# Dr. Bronners Soap **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659 "2015-01-01T02:32:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659/41 "2015-01-02T13:49:52Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > I like most medicinal smells actually, but these all smell unpleasant to me. The product is useful only for contaminating things with its scent. It’s like a homeopathic cleaner – just a drop in your water and the right mindset and you can convince yourself it’s working! Their claims are quite …mmm… exuberant at times but to say it doesn’t do the job soap normally does is just an odd statement. It’s just a glycerin soap like any other. The Neutrogena “[classic](http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=85867&catid=182287&aid=338666&aparam=85867&kpid=85867&CAWELAID=120142990000056436&CAGPSPN=pla&kpid=85867)” soap bar is practically the same thing in solid form. It’s soap. It does what soap can do. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659/42 "2015-01-02T16:18:28Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > You can avoid that drying problem by instead reusing one of those foam pumps they sell for other hand soaps (after, of course, diluting. OK!) I’ve used it this way for at least 5-6 years and never had it clog. I will pass this along. They’ve had misfiring soap for decades. My mother liked the peppermint stuff when we were kids because she could smell if we’d washed our hands. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659/43 "2015-01-02T16:23:20Z")
I’ve been using it at the sink to wash hands and find the Peppermint smell very nice. I’ve not tried it in the shower yet, but appreciate the undercarriage advice. I might look for one of the other flavors mentioned for that purpose. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659/44 "2015-01-02T16:47:05Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Yep, this. You can also use it to clean shoes, saddlery, any kind of leather. Honestly, it’s not that different from any gylcerin soap, with scent added… aside from the insane religious screed all over it. 😃 Though, I heard the Bronners, jr toned town the ALL-ONE-GOD-FAITH business. True? I have’t bought a bottle lately. I heard that & I also have not bought a bottle for while, but I hope that’s not true (or if it was, that it’s no longer true)- that’s a feature of Dr. Bronner products, not a bug! ---
**Author:** ![RickG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rickg/32/5174_2.png) [@RickG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickG)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659/45 "2015-01-02T17:18:54Z")
The peppermint is my daily shower soap. I do not have problems with undercarriage use, but it did feel a little like Icy-Hot the first few times. The tingling fades fast after rinsing, so it’s not too bad. I suspect it’s less pleasant for women. As noted above, be careful with face washing to keep it out of the eyes. I also use it for shaving, though I am not a daily shaver. Marc Maron interviewed Dr. Bronner’s grandson on his podcast a while back. Sounds like grandpa was a character, but might have benefited from modern psychopharmacology. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659/46 "2015-01-02T17:24:47Z")
Ultimately, it’s just straight-up liquid soap. Not detergent, but just soap. So it’s going to be good at what soap does, which is to remove grease and oil from things. It’s main claim to fame is that it’s made from natural ingredients in the traditional soapmaking process. Personally, I’ve found it best for handwashing (a bit harsher than say… Softsoap) and showering. It’s been eclipsed in most other applications by more modern surfactants, such as laundry detergent and hair shampoo. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659/47 "2015-01-02T20:40:59Z")
We use it in the shower, every day, and I shampoo with it too. I dilute it between 3 and 4 to 1. We bought a gallon for 40 bucks in 1/13, and it’s about half gone. So 20 bucks a year for shampoo and shower soap, this cheap Yankee is in heaven. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659/48 "2015-01-03T21:21:04Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Their claims are quite …mmm… exuberant at times but to say it doesn’t do the job soap normally does is just an odd statement. It’s just a glycerin soap like any other. The Neutrogena “[classic](http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=85867&catid=182287&aid=338666&aparam=85867&kpid=85867&CAWELAID=120142990000056436&CAGPSPN=pla&kpid=85867)” soap bar is practically the same thing in solid form. > > It’s soap. It does what soap can do. Yes, all glycerin soap is crap, but some at least smells good. It’s funny, because I am anything but sensitive or picky about odors, but I hate all of the Dr. Bronner’s scents. Maybe because they are often mixed with the stank of smelly people insisting they are clean, but even straight out of the bottle I dislike them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-bronners-soap/708659.md?page=2)