Interesting. Which store did you buy it from? I saw the Castille soap someone mentioned when I was at Publix.

Question, I was getting ready to respond and say we used it back in the 1950's. Got to thinking it was a pink/red soap. Not sure if that may have been lava soap. Who knows which soap I remember. After reading the articles about octagon, will try to find some.

I think I found it at Food Lion. You can try feed stores & older grocery stores too. I know ebay has it.

I don't remember any RED soaps, you are probably thinking of Lava or even Cashmere bouquet, I just saw it at food lion also.
I found a good hand soap recipe made from Octagon if anyone is interested.

I remember Lifebuoy soap

I'm going to check around here to see if I can find the Octagon soap. If not JoAnn I will have you send me a couple bars so I can test it for myself! Thanks for posting

lava was white with green granules in it

I've seen the Octagon soap at the grocery store! Think I'll pick up a bar or 2 of it!!

I can buy Octagon at my local grocery. I keep a bar in my laundry room and use it to pre-treat organic (grass,food,mud,etc.) stains on my laundry. But my daughters use a lot of makeup and hair junk. One daughter left hair glue for her extensions all over my bath towels.

I've heard of it and think it might be that my Mother used it. She had an allergy to washing detergents and used soap...

The lava I remember was gray and gritty...lifebouy was a weird pinkish red color.

Back wen I was still in high school my folks bought Octagon dish soap, it was a liquid. About 2 months later I was in the dermatologist's office trying to figure out what was wrong with my hands and forearms. They were dry and so scaled that they cracked open and bled. By process of elimation we determined it was the dishsoap.

I remember Octagon soap. I don't remember what all we used it for, whether bathing, washing clothes, dishes, etc.

What I do remember is that we all used it to wash our hair. Make suds with your hands and then wash your hair; never rub the soap onto your hair though. Why? 'Cause Mama said!

Using Octagon soap always made our hair shiny clean.

I also remember we never said shampoo we always said wash.

Wonder where the word shampoo came from?

Sue

I used Octagon liquid for years, long ago. It was a huge bottle for very little cost and it worked great. I've never seen the bar soap and can't even remember seeing the liquid recently. I'm going to look too.

I just came across this:

USES FOR OCTAGON
Laundry
Wet clothes and rub Octagon soap on the stains; it's a cheap and effective alternative to spray products.

Cleaning the Stove
Octagon soap cuts grease. Use it on a sponge or rag to clean the top of your stove.

Cleaning Cabinets and Woodwork
Use Octagon soap to clean your cabinets and woodwork. It's safe and does an excellent job.

Washing Dishes and Hands
Wash your dishes by slicing off slivers of Octagon soap and putting them on your sponge or dishrag. You can clean the dirtiest hands with this soap.

Prevent Poison Ivy Rash
Prevent poison ivy from causing a rash by washing the skin with Octagon soap within two hours after exposure.

Keep Deer and Rabbits Away from Your Garden
Hang pieces of Octagon soap on strings and place them on stakes or tomato cages in your vegetable garden. Place the stakes every three to six feet around the garden. Cut a couple of soap bars up into tiny pieces and sprinkle them around the perimeter. Deer and rabbits hate the smell and will stay away from your veggie plants.

Well, you've piqued my interest. Never heard of Octagon. I'll have to look for it next time I'm at the store.

Gail where are you buying Lifbuoy? It was discontinued in the US for a good reason.

I know old thread

Lifebouy soap. https://www.vermontcountrystore.com/searchresults?Nr=product.active%3A1&Ntt=lifebouy&Nty=1&No=0&Nrpp=12&Rdm=668&searchType=simple&type=search

The formula for Lifebouy has changed so it is no longer the same soap.

Octagon didn't sound familiar to me so I looked up a picture of a wrapped bar. I don't think I've ever seen it at all, do you supposed not a West coast thing?

It's official now, I need to buy some Octagon! HAHA! I do not remember it but it sounds useful, if I can find it that is.

My husband has recently started using Dr. Bronner's bar soap for his face and it has greatly cleared it up!

amazon has it: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Colgate%27s+Octagon+Soap

Look for Octagon bar soap in the laundry section of your grocery, not where you'd find bath or hand soaps. That is, if it is still being made at all; I think I read about its discontinuation due to phosphates.

Who are the two men in the above photo?

Got my interest for sure.....going to look for it. Thanks for the information.

I think Octagon bars were discontinued a few years ago. They are great as stain sticks on clothing. I'd never use it on my body. I received a few bars from a friend in the LF and they are terrific as a stain stick. Wet fabric and rub the bar on it.

If I recall correctly, Octagon dish detergent came in a tall octagon shaped plastic bottle and it was very bright pink. I never used it as I had heard it was harsh on your hands.

My bar