I've been on the hunt for new bar soaps to use in the shower lately, and the road traveled has led me to several old school soaps. I decided to give the two oldest soaps that I remember from my childhood, a side by side comparison to see how they hold up against one another.
IRISH SPRING
$0.97 for two 3.2 ounce bars
This soap has had many slogans over the years, but the most famous one very well may be.. leaves you as fresh and clean as a whistle. It may sound a bit corny, but this is the experience I had with Irish Spring. The soap was incredibly efficient at removing dirt and grime, without an excess of suds. Perhaps the the lack of suds equates into the soap not breaking down as fast. The reason I lean towards that reasoning, is because my bar of Irish Spring stood up to daily showering (sometimes twice a day) for 10 days. Dirt seemed to just slide right off of my skin when I used this soap, and I'm impressed with how good it cleans.
I used the bar for hand washing as well, and found that light grease from changing the oil in my car was easily removed from my hands with minimal effort. Irish Spring and a nail brush made short work of any sand and dirt under my fingernails from gardening as well. This deodorant soap also did an outstanding job in regards to inhibiting odor causing bacteria. The scent of Irish Spring is very pronounced, as soon as you open up the box. The crisp clean scent was still clearly present even after I got dressed, and was noticeable throughout most of my day, and into the afternoon.
The curved bar makes it easy to hold, and the scent of the soap never got weaker during the entire duration I used it. The only negative I could find with this soap, is that it cleans SO good, it left my skin feeling a tad bit dry. Not a problem right now, but in the winter I tend to get dry and itchy skin when the air gets dry. However, I notice Irish Spring now makes soap with Aloe and moisturizers in it, so perhaps I'll give that one a shot next winter.
The curved bar makes it easy to hold, and the scent of the soap never got weaker during the entire duration I used it. The only negative I could find with this soap, is that it cleans SO good, it left my skin feeling a tad bit dry. Not a problem right now, but in the winter I tend to get dry and itchy skin when the air gets dry. However, I notice Irish Spring now makes soap with Aloe and moisturizers in it, so perhaps I'll give that one a shot next winter.
ZEST
$0.97 for two 3.1 ounce bars
$0.97 for two 3.1 ounce bars
Other than a slightly greenish color, ZEST was the complete opposite of Irish Spring. It was very mild yet pleasant smelling, with a unique contoured shape to it. Something that really caught my attention, is that the bar looked significantly smaller than the Irish Spring bar. However, the difference in weight truly is nominal. It stood up well to daily use and ended up lasting about 9 days. I used Zest only once a day, versus the many times I used Irish Spring twice a day in the shower.
The bar was shaped in such a way, that while it's easy to hold in your hand, it doesn't glide over the skin as easy as other soaps. I think it has to do partly with the hard edges, although these wore down after a couple showers or so. This soap really didn't produce much in the way of suds, nor was it very slippery. This might have to do with the companies past claims that their product leaves no soap film on your skin. That being said, it didn't leave much in the way of a scent on your skin either. After drying off from my showers, I could barely smell the faint scent of the soap on my skin, and even then, it quickly dissipated within minutes. During one afternoon I used the soap after working a few hours in the yard. There was plenty of dirt and grime present, and a scrub brush was needed from start to finish to aid the soap in doing its job.
In the end, ZEST just isn't my cup of tea. Nevertheless, I can see this soap working really well for people with sensitive skin. Those who tend to have problems with the ingredients and perfumes in stronger smelling and cleansing soaps, might really dig this product. It would also serve as a good soap to use if you needed a second shower during the day. The soap didn't dry out my skin, and was very mild. For my daily showers, Zest did its job, but I didn't feel squeaky clean like I did from showering with Irish Spring.
And the winner is..
Yes friends, in this bout, Irish Spring flat KNOCKED OUT the competition in regards to both cleaning and staying power. As I get more thrifty in my old age, I truly cherish products that give you your money's worth. At a cost of roughly 48 cents per bar, and a shower shelf life of a week and a half with heavy usage, this soap in all rights qualifies in my book as a steal!
I also demand results from the products I use, and Irish Spring did not disappoint. An incredibly efficient deodorizing soap with a fresh clean scent that lasted most of the day, is what primarily sold me on this soap. The fact that this superior product is also very economical, was just the icing on the cake.
I may do more of these retro soap reviews soon, as I'm curious to see if there is anything out there that works just as good if not better than Irish Spring. There are still a heck of a lot of old school soaps that are still made to this day, and during the Florida summers.. you go through a ton of soap. The next few months are the perfect time to put these products to the test, so stay tuned.