Bar soaps are back with a bang, and there’s more choice than ever. Whether you want Irish handmade or French fancy here are the top ten bar soaps to reach for …
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We’re going back to basics. Bar soaps are back with a bang, and there’s more choice than ever, whether you want Irish handmade or French fancy. Some people never left it – while many of us embraced Aesop’s stylish bottles of liquid hand soaps and even The Handmade Soap Company went into liquid versions (Anam, in dark refillable glass), many stayed with softly scented, pretty bathroom bars of soap, preferring the look and feel (especially men, it seems). We especially love homegrown, handmade Irish soaps – and you can find artisan makers everywhere from Sligo to Co Clare.
We had a query recently asking about soaps that seem to disintegrate too quickly. It’s true that more natural soap formulas can break down more quickly, due to the natural oils, especially coconut, that can melt in warm environments, and the lack of palm oil (a good thing) also resulting in more softness. Our advice? Keep your bar soap in a dry place, not sitting in a pool of water or under the shower, to keep it lasting longer.
Here are ten of the best bars in town:
1. Kylemore Abbey soaps are made by the Benedictine Nuns of Kylemore, from €5.95.
2. Palm-Free Irish Soaps, from €4.95. Try Organic Oat Keem & Aloe, Rosewater or Lemon. All zero-waste.
3. We love these The Garden of Ireland soaps made in Wicklow. From €8. Try Lavender Shea Butter, or Heather & Moss Shea Butter.
4. Avoca stocks Irish soaps by Green Angel, Field Day, Max Benjamin and others. Its own range includes this Sea Salt & Lemon Bar, €4.95, plus tea rose, lemon verbena and lavender options.
5. Dalkey Handmade Soaps are stocked in Hark, Dalkey. From €6. Guest box of five soaps, €16. Try Lemongrass & Citrus. They do shaving soaps and shampoo bars too.
6. Janni Bars are all natural, palm-free and made in Ireland; they won gold at the Free From awards this year. We love the gently exfoliating Turmeric soap, €6.90.
7. Voya’s seaweed soap with spearmint and rosemary brings the sea into your bathroom and has many devoted fans. €18.
8. Clarke’s Irish Soaps, €8.50. We love Suzanne Clarke’s good-looking chamomile and geranium soap, but there’s a full collection and lots of nice gift sets, shaving soaps and bath salts too.
9. Foxford Handmade Soap, €9.99, made by Clarke’s of Dublin, comes in beautiful natural scents from rosemary to sage. We recommend their rose geranium bath soak, too.
10. Soap & More. Check out this beautiful pink Damask Rose Soap, €8, made by Syrian soap-maker Reham Ghafarji in Clonakilty, West Cork. We love the Ukraine flag soap too (€6), with 100 per cent of profits going to the Irish Red Cross to support Ukraine.
