Breathe Clear Soap — $14.99, 4 oz. This is the most aromatic bar in the SoftWell range, with five essential oils where most bars have one or none.
What is in it
Saponified Oils (Olive Oil, Organic Palm Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Shea Butter), Natural Fragrance Oil Blend (Eucalyptus Essential Oil, Peppermint Essential Oil, Rosemary Essential Oil, Lemon Essential Oil, Thyme Essential Oil, Natural Fragrance).
A cold-process saponified base — the traditional kind — carrying a five-oil blend. The base is identical to Calming Lavender and Slumber; the oils are what differ.
It does not treat congestion, and we are not going to imply it does
The name is about the aroma. Eucalyptus and peppermint smell the way they smell, and a hot shower with this bar is a pleasant experience when you are stuffy. That is the honest extent of it.
This is a cosmetic cleansing bar. It does not treat, relieve or shorten a cold, congestion, sinus trouble, or anything else. Our own product page says exactly that, and we would rather repeat it than let the name do the work.
Who should not use this bar
Young children. This is the one that matters. Eucalyptus and peppermint oils contain compounds — cineole and menthol — that are not considered appropriate for babies and young children, particularly near the face. Keep this bar for adults and use a plain bar for the kids. If you are unsure at what age that changes, ask your paediatrician rather than us.
Anyone sensitive to essential oils. Five oils is a lot of botanical exposure in one bar. Lemon, thyme and peppermint are all reasonably common contact-sensitivity culprits. If fragrance is a problem for your skin, this is the bar in the range least likely to suit you.
Pregnant or nursing, or managing a skin condition? Worth a word with your clinician before adding a five-oil bar to daily use.
Who it is good for
- Anyone who wants a shower that wakes them up — this is a morning bar, not an evening one
- After the gym, where the sharpness is the point
- Anyone who finds plain unscented soap boring and wants something that fills the bathroom
If you want the opposite — something soft for the end of the day — Slumber (fir needle and lavender) or Calming Lavender are the bars for that, on the same base.
Essential oil or "fragrance"? Here it is mostly the former
Worth understanding across the range: some SoftWell bars list named essential oils, and some list "Fragrance", which is an undisclosed blend. Breathe Clear names five oils individually and then adds "Natural Fragrance" at the end — so most of what you smell is identified, with a small undisclosed portion.
By contrast, Rich Sandalwood and Coconut Beach list only "Fragrance". If knowing exactly what is scenting your soap matters to you, the essential-oil bars are the ones to look at.
Care
Add warm water, work into a thick lather, cleanse, rinse thoroughly. Keep it dry between uses on a draining dish — a cold-process bar lasts considerably longer when it is not sitting in water. For external use only; avoid the eyes, and discontinue if irritation occurs.
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