Page 3 | DH and I disagree about Soap 😳

BooneyBeautiful · 14/06/2026 21:32

UhOhRatPoo · 13/06/2026 12:35

Your husband should know that the properly classy 1970s soap was Camay, not Imperial Leather. I used to love those ads with the ladies all covered in foam!

When I was growing up, DF used Imperial Leather and DM and myself used Camay. Nowadays I have both Shield for in the shower, and Wright's Coal Tar by the basin, or sometimes a lovely vegan soap if somebody treats me. Not sure why I actually have both lol.

PickAChew · 14/06/2026 21:30

Tappings · 14/06/2026 20:19

No it isn't. It's now vegan and made with palm oil.

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It's changed since we bought it last, a couple of years back, then.

Edit: recent reviews are not good!

HighHeelsRedLips · 14/06/2026 21:25

Sunnyyetnotsunny · 14/06/2026 12:31

Yeah. It was for nice smell. We had them in every sock drawer etc. Like ever lasting airfreshener and when they stopped smelling they went by the sink for the original purpose.

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This is fab! I’m going to treat my wardrobe and drawers to some nice soap. Thanks! ☺️

PhotoFirePoet · 14/06/2026 21:10

gamerchick · 13/06/2026 12:31

Why can't you have both?

Husband loves IL but we won't buy it as the cat goes mad licking the bath after his shower. Doesn't happen with any other soap.

It’s not a ginger cat by any chance, is it?! 😂
*we have one, it’s bonkers

Sennelier1 · 14/06/2026 21:05

We both have our own soap 🤷🏼‍♀️

diddl · 14/06/2026 20:59

If I use shower gel it almost always feels as if I haven't rinsed it off properly.

Campervanadventures · 14/06/2026 20:57

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?

Your DH put out a fresh bar of soap? Judging by most women’s experience on MN you’re winning. Don’t complain 😂

Chucklebunnie · 14/06/2026 20:54

Marycontrarygarden · 13/06/2026 12:35

Bar soap? That everyone uses? Ugh

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Don’t be ridiculous

Shinyandnew1 · 14/06/2026 20:48

It’s funny, we always used bar soap when I was a child, but then when I went to university/moved out, I always bought shower gel.

A few years ago, DH pointed out that bar soap was much better at getting you clean, and it sort of occurred to me that it was still for sale and hadn’t just stopped existing 😂.

We tried it again and it’s so much better at cleaning you, doesn’t all just disappear down the plug hole like shower gel, the smells lasts better, it lasts for much longer than a bottle of shower gel, so is much more cost effective and doesn’t come in a plastic bottle!

It’s a really growing industry with gorgeous smelling soaps available and people realising they are better for the environment (and gets you more clean!).

Tuesdayschild50 · 14/06/2026 20:33

I wouldn't use a bar of soap haven't in years .. id prefer it out of a dispenser.
Imperial leather takes me back to being little staying in my nan & grandads nice memories. Think late 70's / 80's .

FatRosie · 14/06/2026 20:28

@PickAChew ,Simple Soap ingredients:
Ingredients
Sodium Palmate, Aqua, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Glycerin, Palm Kernel Acid, Tetrasodium Etidronate

The packaging says 'vegan friendly'.

Zerosleep · 14/06/2026 20:26

@MyballsareSandy2015 do you like sniffing the smell of the imperial leather while you are down there then?

SemiRetiredLoveGoddeess · 14/06/2026 20:24

Stop wasting your time on Jo Malone. Her colognes and perfumes fell off the wagon, quality wise over twenty years ago. Don't know what her soap is like though.

As for the husband. Good old Knights Castile soap used to do a really good job for serious man washing and overall masculine cleanliness.

MeSeM · 14/06/2026 20:19

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?

Greetings & God Bless You Original Commenter 💚
My Children's grandad loves imperial leather soap but being completely honest i don't like shared bars of soap in general because they breed germs - Much prefer the pump antibacterial liquid soaps in a bottle
💚🙏💚

Tappings · 14/06/2026 20:19

PickAChew · 14/06/2026 20:07

Simple soap is still made with tallow.
Simple Pure Soap ingredients (Explained) https://share.google/j9BO7p6mtHhVlBCAj

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No it isn't. It's now vegan and made with palm oil.

Persephonia1966 · 14/06/2026 20:08

bosqueverde · 14/06/2026 18:56

Soap is made by mixing a fat together with an alkali

Most of the time today, the fat is palm oil, and the alkali sodium hydroxide (lye). Read the contents: "sodium palmate" -> palm oil, "sodium laureth" -> coco, "sodium olivate" -> olive. If it's a liquid soap, there's water first (sorry, aqua, looks so much better on the label).

