Thanks for the tip, Dale. Maybe we should all use ivory all the time, even at home. It's probably better for your skin too!

Jo

I find Ivory to be very drying. It even causes itching and flaking with my very dry skin. Most commercial soaps are like that since they remove all the natural glycerin from the soap and that's real soap. Most commercial bath bars are detergent. You can tell the difference by reading the label. Soap is organic.

I make my own soap with no artificial chemical colourants, scents, preservatives or sudsing agents. It's good for our waterways, our skin and our pets. Real handmade soap has a lot of glycerin in it and doesn't dry your skin.

It's worth trying if you camp a lot. There's a soap and candle forum here.

No doubt about the Ivory being on the dry side - it was made for the glycerin content, which most was extracted to be used in more expensive lotions and high end luxury glamor soaps. What's left is what you get, and at a very reasonable price. Also, an excellent cleaner and very friendly for the outdoor camping environment. I even use the Ivory bar soap for camp dish washing, which cleans them up spic and span.

Most of my outings are not all that long in duration - mostly about a week, a few times for maybe two weeks. For that short period of time the Ivory is not all that harsh on my skin, in fact, there are other things that are, like the sun and the wind for example.

When I get back home, then a higher grade bath soap is the order of the day.

Well, if Ivory is too strong for your use, then obviously something else is needed. But all of those soaps you listed do not have the cleaning power of Ivory. And I've been using Ivory for my camp outings for years, from the camp dishes, washing my fishy hands (and whatever else is needed), to use as a shaving soap - without any harsh side effects for me. And it does so at a very reasonable cost.

By the way, Procter and Gamble has been in business for well over a century. And they have been one of the nations top manufacturer/innovators for new products and product improvement, not to mention a keen eye toward environmental issues. Years back when it was discovered that phosphates used in laundry detergents were causing havoc with the environment, it was P & G that voluntarily ceased using them (even before the regulation banning them) - and went to work finding a workable solution. What better of an example for an improved product could be cited then Tide?

How do you make you own soap? Sherylgallant.

Love Ivory! Camped with it all my life! I don't use it at home because it makes soap scum in the shower and I'm too lazy to want to have to deal with that, but it's an awesome product.