shutdowns.
Third is my skin is sensitive (And my brother) to perfumes put in soaps.
Fourth is that some popular makes of liquid soaps have been found to be cancerous. Oddly it was immediately hushed after the initial discovery and nothing further was mentioned. Bar soaps have not found to have the same issues.
My Mum only buys one or two brands of washing powder (Usually cheap basic brands that contain no extra scents or other things). This is because if she washes clothes in the wrong washing powders my skin will be in an itchy rash!
Size of soap when new need to be practical so one can turn them in ones hands while washing. (Though I have big hands is pointless soaps that are far too big to use such as kitchen soaps!)
I have added all of this in the survey. Hope it helps. (Don't like bits being in a soap! Does not feel nice!)
But you don't have to make soap designed for me. Mum buys certain soaps based also on price and if we can use the brand or not. Both those factors come into play. Smells of soaps are not so much an issue at home but very much an issue in shops where hundreds of soaps sit together on shelves. Shutdown trigger!
There is, or perhaps used to be, a brand of bar soap called "Simple Soap" which I liked. I've not noticed much physical reaction to any soap except dry hands with some types though. Most of my aversion is down to a general notion that it's probably unwise to tolerate anything unnecessary or not highly desirable in any product that has to be touched or consumed in any way, including inhalation. And of course we have quite a lot of contact with soap especially if we take baths, and in our free-market society I'm sad to say that makers are notorious for adding unnecessary, untested muck to everything, in their increasingly obsessional and desperate attempts to move more product by making it superficially more attractive to unthinking consumers. Interesting that science seems to be showing that my general notion has some validity.
I'm OK with some scents, not OK with others, which is probably much like the general population. I've even noticed that being exposed to a smell I like can improve my mood (I guess that's the basis of aromatherapy), and life is more worth living when I'm in a good mood.
I get adverse physical and psychological reactions to some areas in shops, notably the gardening section when I walk past the pesticides (the air around them seems to stick to my throat), and the washing powder section (which feels like it's dissolving the inside of my nose). I wish they'd keep those things in fume hoods.
I don't generally want solid bits of anything in my soap, which I see as a silly gimmick, but I did rather like a type of "moisturising facial scrub" that had bits in it. I had a bit of facial dandruff and I felt that the solid scrapy bits were helping to remove the dead skin cells, and they didn't feel too abrasive for comfort. No idea whether or not that was just psychosomatic though.
It's a shame that capitalists control so much about the nature of products. I'd love it if honest science were used to create wholesome products that had been properly worked out to have real benefits while remaining safe. But as it is, a lot of hype and reckless tinkering goes on.
My goodness I love soap bars! It's one of my special interests! But you'll never see a drugstore soap bar (syndet) in my home. I only buy those handcrafted soap with natural ingredients and scented with essential oils. They're not harsh and very gentle on the skin. Never cracked if stored in a well drained dish and seem to last forever. And of course we don't share soap with other people. We each have our own dish to bring to the shower. I thought that's normal?
A lot of the "soap bar" in drug stores are not natural soap and actually they're not allowed to be called "soap". i.e. Dove beauty bars. Read the ingredients list and you'll figure out. Real soaps have fats or oils and some colors and scents listed. IMHO it's worth it to spend a bit more for the good stuff. I use shampoo bars (natural soap kind) for my hair, too. My skin and hair have been very happy. I figured I saved lots by not needing conditioners and lotions.
Making your own soap is so fun! They are likely to be good for you, too. We have a local store selling soap making supplies and I used to go and squander some money there.
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Aspie mom to two autistic sons (21 & 20 )
NibiruMul
Pileated woodpecker
Joined: 1 Dec 2023
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Posts: 177
Location: Long Island, New York
I'm allergic to sulfates, so what soap I use is primarily dicated by that. It's very hard to find any sort of soap, shampoo, or other cleaning product without them, so I usually have at most two choices and try to pick the least strong-smelling of those. Partly because of the allergy, but also because I just prefer it, I always use bar soap. I don't like the ultra-slippery feel of liquid soap even when it doesn't make me itch horribly.
I'm seriously considering trying to look for hand-made soaps, because it seems like I might have more options there and they might be nicer.
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