In the 70's some soap was still made from animal fats and suchlike, so it made some sense to advertise soaps of vegetable oil as upmarket. But in 2026 few people wash with a boiled mix of beef tallow and potash, so you might like to know what oil your soap is made from.

I switched to olive oil soap (Aleppo, Castilia, Marseilles...) because I don't like what I hear about palm oil plantations. Olive oil soaps are also supposed to contain more glycerin which is a good moisturiser.

Imperial leather is sodium palmate (so palm oil) and glycerin is taken out in the industrial process, to sell in other moisturisers.

more science there: https://redandhoney.com/the-science-of-soap-why-all-bars-are-not-created-equal

Agree!
It's really hard to replace palm oil in soap without replacing it with tallow. It's possible, but difficult. The science of how different oils combine and behave is really interesting and you can get quite deep into chemistry with it. But olive oil and coconut oil can both be used to make single oil soaps so that's why olive oil/Aleppo/Castillo soap is generally a good bet. It's just more expensive because olive oil is expensive but it lasts longer if it's allowed to mature before use.

Edited to add: the soaps don't need to be 100% Palm olive or tallow. But soaps combining a combination of fats usually end up including a percentage of one or the other to make the final product work. There is nothing wrong with tallow, it's isn't gross once in soap form but obviously not ideal for vegetarians.

PickAChew · 14/06/2026 20:07

bosqueverde · 14/06/2026 18:56

Soap is made by mixing a fat together with an alkali

Most of the time today, the fat is palm oil, and the alkali sodium hydroxide (lye). Read the contents: "sodium palmate" -> palm oil, "sodium laureth" -> coco, "sodium olivate" -> olive. If it's a liquid soap, there's water first (sorry, aqua, looks so much better on the label).

In the 70's some soap was still made from animal fats and suchlike, so it made some sense to advertise soaps of vegetable oil as upmarket. But in 2026 few people wash with a boiled mix of beef tallow and potash, so you might like to know what oil your soap is made from.

I switched to olive oil soap (Aleppo, Castilia, Marseilles...) because I don't like what I hear about palm oil plantations. Olive oil soaps are also supposed to contain more glycerin which is a good moisturiser.

Imperial leather is sodium palmate (so palm oil) and glycerin is taken out in the industrial process, to sell in other moisturisers.

more science there: https://redandhoney.com/the-science-of-soap-why-all-bars-are-not-created-equal

Simple soap is still made with tallow.
Simple Pure Soap ingredients (Explained) https://share.google/j9BO7p6mtHhVlBCAj

Simple Pure Soap ingredients (Explained)

Simple Pure Soap ingredients explained: Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Cocoate, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Aqua, Sodium Chloride, Glycerin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Etidronic Acid

https://incidecoder.com/products/simple-pure-soap

LightningTree · 14/06/2026 20:00

I didn’t even know bar soap was still a thing, but just each have what you prefer.

superspideysense · 14/06/2026 19:57

Sorry OP. I know that doesn’t help

superspideysense · 14/06/2026 19:57

Don’t mind IL!! Can’t see the issue. I wouldn’t waste money on JM soap.

MrsJeanLuc · 14/06/2026 19:38

HoskinsChoice · 13/06/2026 12:44

You're both unreasonable. Who uses bars of soap in the 21st century!?! Makes me feel a bit nauseous. 🤢

What is wrong with you! 😃

I much prefer bar soap to liquid - it's quicker and easier to use. There's nothing nauseating about it. And it's MUCH cheaper.

@anotherdaytosmile I had to look up Jo Malone soap ... did you win the pools? 😲
Nothing wrong with Imperial Leather imo

Bikergran · 14/06/2026 19:35

Just buy your own. One bar each. Sorted.

InboxOverload · 14/06/2026 19:32

Is it classy to be snobby about soap brands? Just use the soap you each like.

OhThePotential · 14/06/2026 19:26

Tappings · 14/06/2026 19:15

I might buy some for the in-laws, they have it terribly bad. Their personal hygiene isn't the best either, though I know the old person smell isn't about hygiene.

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Its supposed to be very good for any body odour so it might be a nice change from my usual Dettol soap whether I have nonenal odour or not. If it works I think its good that its plainly marketed for that.

I don’t know why people get so offended at the general mention of it, its just one of those things, which I’d rather minimise if I have it now or in the future. My late mum developed it very strongly around menopause and she lived another 40 years.

intrepidpanda · 14/06/2026 19:19

He uses what he likes. You use what you like.
Do people even share soap? We don't in our house.