[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] Until I made my own soaps (or rather, had them manufactured), I was wary of facial soaps. But when I think back, I was always intrigued by them – I think Clinique 3 Step had one but now I see that they offer liquid soap instead. Actually, when I was testing my own, I felt quite daring in the early stages using it on my face. I notice that The Body Shop call their soaps ‘slabs’ – I called mine a ‘cleansing cloud’ because there are too many negative connotations with soap for facial use but the right formulation in a saponified formula is perfectly okay. In fact, I have so many soap fact which I’ll spare you (except for one of my favourites which is that soap molecules are somewhat whale shaped – the top mixes nicely with water while the tail mixes well with grease and grime which is how it manages to surround the dirt and then wash it away) but there is so much to know!

Soaps are definitely on the up – call them cleansing bars, clouds, slabs or whatever you like but they’re good value for money and less wasteful in production. I see that now The Body Shop is targeting skin issues with their slabs other than just cleansing the skin. I’m eyeing the Tea Tree somewhat for teen skin both on face and body – someone who is reluctant to ‘cleanse’ as such might be more keen on a soap. I’m thinking of my nephews here – it seems like a great sports bag accessory.

The one I’ve tested is the Shea Smooth & Scrub (Community Fair Trade shea butter, obviously) and ground walnut shells. I think I’d prefer it without the ground shells which are so tiny I don’t think they’re doing anything and there are better, and kinder to skin, exfoliators than walnut shell. These are extremely fine so I’m not thinking of them as damaging – just a bit gritty! But in terms of how it feels on the skin, it’s perfectly pleasant, cleans nicely, smells creamy and earthy and didn’t leave either my face or body dry or taut. I don’t know what else you could want from a face and body ‘slab’ :-). I notice a review on TBS site that says ‘Wears down quickly and splits when drying. Small particles make shower floor lethal’ so I suggest a soap dish and not leaving any soap in a wet (i.e. under a running shower when you’re not using it) environment as it is moisture change that can cause cracks. At £7, I think it’s very reasonable – you can find the Cleansing Face & Body Slabs HERE – Shea, Tea Tree and Hemp variants are brand new.

Non affiliate HERE.