The Soap Experiment, Day 1

Let me start by giving you a bit of my physical background...  I have some Italian blood in me.  I'm not 100% Italian, but enough so to give me the super, thick, and wavy Italian hair... 

but not enough to give me the gorgeous olive-complected Italian skin.  So, lucky-me, I have the super-fair, and pale Irish skin (I'm guessing that's where that came from).  So... because I have super dark, thick hair  and it grows incredibly fast, I shave every single day.  Twice a day is a must if it's summer time (for me)  :)  So, my legs tend to get drier than any other part of my body for that reason.  If a soap has a tendency to dry skin out, I notice it first on my legs, since they're constantly shaved!

So, this morning in my super-short 3 minute shower I take (while my 18 mo. old empties my bathroom cabinets and unravels the toilet paper roll all over the floor), I gave each side of my body a quick wash with two different soaps.  On my left side, I used my lavender/shea/oatmeal soap - super-fatted for extra pampering, with shea butter.  And on my right, I used an unscented Ivory bar.  I have literally not seen, opened, or even touched a regular bar of soap in so long I couldn't even remember what they looked like.  I have to say... I was utterly disgusted just at the sight of this bar.  Now, granted, I'm not sure how long the bar has been sitting in my cabinet, but it was brittle, dry, and just felt so... different in my hands as I tried to work up a lather.  

A common misconception about all-natural handcrafted soaps is that they do not lather appropriately.  To clarify... it really all depends on the properties of the oils that were used in created the handmade bar of soap.  Some oils/butters create loads of lathery bubbles... other's may give the bar a creamy feel, but not lather quite as well.  Coconut and castor oils are pretty common plant-based oils that give a bar a nice fluffy, thick lather.  I have to say, I was quite disappointed in the lathering ability of the Ivory bar.  I think I've been spoiled for quite some time!

So... on to the results for the day.  Immediately after towel drying I could tell a difference from one side of my body to the other.  I am not going to be using moisturizer on either side the entire week so I can adequately feel the differences.  My right side (the Ivory bar) was very tight and itchy - and that sensation was amplified when I put on my 'stay-at-home-mom' pants (aka - swooshy pants).  As I sit here typing this, my upper leg and knee on that side is itching like mad.... scratching it will only make it worse, so I'm trying to forget about it!  My left side on the other hand, feels completely fine - no dryness, itching.... it feels comfortable.

I have been painfully trying all day to upload pictures of my right and left legs... to no avail.  I will try again tomorrow... with 'day two' pictures.

Thanks for reading and following my fun little experiment!  More posts as the week progresses.