Dear Earth Bamboo Charcoal Exfoliating Organic Soap Review

Dear Earth Bamboo Charcoal Exfoliating Handmade Soap Review

Most soaps that work for us in summers turn quite drying in winters, because in winters our skin needs extra moisturization. Yet, we need more exfoliation in winters to remove dry dead skin cells and impurities that remain clogged in that dead layer of skin. But it requires a good product that can maintain a balance, than can exfoliate without causing dryness. This is where Unived's Dear Earth Bamboo Charcoal Exfoliating Soap fits in perfectly.

Unived claims that Dear Earth Bamboo Charcoal exfoliating soap is 100% natural, handmade and vegan. It is a fine blend of pure USDA organic certified ingredients and does not contain any hazardous chemicals. It is also free from animal cruelty.

For: All skin types

Price: INR 220

Weight: 140 gms/ 4.9oz. Unived offers 40 gms more quantity for the same price as compared to other leading handmade soap brands.

Shelf Life: 24 months from manufacturing

Availability: You can buy this soap from these links: amazon.in, flipkart.com, limeroad.com, snapdeal.com, Indiatimes Shopping, naturallyyours.in, nykaa.com, unived.in etc.

The soap inside is wrapped in a white non-sticky paper.

Unived offers 4 soaps under the brand name 'Dear Earth'. You can check their other 3 soaps here.

Dear Earth Bamboo Charcoal Exfoliating Soap Ingredients:

"Enjoy the caress of fine pounded bamboo charcoal and organic jojoba oils as they absorb body odor, unclog pores and rid you of dead skin. Its cocoa butter and grapefruit and patchouli extracts infuse your skin with smoothness and natural fragrance. Dear Earth Bamboo Charcoal soap brings you wholesome exfoliation therapy."

To know the magical properties of bamboo charcoal, simply Google 'bamboo charcoal skin benefits' and you will know. 

Lye is used in almost all hand made soaps and is obtained through a natural process. While it is highly basic (the opposite of acidic) and too much lye burns skin, the right amount provides many skin benefits too (read more here).

I was turned down when I saw EDTA in the ingredient list, and thought it is some harsh chemical. But when I researched, I got to know it helps the soap retain its color and fragrance (like a preservative), softens hard water and removes any kind of metal poisoning from the body (detoxifies).

The oils and cocoa butter provide intense moisturization.

Are Unived Soaps Really Organic?

Even though Unived markets them as organic, their soaps are not actually Organic Certified. As I have mentioned before in my posts on Organic and herbal hair colors, any product that claims to be organic must also mention on the pack, the name of the authority from which they received the organic certification. I checked the Unived website and also confirmed with them over email. Unived soaps are NOT organic certified.

These soaps are Vegan Certified by the Vegan Society and the natural ingredients are Organic certified by USDA. But because these contain EDTA, a chemical, these can never get organic certification.

Besides acting as a preservative, EDTA also acts as a penetration enhancer, which means it increases the absorption of other ingredients into the skin. Since this soap does not contain any harmful ingredients, EDTA should not be a concern. However, EDTA becomes a concern in other personal care products containing harmful chemicals, as it would increase the absorption of those harmful chemicals in the body.

That said, I noticed a very pleasant change and no reaction at all on my sensitive skin. If you are finicky about purely organic products, this one is not for you. Also, I use multiple bath products and keep cycling them. When I repeat a product, I give a gap of a week or two before starting using it again, so this is not a concern with me.

The high price may be a turn off for some though.

My Experience With Dear Earth Bamboo Charcoal Soap:

Some of you already know my skin cannot tolerate normal soaps or sulphates based shampoos. I have seen severe skin problems since very early childhood, but ever since I have identified the cause (harsh chemicals), life has changed. Just like people spend lots and lots on makeup, I love indulging in personal care products. Handmade soaps with natural and organic ingredients not only nourish your skin, but also protect you from many skin infections.

Dear Earth bamboo charcoal soap is one of the rare products that won me over right from the first use!

This soap smells beautiful and the fragrance comes from natural ingredients (Grapefruit and Patchouli). The black scrub particles you see is actually finely powdered bamboo charcoal, which also imparts the gray color to this soap.

The soap lathers easily and very creamily. It does not burn the skin at all. The scrub particles are very fine but feel sharp on the skin if you rub the soap with pressure. So I just rub it gently and if the scrub feels harsh, I change the side and start using from the other side. I have noticed a great reduction in hair undergrowth on my arms and legs because of the gentle exfoliation of this soap.

Its claim to unclog pores, remove dead skin and remove body odor are 100% true. I tested it after I was all sweaty and smelly with some household work and it left me perfectly fresh and fragrant. It is better than shower gels because it takes only a few mugs of water to rinse off, plus the ingredient list is so good.

I had planned using it once a week but ended up using every 2nd or 3rd day. If you get hard water supply in your bathroom, this soap is perfect for you because the EDTA in it makes the water soft and also does not let any soap scum (white soapy residue) form in your bathroom. It does not melt like crazy, so you need not worry about product wastage too (however, you need to make sure to keep it in a dry place after bath).

After bath experience is awesome too. Even after using the best of soaps, when you rub your skin, some residue starts coming off. It does not happen with this soap. It leaves my skin extremely soft and moisturized (thanks to the oils, cocoa butter and moisture attracting bamboo charcoal). I deliberately skipped body lotion to test this soap and even till next day, my skin did not need a body lotion. I ran a fingernail on my arm and there was no white line of dryness. I get a very fresh feeling (thanks to vetiver/Khus khus extract) and yet it does not feel cooling like citrus soaps/body washes do in summers.

This is the first time I am able to decode a product's ingredients purely by its feel on my skin. Dear Earth Bamboo Charcoal Exfoliating Soap is the perfect soap-cum-body polish for winters. It is great for summers too, when you need odor protection and super fresh feeling which bamboo charcoal and vetiver extracts respectively provide.

I have cut the soap into 2 and will try the 2nd piece in summers. So which is your favorite bath product this winter? Do try out this one. Read the review of their Myrrh Magic Anti-Wrinkle Soap here.