Raising the Bar

The trouble with bottled soap is that it comes in bottles, many of which have pumps that can't be recycled.

I can't remember when bottled soap took over my life, but within the last year, I have started making the move back to bar soap. Most of the plastic bottles can be recycled, but making and recycling them still requires resources and energy. Then, there are those pumps and bottle caps that can't be recycled. For these reasons, I began looking for ways to keep bottled soaps out of my life.

To work on eliminating the bottles, I turned to the W.S. Badger Company. I have been using Badger sunscreen and lip balm for two years, and I really like them, so when the company reintroduced its line of soaps, I thought about buying some. However, I waited until my hand soap bottle neared its end and then asked Badger if its body soaps could be used as hand soaps. The representative said the soap made a good hand soap as long as it was placed on a dish that drained (when the soap sits in water it loses its firmness).

I bought the unscented Badger soap and began using it two months ago. It cleans hands well and is gentler on them than the bottled soap I had been using. Also, although it is officially unscented, it does have a bit of that bar soap smell. When I caught a little of that scent, it reminded me how much I liked the smell of bar soap, and by doing so, it brought back some memories.

So far, the experiment with bar soap has been a success. In the future, I may choose to replace my body wash with Badger soap as well.

You can check out the Badger Web site by clicking here. Many of the company's products are certified organic, and Badger does not test its products on animals.

That's the Chap

I've used considerably less lip balm this year.

As you might recall, last summer, I posted about buying Badger Balm sunscreen and unscented lip balm. In that post, I reviewed my experience with the sunscreen and promised to talk about the lip balm later.

After almost a year with the lip balm, I am quite happy with my purchase. It has been part of a systematic decrease in lip balm usage. First, I stopped using my other brand and decided to wait a while before applying the Badger Balm (theoretically giving a clean break between products). That was during the summer, so I didn't need it as much anyway. In the meantime, I realized I'd become accustomed to using lip balm at the slightest hint of dryness. I also realized this habit was unnecessary. Sometimes, my lips would feel dry one day but return to better shape on their own the next.

Second, when I finally used the Badger Balm, I only applied a small amount. That was all I needed to give my lips the moisture they required.

Third, even during the winter (and this winter was windy and cold and had long dry spells), I would go weeks without using the lip balm. I had a tube of medicated Blistex on hand just in case things got bad. (I've had to use medicated lip balm during the winter for at least 13 years.) To my surprise, I only had to use the medicated lip balm once this year. I virtually made it through the entire winter with just periodic applications of my organic, non-medicated Badger Balm.

It feels nice to rely less on lip balm, and I know that when I do need it, I've got an organic option with fewer chemicals.

As bonuses, Badger Balm does not test on animals, and the tube is recyclable.

You can buy the lip balm directly from Badger Balm or at Amazon.com.

Badger Me

In the previous post, I talked about Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group's database of information on the safety of cosmetics. If you visited Skin Deep after reading the post, you probably noticed a special area dedicated to sunscreen; and if you explored that section, you may have noticed one of EWG's recommended sunscreens is Badger.

I switched to Badger sunscreen this summer. The physical barrier provided by its zinc oxide has worked well: no burning or tanning. On top of that, it does not seem to take as much of a toll on my skin as other sunscreens I have used: It has not left my skin itchy or dried out.

One possible drawback of Badger applies to those who don't wish to appear too white. The zinc oxide does leave skin looking whiter than usual. However, because of the importance of keeping both UV rays and hazardous chemicals off my skin, I am willing to rock the white look.

Badger also makes lip balms, moisturizers, and a bug repellant. I have not yet tried any of those products, but most of them are very highly rated by Skin Deep with regard to low chemical content. I did purchase some lip balm but have not yet tried it (perhaps that review will become a later post).

You can visit the Badger Web site by clicking here.

Badger products are also available on Amazon.com, and sometimes, you can find better prices for them there.