The Shampoo Bar Thread

[janeytilllie]

I'm reading all of this eczema talk with great interest. My mom has bad patches on her hands, elbows, and feet that she has battled with for years. Those of you that used to use commercial/chemical creams and salves, how long did it take you to notice a difference between those and the natural products you use now?

I noticed quite a quick difference switching. I really like my natural soap so far. One thing I do like doing is using my mist spray bottle with pure water every night. I spray lightly and then apply coconut oil.

[Natalia]

Thank you, Natalia!

No problem

I'm reading all of this eczema talk with great interest. My mom has bad patches on her hands, elbows, and feet that she has battled with for years. Those of you that used to use commercial/chemical creams and salves, how long did it take you to notice a difference between those and the natural products you use now?

Natalia, do you know what the ingredients are for the marijuana cream? I wouldn't be able to buy it for my mom, but may be able to whip something up for her at home. And do you buy or make the salve you mentioned with plantain, comfrey, aloe, and St. John's wort?

For me i really noticed a difference about 3 days after giving up the typical chemical body washes an lotions. It took 2-3 months to really see alot of improvment but the itching was less and i stopped developing new scabs pretty quickly.

For the cream here is the ingredient label - Peppermint Oil, Flax Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Olive Oil infused with Sativa and Indica, Hemp Seed Oil, Triglyceride, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Omega 3, Aloe Leaf Juice, Emulsifying Wax, Japanese Green Tea Leaf Extract, and Love <3.

Since MJ isnt allowed to be shipped across state lines every dispensary has a different recipe. For instance the cream i use i cant get 2 hours from here in my sisters area. MJ is kind of a microculture lol. You can make your own infused oil just like any other herb as well or buy concentrate like RSO (rick simpson oil/pheonix tears) and add that to warmed oil or lotion to use.

Oh and i dont make the other salve i buy a few brands this is the one that easiest for me to find http://smile.amazon.com/Savvy-Comfre...s=confrey+aloe . I generally just go down the clearance isle at the healthfood shop or watch sales an read ingredients.

Hope that is helpful

[amanda_the_tall]

Has anyone noted if shampoo bars have helped with a sensitive scalp?

[Natalia]

Has anyone noted if shampoo bars have helped with a sensitive scalp?

Aside from dealing with the eczema no i cant say they have. But thats in part because water quality, oil composition, how long/well i scrub all factor in to a larger percentage than liquid shampoo. If im waxy or greasy faster then my scalp is very sensitive. I also notice as my hair gets close to wash time how i style it depends on how it hurts. I have to wear my buns lower so when i braid my hair st night my hair isnt laying opposite of where it has been all day if that makes sense.

[Chromis]

Has anyone noted if shampoo bars have helped with a sensitive scalp?

Mine is much happier overall with shampoo bars, but I suspect this is highly variable.

[BarretoSupreme]

Thank you everyone for information and opinions on dealing with eczema! I got my mom a couple of CV soap samples for her birthday to see if they make any difference. I don't know that the soap by itself will. My mom is a nurse so she has to wash her hands several times a day. She has tried all manner of commercial chemical products and prescribed ointments and shots, nothing has helped. Her job is pretty stressful so I imagine that plays a big part. I get tiny patches on my hands once in a while that flare when I am stressed. I've found coconut oil helps a lot with mine, but my mom's is so much worse that it really wasn't enough for her. I have noticed that mine is relatively better since switching to natural products, so I'm hopeful that over time I can convince my mom to really give them a shot and maybe see some results.

My hair is so happy these days. I did a henna gloss with some conditioner and my hair was crazy slick until I washed it last night. Could barely get it into a French braid it was so smooth! Still soft after last night's wash with Auburn Henna bar and the last of my lemon juice that I had in the bathroom. But not quite as slick. I'm figuring out what Neoma is talking about when she rates different methods and products for their "bunability".

[amanda_the_tall]

Ok, I just got my samples, and just hopped out of the shower. I shampoo-ed my hair two times with SLS as I used a coney leave in yesterday and super soaked my scalp in coconut oil last night. Then I did two run throughs of the poo-bar and finished with a lemon juice rinse. I used about 1/8-ish a cup of lemon juice to 2 cups of water, then added more water as I rinsed.
Results:
Soapnut shampoo bar: WOW. The foam was so fluffy and felt moisturizing and I loved that it didn't have much a scent. My hair actually felt silky when I had it on. When I rinsed with lemon juice it felt like my hair still had coconut oil in it, so I did a second wash and rinse all over, then a third one on my length. Right now my hair is still wet, will update when it's dry. I'm going to try to avoid combing it when wet as I remember last time that didn't work so well.
Goatmilk honey oatmeal soap bar: This is where it gets interesting. It feels moisturizing putting it on (I used a loofah). When I rinsed everything felt DRY and super squeaky and just ugh. But I remembered I wanted to compare my Dove soap to it. I took the dove in one hand and the goatmilk honey oatmeal in the other and rotated them in my hands so they both distributed on my palms. Then set them down and rinsed. Dove felt way more moisturizing, and the other hand felt stripped. I was bummed. But as I toweled off I felt like my skin was normal, and felt it and it actually felt kinda moisturized once dried (more than when I use my usual Dove)! I rubbed my hands and, when dry, the Dove hand felt normal/dryish while the CV hand felt moisturized!! It's like there was a layer of butter/oils on my skin that felt weird in water, but feels normal when dry. I'm curious as to why it feels squeaky/dry when wet, but good when dry. Anyone else experienced this?

eta: While my skin feels more moisturized than when I use Dove, I can definitely tell I'm still gonna need a moisturizer, I'm curious as to if the other more moisturizing soaps will feel the same.

[amanda_the_tall]

Sorry to hog the thread:
I actually am able to detangle my hair while wet this time!!! It's less tangly than when I use regular shampoo actually! I'm wondering if it's from oiling my hair first, or if the bar has helped. I will find out soon. Still mostly damp.

[BarretoSupreme]

As long as my hair gets sufficiently lathered and clean, detangling is a BREEZE. Which is crazy for me because I've had mega tangly hair my whole life. I haven't tried not using an acidic rinse so for me the question is how much that rinse is helping with my tangles! For me at least, oiling does not play into ease of detangling. But as always, YMMV.

[amanda_the_tall]

Last time I think I used a more drying bar (something citrus I believe) so I'm guessing this one is more gentle.