Lively Bamboo, Bamboo Charcoal Soap, Lavender and Rosemary

The Lively Bamboo, Bamboo Charcoal Soap is beautiful to look at. A lamp black soap enclosed in thin white butter paper and covered with a thin brown sheet with the soap's name printed in Leaf green. I wish I'd taken a picture of the soap before opening it but I'd been waiting to open it for so long it completely slipped out of my mind.

The soap has a pleasant fragrance unlike the previous lavender soap that I had reviewed (read: http://www.soapnosis.blogspot.in/2012/08/lavender-and-basil-soap-fabindia.html ). The natural heady scent of lavender has not been overdone and is perfectly complemented by the woody fragrance of the rosemary. The fragrance of the soap doesn't lose its intensity even after a whole three weeks. It smells just as amazing as the first time you open it.  Full points for getting the fragrance right.

The soap uses activated charcoal ( a form of carbon that has a lot of pores to increase its surface area so it can help in adsorption in this case, of dirt that lies trapped deep in the pores of the skin) as a "mild" exfoliant. An ingenious use of charcoal with a valid purpose-exfoliation and detoxification of the skin which allows the body's natural oils to moisturize the skin after washing. My experience however tells me that this fine-grain soap is too harsh on the skin and dries the skin out after every wash. You can be sure that  your body will be scrubbed squeaky clean of any dry skin cells or dirt on your body but a wash after this soap will also require you to invest heavily in greasy moisturizer after a bath which is funny because the soap claims that it can "relieve cracked and dry skin".So, even though scrub soaps ought to be perfect for the winters to help exfoliate the skin, I wouldn't recommend it for the winters ,at least not if the winters in your town are any like the one that hits Rajasthan. It might work well in the monsoons though when the weather is still humid so your skin's natural oils can compensate for the dryness of the skin. Lavender is after all, a monsoon fragrance to be enjoyed with a hot water bath.

All in all, this soap is not to be used everyday. It may be nice to use once or twice in a month when you think your skin can do with an exfoliant to remove out all the grime and dirt that lies hidden in the deep pores of your skin and soak in the wonderful fragrance of the heavenly mix of Lavender and Rosemary.

Name: Lively Bamboo Charcoal Soap Lavender

Maker: Auroville Bamboo Centre ( http://www.aurovillebamboocentre.org/commerce.html)

Price: Rs 119 at Flipkart.com