soapsandscents

Bar vs. Liquid: The Environmental Impacts of Choosing Liquid Soaps

At the turn of the last century, the concept of liquid soap was still somewhat foreign. B.J. Johnson had only just invented his liquid soap, derived from palm and olive oils, two years before, in 1898. Over the next century, Johnson’s Palmolive and liquid soaps like it soared in popularity.

As another century dawns, however, the environmental impacts of the products we use every single day must be carefully considered. Read on to find out just how much your liquid soap is costing you and the planet—you just might find yourself in search of some environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA.

Not your grandma’s bar of soap

When you think of a bar of soap, you might have an unhealthy mental image in your head. You picture the old-fashioned generic bars. They left you only with dry skin before they withered down to a useless, paper-thin sliver.

That’s not what bars of soap are today. Today’s bars are forged in fun shapes and filled with high-quality soap plus healing herbs and plants specially designed to soothe your skin. In other words, if you have reservations about bar soaps’ ability to clean your skin as well as liquid, you shouldn’t—today’s bar soaps are exquisite slices of luxury that liquid soap cannot touch.

About that carbon footprint

Though the two may be comparable in terms of ease of use, liquid soaps can’t touch environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA. One Swiss study determined that the carbon footprint of liquid soap far outweighs that of bar soap.
For starters, liquid soap takes more than five times more energy to produce than traditional bar soap. Once it’s created, liquid soap is often wrapped in several layers of plastic that simply can’t be found in the packaging of bar soap, which is most often wrapped in cardboard or paper. The result is that liquid soap takes more than 20 times more energy to package.
For those doing the math, that means liquid soaps have a production cost of approximately 25 times more than that of bar soaps.

Rapid reuse

Another drawback to liquid soap is the speed with which it’s used. Whether you realize it or not, most people use liquid soap much more rapidly than bar soap. More volume per use means that you’re running through plastic bottles (and costly liquid soap) much more frequently than bars of soap.

When you switch to traditional soap, you’ll find that you’re not only reducing the refuse you put into the environment, but you’re also saving some money.

Come to Soaps & Scents

Californians on the hunt for top-of-the-line environmentally-friendly bar soaps in El Cajon, CA need look no further than Soaps and Scents. Our handmade small-batch bar soap is not only good for the environment, but it’s also the pinnacle of luxurious self-indulgence. It’s possible to save the planet and indulge yourself in the process.

Stop by Soaps & Scents to discover the wonders of living a healthier, happier and greener lifestyle. We can’t wait to see you!

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soapsandscents

How Toilet Spray Can Hide the Smell of the Holidays

As the holidays approach, we’re likely to be at more social gatherings. From work parties to family traditions, autumn and winter holidays involve a lot of togetherness and a lot of food… which can mean a lot of trips to the bathroom. As people host gatherings and get-togethers, guests may be shy about asking for directions to your carefully prepared guest bathroom. After all, no one wants to be the person to make the bathroom stink—or be blamed for someone else’s intestinal woes.

A holiday bathroom spray allows anyone to feel comfortable tending to their personal business amidst a gathering, with the confidence their “number two” doesn’t become topic number one. At Soaps & Scents, our Loo de Toilette is the answer to preventing foul smells from ever reaching your nose. Made in small batches with a high concentration of essential oils, a couple of sprays into the toilet bowl will help trap odors before they can escape. It’s a holiday hosting must-have, and you can pick up your own bottle at our store in El Cajon, CA today.

What’s the science behind the smell?

Everyone uses the bathroom, but when it smells bad, it can be embarrassing. Usually, foul odors are caused by something you ate, and depend on which stool bacteria is present. Depending on the bacteria, different odors are produced.
However, there are some other causes:

Alcohol: Alcohol, a mainstay of holiday social gatherings in many places, can affect your stomach lining and gut bacteria to produce unusual smells. It also contains a significant amount of sulfates, which produce sulfide gas.

Prescriptions and supplements: Certain medications and supplements can wreak havoc on your gut. Prescriptions can cause malabsorption of nutrients, which produces nasty smells, and some supplements like glucosamine, chondroitin and garlic can produce sulfide gases.

Lactose intolerance: If you’re lactose intolerant, you know what’s coming if you indulge in that hunk of Brie—your body is unable to digest the lactose properly, resulting in stinky, loose stool.

Foods with sulfur: Cruciferous vegetables, eggs and dairy, meat and other foods high in sulfur will produce sulfide gas in the gut. You don’t have to avoid them completely, and shouldn’t—sulfur is a necessary part of the diet.

High-fat diets: If you’re eating a high-fat diet, your body may not be able to break it down appropriately, which results in high-fat (smelly) excrement.
Bowel or intestinal disease: Certain disorders—like Crohn’s, IBS and celiac disease—can interfere with your bowels’ productivity, and the effects can be foul.

No matter the cause of your smelly byproducts, a bottle of Loo de Toilette ensures you and your guests will never be embarrassed.

Visit us for your holiday bathroom sprays

At Soaps & Scents, we make all our products by hand and in small batches. You can feel confident that the handmade soaps and bath products you purchase from us will always be made of the highest-quality natural ingredients. Stop by our El Cajon shop to pick up your own Loo de Toilette today!

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