I have struggled over the years trying to find the perfect soap. I have tried almost every bar soap, liquid soap and shower gel under the sun and most of them were all the same. They would cause me to have dry, irritated skin.I have very sensitive skin and I suffered from eczema for years. Every time I took a bath or shower by skin would feel terribly dry and irritated. I've also always had hard water, so that certainly didn't help. The situation only got worse in the winter since I live in Wisconsin. Our winters get very dry and COLD here which is a nightmare for anyone with dry skin. (Not to mention dry hair!)
I tried every soap that claimed to be moisturizing but all they did was make matters worse, often causing my eczema to flair up. I tried Dove, Ivory, Caress, etc but nothing worked. However, I didn't give up. I promised myself that I was going to find a soap that was actually moisturizing if it was the last thing I did. In my quest to find the "perfect" soap, I have come across three that I feel are great.
The very first one I used was the Yardley Oatmeal Almond Soap.
This soap worked a lot better than the others I used up until that point. My skin still felt a little dry but it was certainly not as bad as it had been. It certainly did not irritate my skin, nor did it make my eczema worse like many of the other soaps before it. I think this soap would probably be a lot more moisturizing if it didn't have petroleum in it. Petroleum is a very drying ingredient that is drying to skin and hair. Some people don't have a problem with it at all, but since I have very sensitive skin, it wasn't the best product for me. Therefore, my search continued. After using this soap for a few months, I decided I still needed something better.
The next soap I came across was the Cetaphil Gentle Cleansing Bar
This soap worked wonders! This was the very first soap I had ever used that completely cleared up my eczema and I have never had a problem with eczema since! I used this soap for about a year, but noticed that it was actually a bit more drying than the Yardley, mentioned above. I noticed that this soap also has petroleum in it but since it cleared up my eczema, I just continued to use it. However, once the winter came my skin was getting more and more dry, therefore, I eventually broke down and started my "perfect soap search" once more.
Well, as the saying goes...the third time's a charm because when I found this last soap, I hit the jackpot!
I have been using both, the Ambi Cocoa Butter and Ambi Complexion Bar soaps for almost 2 years now. The Complexion bar looks just like the cocoa butter one but the color is green. They both are very moisturizing but I usually use the cocoa butter bar in the winter since it tends to be just a tad bit more moisturizing. But either one will certainly do. Neither one of these soaps have any drying ingredients (No petroleum...yayyy!) and as a plus, they both smell really good. I love these soaps so much that I usually buy one of each every time I shop for them. I hardly ever buy just one! I've even driven half way across town to buy them when my local drug store runs out.
If you have sensitive skin like I do and almost everything under the sun irritates it, then you definitely should give this a try.
Depending on your skin type, you may have very good luck with the other two soaps that were mentioned above, as well. If your skin is extremely sensitive then the Ambi will most likely be the best choice for you (like it is for me). Or maybe you don't have sensitive skin, but your child does. All three soaps I've mentioned are perfectly gentle enough to use on your little ones. You may want to check with your pediatrician, however, to find out if there is a recommended age.
Please feel free to let me know if you've ever used any of these and if so, what your experience was with them. Also, feel free to name any others that you feel work well.