Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve - Fig & Plum Natural Complexion Soap

I also ordered for some facial soaps or complexion bars as they call it at Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve. The first one I tried was Fig and Plum Natural Complexion Soap. I have been suffering from eczema in certain spots on my skin during the colder months and it has been quite a struggle dealing with it. It would subside for a while and then start up again. It could have been stress or the  chemical-filled shampoos I was using before venturing onto Natural soaps or some other reason. I read some reviews that sugar and fruits do help with eczema like condition. 

The website describes this soap as:

The moisturizing figs in this natural soap are excellent skin hydrators, natural humectants and help tighten skin. The seeds and natural fig enzymes provide natural exfoliation. Plums, full of natural sugar and vitamins, hydrate dull complexions and soothe stressed or sensitive skin. Dark brown sugar, rich in molasses, and cocoa butter moisturize and nourish skin. A touch of sweet orange essential oil helps balance skin oil production and tighten pores.

And the ingredients are listed as:

Organic Sunflower Oil; Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Sustainable Palm Oil; Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Organic Cocoa Butter; Water; Organic Prune Juice; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Canola Oil; Organic Castor Oil; Organic Figs; Organic Plums; Organic Agave; Organic Dark Brown Sugar; Organic Orange Essential Oil; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract 

As for the soap, it clearly contains seeds of figs and they do provide good amount of exfoliation. It is a very light brown colored soap with dark brown fig seeds. The soap has no distinct smell as such. On to the results, the soap lathers well, cleans very well without stripping my face of moisture and helps with the eczema! It is an all-round winner for me! The sugar and fig seeds play their role very well and provide gentle exfoliation to my skin. However, this bar of soap may not be this magical thing which does not allow white heads to form on my face, but leaves it feeling supple and well-hydrated. I loved using a sample of this soap and may order the bigger bar the next time.

For anyone who may be suffering from eczema or sensitive skin, you should try a sample of this bar to see how it works for you. I am no doctor here, mind you, just someone who would like to suggest to a fellow-sufferer!

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve - Dead Sea Spa soap

Among my orders from Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve, I ordered some samples of body and face soaps too. I have been using some of these soaps too for some time. One of the first soaps I used is Chagrin Valley Dead Sea Spa soap. Actually, my husband volunteered to try this first. This is a review from both of our experiences:

The website describes this soap as: 

Mineral rich Dead Sea Mud stimulates blood circulation, rejuvenates skin, and deep cleans to remove impurities. The fine, natural grain of the mud softly, yet effectively, sloughs off dead skin cells and leaves the skin looking fresh and radiant. Use our natural Dead Sea Spa soap to experience a mini-spa treatment for dull, tired skin, with every bath or shower.

And the ingredients are:

Organic Coconut Oil; Sunflower Oil; Organic Sustainable Palm Oil; Olive Oil; Water; Virgin Shea Butter; Dead Sea Mineral Mud; Sodium Hydroxide; Organic Canola Oil; Castor Oil; Dead Sea Clay; Sea Kelp; Essential Oils of Lime, Litsea Cubeba, Lavender, Rosemary, Orange, Eucalyptus; Organic Cornstarch; Rosemary Oil Extract

The idea of dead spa mineral mud was super appealing! The idea that I may experience a spa-like feeling during every shower was what drew me to this soap. I have used multani mitti in the past for facials masks and always liked the way my skin felt afterwards. I expected Dead Sea mud to have a similar effect. 

Anyways as for the description of the soap, it is a grey colored soap, rather slate colored. It has an herbal scent with some citrus scent and another scent, must be the Litsea Cubeba which may be helpful with acne prone skin and oily skin conditions. It is quite distinctive in the soap. My husband tried it first and didn't like it much. So I decided to use it up.

It lathers well, like all Chagrin Valley soaps. Quite a hardy soap I must say. Cleanses a little too well. I was always left with more-on-the-dry-side skin after using this soap. And I tried it during the summer months. I had to use a moisturizer to  avoid feeling tight skin. It could be the mud that is a little too cleansing in this soap. This could be used every now and then may be, like a clarifying soap bar. That is how I used it up after realizing that it dries up my skin. But if I need a clarifying action on my skin, I shall use the gram flour at home rather than buy any soap, honestly.

Verdict is, no, I shall not buy this bar again. It is not a bad product or bad in quality. Just that I see no purpose for it.

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve - Lemon Lavender Soap

Apart from the shampoo bars, I have also been buying body soaps/soap bars for my face. I shall also make some notes about these bars now.

First up, is Chagrin Valley's Lemon Lavender soap for body. I love lavender. I also love citrus stuff. So I wanted to see how these two would perform together on skin.

