Did Dr Bronner’s Magic All-One Liquid Castille Soap Do The Trick?

A fellow blogger, MieVie of Mummy’s Reviews, introduced me to Dr Bronner’s Magic All-One Liquid Castille Soap when she’d read about my eczema problem and skin allergy results.  I was still looking for a suitable hand soap at that time and my stock of Cetaphil was running out fast!

I did some research on this brand on my own and almost everyone had something good to say about it.  I checked its ingredients and it did not contain the stuff I was allergic to, so I decided to give it a try.

It was about 2 months ago, when I decided to place an order with iHerb.com for two bottles of Dr Bronner’s Magic All-One Liquid Castille Soap.  That’s certainly a mouthful, eh?

This magic liquid soap is called the all-one, because apparently it has 18, ranging from hand and body wash to hair shampoo to dish-washing detergent and cleaning floors!  So really, some people just use that one bottle for all their cleaning needs.

I ordered the medium-sized bottles: 16 fl oz. just to try them, and also because I wanted to try 2 different kinds, that was the only way they could fit into my “under 4 lbs requirement” for international shipping.

The packaging for Dr Bronner’s Magic All-One Liquid Castille Soap is certainly interesting.  With words running around almost the entire label, it will leave you with tons of “reading material” if you’re using it in the shower or bathtub!  I ordered the Unscented one and also the Eucalyptus one.

Although the liquid soap is concentrated and lathers easily, it is very, very watery.  Do not be fooled by this, because a little goes a long way!  I dilute the soap 1:1 with water and pour it into my empty unused bottles.  I used it as a hand wash mostly, but I did try it as body shampoo too!  In fact I have a small bottle of this solution in my gym bag so I can use it after my exercise.  That way, I don’t need to use the body wash my gym provides.

Here’s what I think after using this soap a variety of ways:

As a Hand Soap

Perfect!  It cleanses thoroughly, even greasy grimy fingers and leaves skin feeling refreshingly clean!  I do find that the Unscented one is milder and more gentle though, because on a few occasions when my hands suffered some broken skin, the Eucalyptus one stung a little whereas the Unscented one did not.  By diluting it 1:1 with water, a little definitely goes a LONG way!

As a Body Wash

Similarly with the Hand Soap, I find it cleans very well.  I also dilute it 1:1 and it leaves the skin feeling smooth and refreshed too!

My one qualm would be that this liquid soap leaves a rather strong residue on my bathroom floor over time.  I would see white spots on the floor, and since that was the only new thing I was using, it had to be it.  Granted, it’s only soap residue that comes off easily when scrubbed, but it bothers me a little as to why this soap leaves a residue when others don’t.

As a Dish Washing Detergent

If I dilute it 1:1, I find it does not clean very thoroughly because I need to dispense quite a bit to get that amount of detergent to wash the dishes.  I rarely use it to clean dishes though, because I still have a lot of dish washing detergents to use, and I use gloves when I wash the dishes.  However, for that one occasional plate or bowl or spoon where I am just too lazy to put on my gloves, I will simply dispense a little of this magic soap solution and wash it with my hands.  It does the job that way!

Also, I find that if I clean my knife with it, the garlicky or chili smell disappears!

With regards to the residue issue also, I find that my kitchen sink becomes slightly less shiny and has a dull cast on it after a while.  The dullness goes away after a simple scrub, but I would think the soap residue is from this Dr Bronner’s soap.

As a Floor Cleaner (or for Mopping Floors)

I pour out only a little and dilute it with water, and I have only tried it with the Eucalyptus one.  I did not really smell the Eucalyptus scent though; perhaps I poured out too little.  I find that it cleans the floor rather well, and works just as well as any floor cleaner out there in the market.

As a Laundry Detergent for Handwashing Clothes

Some of my clothes require hand washing, and I use this diluted soap to wash them.  I no longer need to put on gloves to hand wash them and the clothes are sparkling clean!  I don’t use this soap in the washer though, simply because it lathers too much and could not be good for my top-loading washer.

Conclusion

At the moment, this appears to be the only solution I have as a hand wash, and I might repurchase it in the 32 fl oz version, now that iHerb.com has a FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING offer till July 31 2012.  I do like that it cleans well, but like I mentioned, it’s very concentrated and it needs to be diluted, seeing that it does leave some soap residue.

As for my hand eczema, it still comes back now and then, but it’s relatively under control now.  I think the occasional flare-ups now are due to me sometimes using soap from outside, or accidentally touching stuff I am allergic to.  I’ve taken to carrying a pump bottle of Dr Bronner’s Liquid Soap solution in my bag for washing my hands when I’m out though.

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Pros

Cleans well, economical because a little goes a long way, interesting packaging.

Cons

Leaves a residue, not available in Malaysia (I bought mine from iHerb.com)

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Has anyone else tried this Dr Bronner’s Magic All-One Liquid Castille Soap?  In other scents?

Oh, and remember, iHerb.com is having a FREE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING special from now till July 31 2012, for all purchases less than 4lbs and amounting between USD40 and USD80.  Also, use my discount code DUW086 and take USD5 off your first order!