Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps All-One Hemp Almond Pure Castile Soap. $3.29 at Sprout’s. Available online at drbronners.com.
Many a child and grandchild of the Sixties know the Dr. Bronner’s brand.
This California company’s “All One” Liquid Magic Soap was one of the country’s first mass-marketed organic body products. It also comes with a compelling family history as the late company founder, Emanuel Bronner, was a Holocaust survivor who brought Old World soap-making techniques to America.
He started making soap at home, finding success with just one variety of “All One” Castile Liquid Soap – so named because at one time all vegetable-based soaps in Europe were with Spanish olive oil.
Read more Cannabist Hemp Gear: pet products, body butters, soaps and lotions.
Today the still-family-run company boasts an array of Certified Organic and Certified Fair Trade products, most featuring some degree of hemp. The catalogue includes classic bar soaps (reviewed here), body lotion, body balms, lip balms and hand sanitizer.
Those who know good bar soap – all-natural, cold-pressed and often triple-milled — will recognize the Dr. Bronner’s bar as quality just as soon as they unfurl its recycled-paper wrapper. Heavy and solid, vegetable-based soaps like this stand up to moisture better than those with lye or petroleum-based ingredients. So this is a soap that will last as opposed to disintegrating on the shower shelf.
It’s not rare to find a good soap, especially at better bath and body stores. But it is rare to find such a very good bar soap as Dr. Bronner’s at a fraction of what the mall brands cost.
Scent, of course, is a matter of personal preference. But to my way of thinking, the benefit of many cosmetics with natural ingredients is that fragrance tends to be more subtle and less heady and purfumey than body products with chemical preservatives. This bar boasts an airy, relaxing aroma that underscores the restorative properties of a warm bath or hot shower. Whether you go for the Almond bar soap or other options like Citrus Orange, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Peppermint, Rose and Tea Tree, this is a pampering, good-conscience product that’s sure to foster new generations of Dr. Bronner’s fans.