The website describes this soap to be:

Soothing cocoa butter moisturizes and softens skin. The lovely color of this natural soap comes from emollient rich alkanet root oil. The delicate blend of calming lavender and zesty lemon essential oils will refresh and relax your senses while it tones, cleanses and purifies skin.

And the ingredients are:

Alkanet Root infused Olive Oil; Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Sustainable Palm Oil; Sunflower Oil; Water; Unrefined Cocoa Butter; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Canola Oil; Castor Oil; Essential Oils of Lavender, Lemon, Litsea Cubeba; Organic Lavender; Organic Lemon Peel; Organic Cornstarch; Rosemary Oil Extract

The color is a beautiful violet color with the lemon oil being slightly stronger to the nose than lavender. The color is certainly very attractive, or I may be partial to this family of color :) But the mix of these essential oils is not something I like a great deal. This soap lathers beautifully and cleanses well. A little too well, I would say. More like a cleansing soap than a moisturizing one for me. Though my face has combination skin, my body skin is relatively dry. With a normal body wash, I would need to use a body moisturizer. With this soap, I could avoid the moisturizer for a day. But if I were using this soap regularly, I would need to use the moisturizer every 3 days or so during the warmer months. In colder months, I would have to use one every 2 days at least may be. If I were in the warmer states, I certainly would use this soap on a regular basis. 

So my verdict is, it is good on someone with less than dry skin for regular use. It cleanses well, Chagrin valley's body soaps long a last time on me. Even the samples last about 3 weeks with daily showers. But I think I found some other better body soaps for me from Chagrin Valley.

Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve - Ayurvedic Herb Natural Shampoo bar

Today, I shall review the Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve - Ayurvedic Herb Natural Shampoo Bar. This sample bar was in my first order at Chagrin Valley. I was truly excited as soon as I heard, or rather, read the word Ayurvedic! As previously mentioned, I used soapnuts, shikai, hibiscus flowers and other such natural products on my hair for years. And the idea of getting all the goodness of these natural products in one bar seemed like the best thing possible. 

I ordered for this bar once I saw the website. This was the first bar I tried of Chagrin Valley's. Oh, before I jump to the end of this review, here is the description of this shampoo bar on the website:

A rich oil infusion of Ayurvedic hair care herbs creates a nourishing all natural shampoo. Shikakai, increases bounciness and silkiness. Bhringraj, considered the "king of herbs" for hair growth, helps strengthen the hair shaft. Amla promotes stronger, healthier new growth. Hibiscus flowers help in the treatment of dandruff and hair loss. Aritha cleans hair without drying and helps create a fabulous lather.

The list of ingredients is given as:

Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Infused With Organic Herbs (Bhringraj, Shikakai, Hibiscus, Amla, Tulsi, Fenugreek, Jasmine, Yashtimadhu, Neem); Organic Avocado Oil; Organic Jojoba Oil; Organic Soapnuts (Aritha); Water; Organic Mango Butter; Organic Babassu Oil; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Castor Oil; Organic Neem Oil; Organic Canola Oil; Organic Coconut Milk; Organic Aloe Vera; Organic Essential Oils Of Tulsi, Cypress, Juniper Berry, Lavender, Lemon, Basil, Black Pepper; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract

First things first, the list of ingredients is ah-mazing! No doubt about that. The organic herbs, castor oil, neem oil, tulsi, olive oil, it is truly the list of tried and tested products for hair. So, why does it sound like the results were not as impressive? you may ask. 

As mentioned previously, this was the first bar I tried. I was very very excited as soon as I received it. As with the other bars, this bar has no distinct smell. The first time I tried this bar, it was when I was still in the transition period (or so I think). It felt like this bar always caused some build up on my scalp. No matter how much ACV mixture I used. I tried this bar mixing it with other bars too. That is, if I found the build-up getting worse, I would some other bar to clear it up and then try this bar again - in the following washes over the week or so. I did this multiple times.

One thing to this bar's credit, it lasts long. It lasted at least 6 washes on my long hair. There were instances when I used more of this bar to scrub away the build-up too. 

But nothing, NOTHING worked. The build-up only got worse. In between washes, I would find some build-up on my comb too. Yikes! I have not been able to isolate the cause of this build-up though. My scalp looked flaky, but I was still able to get the comb through my hair, unlike with the Extra Beer and Honey bar when I found it difficult to comb hair through.

Also with this bar, my hair did not look shiny after I washed it. It looked dull, not lifeless but the hair strands did not have any of the shine I usually notice after I wash my hair.

Long story short, I did not like this bar. I may order another sample of this after I am done with all my samples, only because I cannot believe that something Ayurvedic failed so miserably on me *sigh*! But for now, I  think I have given this bar its fair share of attempts and it still failed to impress me.

Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve - Rosemary Lavender shampoo bar

This review is for Chagrin Valley's Rosemary Lavender Shampoo bar. In my search for shampoo bars for dry hair and curly/wavy hair to tackle dryness and frizz, I came across this shampoo bar. For a while now, about 3 years, I have been using rosemary and lavender essential oils mixed in olive/castor and almond oil for hair massages and they seem to make my hair more manageable. 

The website describes this soap so:

Hair loving essential oils along with jojoba and mango butter give hair a nourishing treat. Mango butter penetrates to re-moisturize, revive and repair damaged cells. This all natural shampoo bar is formulated with aloe vera and deep cleansing and stimulating essential oils that nourish the hair shaft, encourage strong, healthy hair and increase manageability and shine. 

And the ingredients have been listed as:

Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Sunflower Oil infused with Organic Botanicals (Rosemary, Lavender); Organic Babassu Oil; Organic Castor Oil; Water; Organic Aloe Vera; Organic Sustainable Palm Oil; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Jojoba Oil; Organic Canola Oil; Organic Mango Butter; Organic Essential Oils of Rosemary, Lavender, Tea Tree; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract

This bar smells pleasant. I love the smell of lavender and rosemary too, but lavender more! :) I have tried most of the ingredients listed above - coconut oil (hey, I am from India!), castor oil (from India, castor oil is used on babies too), aloe vera (seriously, helps with frizz) and most of the other ingredients. And this bar works! Trust me. I loved the way it left my hair after drying. Not only was my hair soft and clean, it had beautiful curls at the ends. Like children's lovely curls. That is the way I choose to describe them. And I kept touching my hair so often just to feel those curls! :) Just could not get over the feel. I so wanted to click a snap of them and send over to my mom - next time I use this bar, should remember to do that. My husband used this bar too and has decided to order a full sized bar of this.

Other things about the bar, it does not lather as much as Cafe Moreno. But it cleans well and quick too. So that's not exactly a negative. It does not melt away that quickly either. And did I mention that it left my hair feeling soft :)

To sum up, wonderful bar! Do try if you are testing Chagrin valley and have dry hair. And we ordered full-sized bar of this variety. This bar works!

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve - Cafe Moreno Shampoo bar

So after testing this bar a couple of times, I am ready to offer my opinion of Chagrin Valley's Cafe Moreno Shampoo bar. I ordered a sample of this in one of my previous orders. So many users seem to love this bar and how it leaves their hair feeling soft and lovely! So I was tempted to try it out, and did!

As described by many others, it may be made of coffee and perfect for brunettes, but it smells strongly of cloves. Not that I mind the smell, I am not a coffee lover myself, I just wanted to note that about this shampoo bar :) The shampoo is dark brown in color, as would be expected of  a soap containing coffee. And this bar is made of all organic ingredients. 

The ingredients stated on the website are:

Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Clove Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Organic Babassu Oil; Organic Virgin Shea Butter; Organic Fair Trade Coffee; Organic Avocado Oil; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Castor Oil; Organic Canola Oil; Organic Essential Oils of Clove, Patchouli, Ylang Ylang, Lavender; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract

And this bar is described as:

Brunettes have been pouring fresh brewed coffee on their hair for centuries to help transform flat brown tones to into shiny, rich color and maybe even do away with some of those pesky gray strands. Made with cloves, to enhance warm tones and fresh brewed coffee, which enriches brown hues and adds luster to dry hair. Nourishing oils and butters create a natural shampoo that moisturizes and softens dry, dull, damaged hair to help improve luster and manageability.

Something that is apparent, but I would hate to admit is, *taking a deep breath*, I do have quite a few gray hairs. I henna them once in two months and wear them proudly  even if the roots are showing. Not that I was looking for a miracle in this sample bar, but I wanted to see if it would make any difference in the four times I used it. Speak of hoping for a miracle and optimism overload!

Onto my take on this bar, I loved the smell. It lathers super quick, much quicker than the other Chagrin valley bars I have used so far. And it washed my hair very quick and left my hair shinier than the previous Chagrin valley bars. My hair feels lighter and nicer, I must admit. The smell of the soap does not linger in my hair though. Hair fall was normal and I did not have the issue of my scalp getting oily quick. Somewhere else, it was mentioned that long term coffee use on scalp reduces chances of baldness too and clove oil encourages hair growth in balding spots too apparently! Yay for all these! And wonderful idea to put together a soap like this with ingredients that complement each other.

The thing I did not like about this soap, its pretty soft and melts much quicker than many other bars. So I am not certain to its longevity when I buy a full sized bar. The sample size did last me 4+ washes plus a couple of washes by my husband (he did not like the fact that this bar decreases in size so quick). That is my biggest issue with the bar. Apart from that, I would love to use this bar again in the future. May be not right away, but the next time I want to order from Chagrin valley. So I would call this bar, it works!

