Castile Heaven

A true multi purpose, full service product is hard to come by. Sometimes it will be fantastic at one thing, but really lack in all other 'suggested' uses. Well, I've found one that holds up across the board! Have you tried Dr.Bronner's Magic Soap?

photo courtesy of Dr.Bronner's Website

Dr.Bronner's Castile soap is touted as an 18 in 1 solution, and I'll admit, I don't know all 18 uses. But, what I do know is that it smells FABULOUS!!! I have the peppermint scent, however I've heard [and yet to see myself] that it comes in many scents, including lavender - I'd love to get my hands on a bottle of the lavender scent! Not only is this a fair trade product [for more about fair trade, look here] but it actually cleans every surface better than most cleaning products out there, while being gentle enough to be used as a body or laundry detergent! [I have an he machine, so I have not used this to wash laundry, but others have tried it and loved the results]

Here is a list of the suggested uses straight from Dr.Bronner's site:

"How should I use the liquid soap?

For everyday body-washing: Get wet and pour several drops of soap full-strength onto hands-washcloth-loofah. Lather up, scrub down, rinse off, and tingle fresh and clean.

For other uses: Dilute from one part soap into 40 parts water for light cleaning, to cutting it in half or using it full strength for heavy-duty grease-cutting jobs.

For laundry: Use 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup for one regular load; adjust as needed depending on the hardness of your water. Adding a dash of baking soda makes it even better.

My liquid soap turned cloudy. What happened, and what should I do to clear it up again?
Our liquid soaps are so concentrated that they are nearly solid. Thus, when the temperature drops to about 50° F, the fatty acids begin to solidify and cloud out. Just put the soap in a warm room, or warm water, and it will clear up at about 70° F. But clear or cloudy, the soap works just the same."

"What are the uses and dilutions for your soap?

Although the label claims eighteen uses, we do not have the space to write all these uses on the label and still accommodate for my grandfather’s philosophy, as well as the new labeling laws that are periodically implemented. In reality, there are far more than eighteen uses, as people constantly write in to tell us about yet another utility of the soap. We won’t detail them all, but below are some of the major uses and dilutions.

For everyday body-washing: Get wet and pour soap full-strength onto hands-washcloth-loofah. Lather up, scrub down, rinse off, and tingle fresh and clean.

For other uses, dilute from one part soap into 40 parts water for light cleaning, to cutting it in half or using it full strength for heavy-duty grease-cutting jobs.

For shampoo, people have been telling us for years that they like using our soaps to shampoo their hair. Now, paired with our new Citrus Conditioning Rinse and Organic Leave-In Conditioning Crème, it works better than ever. For details, click here.

For the laundry, use 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup for one regular load; adjust as needed depending on hardness of water. I've been told that adding a dash of baking soda makes it even better.
For pets, lather up well and apply to their body. Be careful to keep the soap and the lather away from their eyes. I find a mixture of peppermint and eucalyptus works best.

For tooth brushing, apply a drop or two of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap (I prefer the peppermint) to a wet toothbrush. Brush as you normally would, rinsing accordingly. Be careful about using more than a couple drops of soap, as you might start foaming at the mouth (last time I checked "rabid chic" was not hip). Many people with sensitive or softer teeth like to use our soap as toothpaste because it lacks abrasives."

Get yourself a bottle [I got my 32oz bottle at Trader Joe's for $5.99 back in July, which is a smokin' deal considering on the Dr.Bronner's site the same bottle is $16.99] and let me know what you think!