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AIBU?

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Original poster

DH and I disagree about Soap 😳

630 replies

anotherdaytosmile · 13/06/2026 12:27

DH has put a fresh bar of soap out today, his trusty Imperial Leather. He thinks it’s a classy soap based on his childhood perspective in the late 1970s. I think it’s one step up from carbolic. I want Jo Malone soap 😢

AIBU - imperial leather is pure luxury
AINBU - what next, waxy toilet paper?

OP posts:
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14
cookbookjunkie · 13/06/2026 13:39

Does he really think it's classy though? Surely the price will tell him it's not? Perhaps he just likes it regardless, and that's perfectly okay. Let him have it. You buy the good stuff for yourself and be happy that it will last twice as long with only you using it.

DH and I are utterly devoted to our Dove bars. I have no idea where it sits in the soap (technically not a soap, but anyway) hierarchy and I don't care. I don't mind what soap people choose, I am just happy to see a proper bar of stuff deployed instead of the useless, expensive, ineffective and much worse for the environment shite that is a shower gel/mousse/foam.

CloudPop · 13/06/2026 13:38

ColdAsAWitches · 13/06/2026 12:31

You buy yours and let him use his. Ffs.

Exactly. How is this even a debate.

PickAChew · 13/06/2026 13:38

Ineedanewsofa · 13/06/2026 12:47

What’s with all the hate for bar soap?! It’s much better for the environment than handwash in plastic bottles and it lasts longer. We are a Pears household, DF loved a bit of IL though…

Better for sensitive skin, too. Hand wash destroys my hands.

Imperial leather smells lovely but we're a Waitrose essentials family.

FatRosie · 13/06/2026 13:38

@Shedmistress ,there have been countless threads asking for sulphate free shampoo but people use sulphates on their skin.

@25mini7 ,Pearl. Products that aren't what they used to be — MoneySavingExpert Forum

ChocolateCinderToffee · 13/06/2026 13:38

One of my grandmas used it. DO NOT DISS THE LEATHER.

Walker1178 · 13/06/2026 13:38

I thought soap was a man thing? DP insists on IL to wash with, I buy a multipack to keep him happy. There was mutiny when I picked up an alternative brand and it was even worse when he ran out of bar soap altogether and had to use my Treacle Moon shower gel. He complained all day that he smelt like a girl!

2msoundsright · 13/06/2026 13:37

I love nice soap, btw. I am desperate for this set https://www.ortigiasicilia.com/en/bath-shower/soaps/green-assorted-box-9-glycerine-soaps and drop hints every Christmas but as yet no luck- I suspect people think soap is too boring, but for me it's anything but.

Green Assorted Box - 9 Glycerine Soaps

https://www.ortigiasicilia.com/en/bath-shower/soaps/green-assorted-box-9-glycerine-soaps

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 13/06/2026 13:37

cussons pearl pink came in an iridescent box

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/168117301195?chn=ps&_ul=GB&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item

FlipthelidSid · 13/06/2026 13:37

My parents have Imperial Leather and I have to admit to liking the smell after I’ve washed my hands there. It takes me straight back to my childhood!

Foundress · 13/06/2026 13:37

Thanks for that @Futurehappiness I am going have a look at that I love the smell of Eau De Cologne.

diddl · 13/06/2026 13:37

We have been known to share soap.

All four of us.

We've always put lather on our hands & washed ourselves.

Are we doing it wrong?

Stompythedinosaur · 13/06/2026 13:36

I think Imperial Leather is fine. Not worth spending a lot on expensive soap imo.

TeaAndStrumpets · 13/06/2026 13:36

Anything smells better than Swarfega.

I only have liquid soap out for visitors or in the kitchen to for DH to wash his hands. Left to himself he would use neat washing up liquid. I like Ecover lavender scent, because you can buy 5litre containers to refill the dispensers. In bathroom and shower room I like Dr Bronner bar soap because the label amuses me and it's quite smooth.

I can still remember the TV soap adverts from my childhood. "Cadum for Madam" anyone?

2msoundsright · 13/06/2026 13:36

Every day is a school day on MN- I never imagined that people existed who thought soap was unhygienic. Soap!

Maybe they should keep a second bar of soap for washing the first bar of soap. And a third bar for washing the second bar, natch.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 13/06/2026 13:35

25mini7 · 13/06/2026 13:19

What was the soap in an irredesent box called? I loved that stuff in the 80's

Cussons Pearl?

Andsoitbeganagain · 13/06/2026 13:34

Child of the 70s here so I'm team DH. Unless you can lay your hands on the pink pearl soap. Can't remember what it smelt like but remember the shiny pink box felt awfully fancy.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 13/06/2026 13:34

dementedpixie · 13/06/2026 12:30

Have a soap each. Dh has his coal tar stuff and I use whichever one I like

@dementedpixie is tight, @anotherdaytosmile - you each get your own soap.

I have a fondness for Imperial Leather soap because my late dad used it, so it reminds me of him.

Shedmistress · 13/06/2026 13:33

TheFarriersDaughter · 13/06/2026 13:32

Shower gel is bad for the planet and usually really awful for your skin.

I’m sorry to think you’ve been so misled.

Show quote history

Stop finger wagging.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 13/06/2026 13:33

25mini7 · 13/06/2026 13:19

What was the soap in an irredesent box called? I loved that stuff in the 80's

Err? Don’t know but can recall it?

FatRosie · 13/06/2026 13:33

My pp compared a pure unfragranced soap with a fancy handwash, but the unfragranced shower gel from the same brand as the soap has the following ingredients:
INGREDIENTS: Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycerin, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Tetrasodium EDTA, Dipropylene Glycol, Panthenol, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Cucumis Sativus Juice

How much are you paying for the plastic bottle and water content?

The brand doesn't do handwash.

TheFarriersDaughter · 13/06/2026 13:32

likeafishneedsabike · 13/06/2026 13:17

I assumed that everybody had left their soap bars in the 80s and now used shower gel. And yet everyone here is behaving as if bars of soap are normal, not retro. Mind blown.

Edited
Show quote history

Shower gel is bad for the planet and usually really awful for your skin.

I’m sorry to think you’ve been so misled.

Sunnyyetnotsunny · 13/06/2026 13:32

You need to up your game. We have 4 different bar soaps + few shower gels.

No arguments at all

BitOutOfPractice · 13/06/2026 13:31

I absolutely LOVE coal tar soap. Love it!

likeafishneedsabike · 13/06/2026 13:31

FatRosie · 13/06/2026 13:27

Shower gel is detergent, as is hand wash. Soap is soap. Look at the ingredients.

Soap: Ingredients

Sodium Palmate, Aqua, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Palm Kernel Acid, Tetrasodium Etidronate

Handwash: Ingredients
Vegan formula. Find out more.
Water / Aqua / Eau, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Propylene Glycol, Laureth-7 Citrate, Glycerin, Coco-Glucoside, Fragrance / Parfum, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil, Polyquaternium-7, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate, Limonene, Linalool, Hexyl Cinnamal, Amyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Eugenol, Tocopherol, Sodium Phytate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Peg-18 Glyceryl Oleate/Cocoate, Sodium Chloride, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides Citrate, Alcohol Denat., Yellow 5 / C.I. 19140

Show quote history

Off to buy soap then 😊

Tonissister · 13/06/2026 13:31

It's boy soap. You buy Jo Malone and he can have Imperial Leather. IMO bar soap is worth spending £££ on, as it lasts for ages.