Chagrin Valley Babassu Marshmallow shampoo bar

This review is for the Babassu Marshmallow bar from Chagrin Valley. 

The list of ingredients is:

Ingredients: Organic Babassu Oil; Organic Sunflower Oil; Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Avocado Oil; Organic Jojoba Oil; Organic Mango Butter;  Water; Organic Shea Butter; Sodium Hydroxide*; Organic Marsh Mallow Root; Organic Castor Oil; Organic Walnut Oil; Organic Aloe; Organic Essential Oils of Ylang Ylang, Lemon, Ginger; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract 

And this product is defined as:


A natural shampoo bar made with nourishing babassu oil, a great hair care oil for thick, coarse or kinky hair. Babassu oil moisturizes and restores hair strength and elasticity, for shiny, healthy-looking hair. Marsh mallow root softens, soothes and hydrates the hair and scalp, providing relief from scalp irritation. A natural moisturizer, marsh mallow helps detangle hair for increased manageablilty.


The smell and such details: Out of the packet, it smells herbal. Nothing more distinct, just herbal. All of the samples smelled the same to me actually. But when I warmed it up in the shower, I could smell the rich coconut oil in the soap. And the other distinct smell, ginger! I love ginger, I use it regularly in my cooking, my tea. So I loved the smell of ginger in the shower. Ginger apparently promotes hair growth in balding areas. I cannot attest to that with my trial but I loved the smell. By my fourth wash from this bar, the smell of ginger was no longer that strong, but just a hint of it was left. It lathers rich, not as quickly as the Beauty and the bees bars do. The lather is good and cleans fairly well.

As for did I like this bar, not as much as I wanted to. I was looking for well moisturized hair but my hair didn't exactly feel so. I used quite some ACV mixture too to balance the pH. Somehow, after using this bar, the first day, my hair feels pretty smooth but by the second, it begins to feel dry already. I may have to try with a lot more of the acv rinse in my hair to see if that helps, but that has been my observation. Or should I be using much lesser ACV in the mixture? Back at square one looks like! My hair does not look frizzy exactly, but feels dry. Not that well conditioned feel any longer. By the fourth day, it feels quite dry. Like I need some oil on my hair to make it soft. Not the feeling I was hoping and looking for. So, I will not be using this bar again. Onto another bar then!

Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve - Extra Honey Beer Shampoo Bar

My first product review...actually Mr T's experience. I am still noting it here.

A couple of weeks ago, I ordered the Extra Honey Beer Shampoo bar from Chagrin Valley Soap and Salve among other samples. I ordered this for dry hair, my kind of hair, to help infuse it with some moisture. The ingredients sounded great:

Organic Coconut Oil; Organic Jojoba Oil; Organic Avocado Oil; Organic Sustainable Palm Oil; Water; Organic Castor Oil; Sodium Hydroxide*; Beer; Organic Cocoa Butter; Organic Canola Oil; Organic Honey; Organic Mango Butter; Organic Rosemary Oil Extract

And the product is defined as:

A moisturizing natural shampoo made with nutrient rich honey that nourishes and revitalizes hair. A natural humectant and emollient, honey is a great moisturizer and conditioner that imparts a lustrous shine to dull, dry hair. Its antibacterial and antifungal properties help soothe scalp irritations and may help thinning hair. The vitamin B complex and natural sugars in beer add body and shine to hair.

As mentioned earlier, Mr T's been experiencing some flaking for a while actually. More than an year now. His hair is medium brown with a slight wave. He likes to keep it short, low maintenance he says.

He had been using Dr Bronner's peppermint liquid shampoo and I suspected that it may not be the best product for his hair. So I suggested that he try this bar. He being a beer lover was quite enthusiastic. No, he did not expect it to smell like beer :) Just the idea of a shampoo bar being made of beer was quite interesting. 

The shampoo bar smells herbal. Actually to me, all the samples I had ordered smell herbal. No distinct smell otherwise. I have read that some of them have a more distinct smell once warmed up in the shower. I am yet to notice that. I shall the next time I use it.

He has been using it for a couple of weeks now. And would you believe it! His flakes have disappeared! Magic! His hair looks shiny, not as flat any more. We see some volume in it and the disappearance of those flakes has made him a happy customer :) So yay to that! He has decided to use it until the sample bar is mostly done and is more than likely to reorder the full size bar for regular use.

I am yet to try this bar. I actually did try it once but I had not washed out the previous day's shampoo out right, so I decided to wash my hair two days in a row. My dry hair was not very happy. It did not tangle or go crazy but I could feel the dryness. It could be because I washed my hair two days in a row. So, I shall give it another try and then give my verdict. But for now, we have one happy user of this amazing bar.