Wembé soaps scrub you clean, naturally

Made with ingredients from the Amazon rain forest, these Paraguayan soaps double as natural exfoliators, too.

Wed, Feb 03 2010 at 2:14 PM EST

Photo courtesy of Wembé

For a natural soap that naturally exfoliates your skin, try Wembé, a line of pretty soaps made with ingredients from the Amazon rain forest.

Wembé soaps are handmade in Paraguay using native plants and herbs that, according to the company, are organically grown though not certified as such. Those are mixed with essential vegetable oils and natural butters to make colorful, textured soaps without artificial coloring or fragrances. The soap’s ingredients all get low hazard ratings from Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database — except ethyl alcohol, which rates a moderate hazard.

What I like most about Wembé is the soap’s natural exfoliating action. The Coconut Exfoliating Blend I tried was embedded with chunks of coconut pulp, which gently exfoliated my skin while moisturizing it with its oils. The bar’s square shape also made for an easy grip, so I wasn’t constantly dropping the soap and chasing it around the bathroom as tends to happen when I shower while sleepy.

My one disappointment is that my Wembé coconut soap barely smelled like coconut, though the bar was advertised as the “sweetest smelling” blend. In fact the bar pretty much had no fragrance whatsoever — which might actually be a bonus for eco-bathers who prefer soaps sans scent. For the rest of us, other Wembé bars may be more aromatic. The Mango Cleansing Blend, for example, “smells like a tropical getaway” according to Jasmin Chua at Treehugger.

Let me know if the bar you try has a more delicious scent. Wembé soaps are available at the company’s Web store for $7 to $10.85 per 3.75-ounce bar, which arrives wrapped in simple brown paper for easy recycling.

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