What type of soap do you use to shower?

I cannot remember when exactly I decided to stop using shower gel but as a better alternative, I have been using handmade bar soaps (manufactured by small businesses) for at least two years or more.

Why? I would like to absorb fewer man-made and toxic ingredients as much as possible. As I'm typing this, I wonder how much toxic chemicals have residued in my body over the years from detergents, shower gels, lotions, lip balms, shampoos, conditioners, dishwashing soaps, hand sanitizers, and others???

Commercial body wash contain a lot of synthetic ingredients such as:

• Sodium laureth sulfate - foaming agent
• Colorants (e.g. FD&C Red 4, FD&C Red 40, D&C Red 33) - can be derived from animals, petroleum, plants, or other synthetic sources
• Citric acid - can adjust the acidity or function as a fragrance ingredient or pH adjuster
• Sodium hydroxide - functions as a pH adjuster or denaturant
• Acrylate copolymer
• Cocamidopropyl betaine - functions as a synthetic surfactant (creates a lather when the bath gel is applied to the skin)
• DMDM hydantoin - formaldehyde (carcinogen) releaser preservative
• Fragrance - used to cover up the chemical smell of other ingredients; could be synthetic or derived from essential oils or plant extracts

The bar soaps below are locally handcrafted by Cammie's Handmade Soaps. They are available at Urban Harvest Farmers Market at Eastside and other locations. 

 

So far, I like Cammie's soaps compared to the last two vendors I've tried. I have only used Zen and Coffee Mocha. The other two I am yet to try. Zen smells really good. Coffee Mocha removes body odor and has a chocolate smell.