What don't the Turks/Moroccans/Syrians/delete as appropriate know about bathing?

I like soap - I buy a lot and have a particular fondness for Marseille soaps, although I will also happily use Imperial Leather and have just sliced a chunk off a big lump of proper Aleppo soap (more than 3 years old post-curing and lovely and green inside).
I also like the Japanese approach of showering before bathing - I can see the logic of not wanting to sit in your own soup
After that rambling preamble, I have a question Paul. Are you sure it's the Savon Noir and kessa that's working its magic and not just the weather and your other life changes? I ask because, after a winter of central heating, cold weather and so-so shaves, come the warmer weather I can pull out my most drying soap, most aggressive razor/blade combo and shave with impunity. There's now't like a bit of sun and natural heat.
You also have soft water and, although I know Savon Noir isn't made to lather, I wonder how the whole process would fare with hard water.
Thoughts welcome
 
Geofnay said:
I like soap - I buy a lot and have a particular fondness for Marseille soaps, although I will also happily use Imperial Leather and have just sliced a chunk off a big lump of proper Aleppo soap (more than 3 years old post-curing and lovely and green inside).
I also like the Japanese approach of showering before bathing - I can see the logic of not wanting to sit in your own soup
After that rambling preamble, I have a question Paul. Are you sure it's the Savon Noir and kessa that's working its magic and not just the weather and your other life changes? I ask because, after a winter of central heating, cold weather and so-so shaves, come the warmer weather I can pull out my most drying soap, most aggressive razor/blade combo and shave with impunity. There's now't like a bit of sun and natural heat.
You also have soft water and, although I know Savon Noir isn't made to lather, I wonder how the whole process would fare with hard water.
Thoughts welcome
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Most life changes have been in place for up to a decade - that's clean eating, less drinking (last five years), stress management (last three years), regular walking (1-3 miles a day, for pleasure ... last decade), activity for fun (fencing as a sport ... last 6 years).

In the last couple of years, I've settled on one type of razor with occasional use of other types. It's also been the last 18 months that I've really knocked out all the soaps with laboratory-sounding ingredients and capitalising on soaps that have a short and clean list of ingredients.

Most recently, I've turned my attention to the rest of my washing routines and that's where the savon noir comes in. The weather is horrid! I hate (our) hot weather - my face gets horribly greasy very quickly. Regular use of Turkish Cologne has been a godsend over the last few years and I have to stick to very drying soap and heavily alcoholic aftershave treatments - Colognes, largely. I much prefer colder weather. Central heating? Rarely, not even in winter. Maybe if the temperature goes sub-zero outside, but it sits on frost guard and rarely clicks on through winter. I have a wood burner for the main living area, the rest of the house remains cold. Never damp.

The savon noir is a new thing. Granted, new things are often received initially very well or very badly and with prolonged use settle out as just good or bad, but I really do like it ... and comments have been positive; folks have noticed a change.

Whether I'm doing it right or wrong, I'm enjoying it! Shower hot, stand back, apply savon noir by hand and rub all over. Shower off hot, gradually cooling until cold. Enjoy the cold. Stand back, wipe mostly dry and then exfoliate with the glove.

It's the most recent change ... and it's good.
 
JohnnyO said:
Ah, you've visited Wales or Scotland on holiday Bogester !
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As a Welshman I can confirm the above to be entirely factual. In fact I need more black powder for my musket to catch some dinner for tonight. :D

JohnnyO said:
Also in passing, though slightly off topic Paul, if you suffer minor strains or aches from the fencing ( or mountain running, sheep wrestling etc ) I'm now completely off NSAI drugs such as Iboprufen etc for my osteo arthritis and recurring tendonitis since supplementing with MSM and using MSM gel as required. It's just the active ingredient of DMSO which has been used for arthritic pains and strains since Greek times.
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Yes... wrestling... that's what we'll call it :D

Also, active ingredient of DMSO, as in Dimethyl sulfoxide? As in the solvent? I used it often in the lab in uni, very strange stuff... although it itself isn't particularly toxic, it's readily absorbed through skin and towards (even sometimes into) the bloodstream and surrounding cells and is very proficient at dissolving things, especially plastics and inorganic material. In other words, we were told to handle it with caution as any spills would pass through our gloves, taking a small portion of glove with it and straight into our bodies through the skin. I never would have imagined it would be used as a cream ingredient!
 
This kind of products and way of personal grooming are quite common in France.

For instance, it is pretty common to wash with a washing mitt made of horse (or boar) hair called "gant de crin". As a kid, my mother used to wash me with that, and since then, I find it way much aggressive for the skin (basically you scrape your skin... it feels like washing with a cheese grater). I guess it is a matter of personal preference.

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As for the savon noir, we use it under different forms, either for house cleaning/housework under a liquid form/soft soap back in the day or in hard/semi-soft/liquid soap for personal grooming.

For example:
https://www.marius-fabre.com/fr/rec...y=desc&search_query=savon+noir&submit_search=

savon-noir-en-pate-1-kg.jpg


The influence of Mediterranean countries might be the reason is/was popular in France.
 
I can't be arsed with all the faff of sourcing the glove and soap and whatnot.

Can't I just pay you to come round to my gaff and give me a good soaping and gloving, say once a fortnight?
 
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