Wembe Natural & Vegan Soaps

Right behind recycling and bringing cloth bags to the grocery store, switching to bar soap was one of the first things we did in our journey to live more sustainably.

I used to love all of those scented shower gels from Bath & Body Words and Victoria's Secret, so switching to plain while bar soap was a little, well, boring. Over the past few years though, the bar soap industry has really exploded. Especially with the creation of sites like Etsy, you can find bar soaps in every size, shape, and scent out there.

I've become somewhat of a soapaholic, buying bars when I find them on sale or find interesting "flavors" that I can't pass up.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a newish (launched last summer) company called Wembe, to try out their new line of soaps. Wembe is a Paraguayan company that uses all pure and natural ingredients in their soaps - no silicone, petroleum products, parabens, sulfates, phenoxythanol, polyethylene glycol, synthetic fragrances or dye. Many of the ingredients are certified organic (where possible) and 94% of their products are vegan.

Wembe sent me one of their Coconut Exfoliating Blend bars saying,

"This is not the common coconut soap. We use two varieties of coconut to create the sweetest smelling and most nourishing blend. It is astringent and slightly defoliant to smooth and relieve dry, rough skin."

Goodness knows I could use that! It's been such a dry, cold winter here in Colorado that my skin feels like it's falling right off.

I was happy to see that the soap came wrapped in a piece of brown paper, rather than plastic, that I could throw into the compost pile.

The first day I used it, I was in heaven. The little exfoliating bits of coconut made me feel like a kitten getting a good all-over-scratching. Ahhhhh... I might have overdone it though because my skin was a little pink and over-exfoliated. Note to self: be gentle, no matter how good it feels! After that, I switched to using it about once a week, which was perfect. I think I'd try one of their smoother blends next time.

Wembe has a variety of other bar soaps - both exfoliating and smooth! - like their Avocado Cleansing Blend made with avocado oil and cashew leaves, or the Green Blue River Blend made with white sands from the Parana River blended to soothe tired feet.

And, lucky you, Wembe has offered to do a giveaway to Greenhab readers just in time for Valentine's Day. They're offering up a bar of their (vegan) Chocolate Cleansing Blend to one lucky winner~

"This delicious blend is full of active elements. It acts as a skin softener, an antioxidant, and can help smooth wrinkles. Chocolate, the jungle's greatest aphrodisiac. Do you need to hear more?"

All you have to do is leave a comment. Let me know that you've already made the switch to bar soap, or that you'd be willing to give it a try. I'll announce a winner on Friday, January 22nd.