Dr. Bronner's Organic Castile Soap

The first thing you notice when you pick up a bottle of Dr. Bronner's Organic Castile Soap is that label. Teeny tiny print and a message of peace and hope tells you that there is something different about the company that has made this soap for over 50 years. Emanuel Bronner's family perished in the Holocaust, and this helped shape his world view. Dr. Bronner was also a firm believer in ecology and organic products before the rest of the world caught on to the necessity of this way of thinking. His liquid soaps are a testimony to all of his beliefs.

This product has certainly been able to withstand the tests of time. All natural, and once thought of as a "Hippie" soap, it is now well known as an amazingly multi-purpose household staple. One of the few true castile soaps, the almond, peppermint, eucalyptus, baby mild, tea tree and lavender varieties can be used for not only skin cleansing, but for shampoo, toothpaste/mouthwash, shaving gel, dog shampoo, laundry, washing the car, washing dishes, or cleaning any household surface imaginable, including toilets. An added bonus is that when you clean your floors or walls with this soap, they smell like whatever fragrance you used for hours afterward. Diluted in a spray bottle of water, it makes a great air freshener, too! Outdoors, spray the diluted liquid soap on your family to keep insects at bay.

I have not yet tried every variety of Dr. Bronner's, but the ones I have bought are amazing. Truly a mild soap, the peppermint variety is my favorite, and is very refreshing, especially for your morning shower. It makes you tingle all over and wakes you up as it cleans. It rinses off the skin quickly and easily. You really feel clean after using this soap! The almond is a delicious scent, the lavender is quite soothing, and the tea tree oil is very good for facial cleansing and cleaning minor cuts and scrapes, as the tea tree oil acts as an antibiotic. This is another one of the few soaps that my mother, a chemotherapy patient, can tolerate on her super-sensitive skin. She enjoys the lavender, and claims that a shower using this variety before bed actually helps her to sleep better.

Dr. Bronner's Organic Castile Soap come in several sizes, from an 8 ounce bottle all the way up to a one gallon size, which lasts forever. The packaging is rather plain, but again, that label is decoration enough. The price is quite reasonable when you consider that it takes very little of this soap- really, just a few drops - to make mounds of later. It contains no detergents or foaming agents, is totally natural, and a favorite at my house.