Savon de France Oatmeal Exfoliant Ginger Almond Bar Soap

Hopefully there comes a time in your life when you start to really think about the things you put on and inside your body. Ideally you should take notice of, or understand (or at least be able to pronounce) the kinds of chemicals you put on your skin. For us, standing in the aisle of our local bodega, reading the dizzying list of ingredients in a bar of traditional soap was enough to make us realize it was time for a change.

Thankfully, the change was easy – and surprisingly inexpensive! Case in point, this bar of Ginger Almond Oatmeal Exfoliant. It’s massive (it weighs over a half a pound!), has a short list of ingredients that are easy to understand, it’s $2.99, and – as a bonus – it’s cruelty free and not tested on animals.

So how does it rate? First off, the size of the bar is arguably a bit unwieldy. It’s a bit tough to shower with in the beginning, but on the plus side, it lasts for weeks. The ginger almond fragrance is faint, but pleasant – it’s certainly not too perfumey or feminine, and it doesn’t linger.

As for the soap’s performance, we found that it lathers up well and washes away clean without leaving a residue. Texture-wise, the soap is slightly rough, due to some unidentified flakes embedded within (we’re assuming oatmeal, hence the name “Oatmeal Exfoliant”). Worth noting, the flakes were coarse enough to give the soap a little grit, and irregular enough make you realize they’re natural – but not so plentiful that they end up stuck on your skin or towel.

All told, despite the bulky size, we’re a fan of this bar soap.