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Scarcity of Soap

(116 Posts)
Lyndiloo Sat 04-May-19 01:23:16

Has anyone else noticed the diminishing options of bars of soap?

We used to have so many to choose from. Camay, Lux, Shield, Lifebouy, Knight's Castile, Palmolive, Wrights, Pears, etc.

When I look in supermarkets now, all there seems to be is Dove, Imperial Leather and Simple.

And my favourite, Yardley's Lavender, can only be got on the Internet. And even that doesn't smell the same!

Is it because everyone is now going for squirty 'Handwashes', instead of the traditional tablet of soap?

vissos Sat 04-May-19 01:41:04

Bars of soap are making a comeback (plastic) so you might find more choice eventually.

MawBroonsback Sat 04-May-19 03:37:08

On the contrary - soap seems to be making a comeback after nearly disappearing to hand wash/shower gel etc over the past few years!
If you want to try some of the hand milled or more unusual scents try shops like l’Occitane. And of course there is always Lush.

dizzyblonde Sat 04-May-19 04:46:11

I buy mine from Amazon or various small internet companies, never use shower gel now. I've got some lovely smelling ones.
I find my skin is better after changing to bar soap and there is a real movement towards using proper soap. Have a look on Mumsnet in the Style and Beauty section, there are loads of threads giving recommendations.

crystaltipps Sat 04-May-19 05:52:26

Go to TKMaxx - lots of lovely French and Italian and organic soaps. I keep my spare ones in my clothes drawers as they’ve such a lovely fragrance. Or try farmers markets.

Alima Sat 04-May-19 06:40:41

Three or four years ago I noticed that our preferred bar of soap was becoming rather difficult to find. I stocked up with loads of bars when I tracked it down in Wilko (other shops are available, just). Still have a pile at the back of the wardrobe. Now the shops seem to be selling soap bars again. Something about getting away from too much plastic, the bottles used for liquid soap. Not exactly rocket science is it? If only they had asked me........

annep1 Sat 04-May-19 07:10:10

I was about to point you to TKMaxx but crystaltipps beat me to it. Nice gift boxes too.

Ginny42 Sat 04-May-19 07:10:52

Soap is making a comeback, although I noticed that L'Occitane do refill bags of liquid soaps, maybe others will follow suit. The only problem with bars of soap is the messy soap dish, but that's a tiny inconvenience for contributing to saving the planet from choking on discarded plastic.

DoraMarr Sat 04-May-19 07:48:42

NT properties always sell nice soap, and some museums too. I always buy soap on the continent, it’s a nice souvenir to bring home. Marseilles soap is especially nice.

SueDonim Sat 04-May-19 11:43:02

There seems to be an ever-increasing array of soaps in the shops I go into! M&S do a selection of soaps that match their flower scented ranges such as magnolia, lily-of-the-valley and so on.

Waitrose do packs of three, the pink Grapefruit is particularly nice and they have bluebell and camomile, too.

Independent chemists often have Yardleys and Bronnley and I noticed Boots also had a wide range of Yardley's recently.

Home Bargains sells Pears, IL, Wrights Coal Tar and Dettol soaps, amongst others, and Sainsbury's has their own luxury range which is a bargain at £2 a bar.

Gonegirl Sat 04-May-19 13:48:08

The only soap I really like is Camay. I get it online. Never see it in shops anymore.

Yes. The Save the Planet ones are encouraging us to go back to soap instead of plastic bottled hand cleansers. Lush have launched a range of solid hand cleansers that needs no plastic but isn't soap. I find that a bit [confusing]

Gonegirl Sat 04-May-19 13:49:22

I find Waitrose soaps run out of lather power halfway through. Camay is the only one that doesn't.

MiniMoon Sat 04-May-19 13:59:34

DH works in the Co-op. He says they sell Camay soap. Do you have a local Co-op?

Gonegirl Sat 04-May-19 14:11:51

Yes. Never thought to look there. But I do have a shedfull good stock of it now. flowers

Lyndiloo Sat 04-May-19 14:21:27

Well, it's heartening to hear you all say that real soap is returning to the shelves. Perhaps it will reach the Midlands soon!

One thing that made me smile recently - Aldi are selling a bar of soap just called, "SOAP". No frills there, then! smile

seventhfloorregular Sat 04-May-19 16:06:47

The storage is because all the soap is in my bathroom, every time DH goes shopping he buys a pack of four and seems to put a new one out and throws the old one away (there are only two of us on the house)

seventhfloorregular Sat 04-May-19 16:07:17

Should read shortage

whywhywhy Sat 04-May-19 16:13:28

I noticed that as well and I love proper bars of soap. I used to love a one called Breeze, such a lovely smell, alas I havent seen that in ages. Also can anyone remember a very lemony one - was it called Zest? I go to Savers and buy Pears or Wrights coal tar soap. mmmm lovely. Thank you for reminding me of some of the others.

Anja Sat 04-May-19 17:10:25

Won’t buy any of the brands you mention as they contain palm oil. There are some lovely ethical hand-made soaps around which are cost effective as they last forever.

tiredoldwoman Sat 04-May-19 17:26:51

I was given a present of Isle of Skye lemongrass soap this afternoon . It smells so good that I want to lick it . I used to lick soap when I was a wee girl apparently , did/does anyone else want to do that ?

JackyB Sat 04-May-19 17:30:15

My DS2 makes his own soap and gives it to people as Christmas presents. Funnily enough, last time I was on this thread there was an ad for a soap-making kit at the bottom.

I can't find any soap bars shampoo to buy here in Germany, not even online. I found one Swiss make but the postage would probably make it too expensive to buy.

TiggerAji Sat 04-May-19 17:39:18

crystaltipps what a great idea!

Callistemon Sat 04-May-19 18:03:23

Ditto what crystaltipps suggested - TK Maxx and keep the soap in your undies drawer.

GillT57 Sat 04-May-19 18:28:06

Funnily enough, we have just made the decision to do away with liquid soap, I do like it, it is easy to keep clean and all that, but the plastics issue made our decision. At the moment, have a lovely bar from Lush, but for lovely ones visit TKMaxx, unwrap them and put them in your clothes drawers if you are stocking up. Farmer's markets usually a good source of non palm oil ones too. Haven't yet changed the shower gel though as I hate wrestling with a bar of soap in the shower, so may investigate the L'Occitane refillables as I love their products.

ElaineI Sat 04-May-19 18:32:33

Liquid soap is less likely to harbour bacteria. We are recommended to use it on district for infection control as some bars of soap are very dirty and slimy.