Once upon a time, I had no children and I used to take long, very much needed showers. Boy, did I take that for granted. After I had my daughter, I went back to work full time. Overtime-full time if I am being honest. About 60-70 hours a week. My routine of showering was kept to a minimum of five minutes. I either got up in the morning and took a quick five minute shower or I took the same allotted 5 minute shower before I went to bed. No matter when I showered I swore I always heard crying. I was more paranoid than the lady in Psycho while in the shower.
My daughter was only six months old when I was blessed with being pregnant again with my son. When my son was two weeks old tragedy struck. We had a house fire and we made the decision to move in to my parents home for six months.
As tragic as a fire in our home was, having two children under two and one being a new born, plus being out of the stability of our home, its shocking to say that I was lucky. I had my parents to help me out with my kids, and this is where the love of taking a long exhilarating shower started all over again.
No longer do I just “shower.” I become absorbed in the ten plus minutes of alone time. If one could not tell from our blog, we like a lot of things all natural. (Some… not so much.) But I am now soap obsessed. Even my husband is soap enchanted, and while doing everything we can to save money, we always have the means to purchase our favorite items.
I am a tad Lush infatuated. I have good reason, though. Their products are made with all natural ingredients and safe synthetics. They care about the planet, charity, and they recycle. You can read about Lush’s Charity Pot, Charitable giving here.
(Look for a future blog about me being recycling crazy.)
So here is the list!
- My Favorite product ever is Sandstone soap bar from Lush. I have keratosis pilaris, and it has always been a huge issue for me because I like to pick at myself. Sandstone soap from Lush leaves me with barely anything to pick at. It truly is a miracle. I have been using it for over a year now, and right before I started it I had moved from picking at my arms to my legs like a crazy person. Scars are real, people. Now there is virtually nothing to pick at. The soap is made with part sand to exfoliate, and gardenia oils to tone and brighten. Plus it smells so citrusy. This is also a great alternative to avoid using exfoliating gloves that get yucky.
- My husband likes Sandstone, but he says that the sand gets caught in his hair. Pish… so he uses H2OPLUS Sea Salt body Wash. OMG! This product smells amazing, and when my husband showers everything smells like a clean sea breeze. Heaven! I am not a huge fan of their new packaging (you can get the old packaging if you buy from disney.com with a Disney castle logo), but the product is the same. It is not an all-natural product, but it is paraben and phthalate free.
- Two Questions: Do you ever forget to put on lotion? Do you have hard water that leeches the moisture from your skin? Yes and Yes for me. King of Skin from Lush is a lifesaver for me. I always forget to put on lotion, and then when I go to shave I am miserable from my skin being dry - especially in the winter. King of Skin In-Shower BodyButter is the last thing I do before I get out of the shower. It’s a shower lotion that I wet, rub on (while stepping out of the spray - let’s not waste product), and then I quickly rinse and pat towel dry. No lotion needed. I don’t ever have dry skin. As a matter of fact, my skin is so soft. (Get the tin. Trust me.)
- If I am in a generous mood with my dollars, I use Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner instead of King of Skin. It is more expensive and has the same results of King of Skin but it smells luxurious. It is not made in bar form but as a shower smoothie. Wash, slather on, rinse and pat dry. I have silky skin and smell stupid amazing.
- As much as I love showering I also love to wash my hands. Mom thing? Maybe. Regardless, Sultana of Soap does not dry out my hands and it makes my bathroom smell like a Lush Store. A soap NOT drying out my hands is the best part of this product and it lasts a long time. Oh and I feel fancy and smell fancy.
So as much as I talk about how much I love to shower… some days I don’t always get to… yeah well life works like that. What saves me?
6. Aveda Shampure dry shampoo. I have dark brown hair and this does not leave my hair white. It smells amazing and it helps to style my hair. This is the BEST dry shampoo I have ever used and worth every penny. Plus you can buy a refill when it’s done to save money.
7. I sort of explained that I need moist skin so I can shave… so when I do not get to shower I use Charity Pot body lotion from Lush. I honestly think it is the best smelling lotion I have ever used and 100% of the sale goes to small, grassroots organizations working in the areas of environmental conservation, animal welfare and human rights. Plus when you are done with the pot you can save them until you have five (of any Lush pot) and get a free face mask. Win Win! Here is the program details.
8. I like to WOW my guests in the bathroom with Mulberry and Thyme Soap and Hand Lotion. I know it’s silly but after working for a luxury hotel for so many years I have a strong appreciation for great soap and Molton Brown always wows me. My sister and I are big fans of this London brand and apparently my guests are as well. So even though my guests don’t get to shower with all my favorite products they can at least wash their hands with them.
Try them out and let me know what else I should try. Also leave some reviews of what you think about the products I recommended.
Kaytee