I have had the pleasure of trying out four different formulas from this fantastic soap making company. I have to admit that I balked initially, at the price. However, I was super motivated because my skin is very sensitive, extremely easily irritated, frequently itchy, and scaly; not to mention, red and angry. As you can imagine, I was willing to try pretty much anything and yes, as soap bars go, their pricey, but a bit desperate! To be fair, the soaps last a long time so they're really not that expensive after all. Anyway, I'll be reviewing all four with a little bit of comparison between them. Since they all contain 1% or 2%.Pyrithione Zinc it is the adjunctive ingredients that would potentially set them apart. This one, with activated charcoal and shea butter and tea tree oil was really awesome - perhaps my favorite?. It does have the higher percentage of. Pyrithione, so obviously it would be expected to have a higher potency and potential healing effect. I absolutely found this to be the case, although all of the soaps really did improve my skin. The higher percentages definitely seem to have the edge. The Shea Butter seemed to really help with softness and tea tree oil can be a fantastic antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory addition. I was a bit concerned that the Teatree oil might be irritating for me, but I did not find that to be the case. All four of the soaps that I tried do work up a nice lather, are easy to use and rinse off relatively easily. My skin is definitely been less irritated since using them. I can't say much fairer than that. Actually having soft skin for once is like a completely different world! So many reasons to celebrate! I've tried a lot of products for my skin, this brand really elevates, and I feel really confident in recommending it. What it really boils down to, is which one is going to work best for you. Read more
I ordered this Noble Formula soap because it contains 2 percent pyrithione zinc, an ingredient commonly used in cleansers intended to calm flaky or irritated skin. The bar itself is a dense charcoal gray and produces a good foamy lather with warm water. The ingredient list shows a blend of olive oil, sunflower oil, babassu oil, castor oil, and shea butter, which makes for a balanced soap base that cleans effectively without feeling overly harsh. One ingredient I had not encountered before was babassu oil. After looking it up, I learned it comes from a palm in Brazil and is commonly used in soap because it produces good lather while still feeling relatively mild on the skin. It behaves somewhat like coconut oil in soap formulas. In some cases it is also considered a more sustainable ingredient since many babassu palms grow wild rather than in plantations. If that is part of the reason it is used here, good on the company. While the charcoal and tea tree get most of the marketing attention, the zinc is really the functional ingredient. The scent is light and herbal from the tea tree oil rather than strongly perfumed. The directions recommend letting the lather sit on the skin for about a minute before rinsing. That contact time matters with zinc cleansers because the active ingredient needs a little time on the skin before being washed away. The packaging is more complete than many small batch soaps. It includes the ingredient list, directions, warnings, a lot number, expiration date, and manufacturer contact information. One interesting regulatory note is that pyrithione zinc was removed from cosmetic products in the European Union in 2022, while it remains permitted in rinse-off products like shampoos and soaps in the United States. That difference reflects regulatory policy rather than a specific issue with this product. Since this is a relatively small 3.25 ounce bar, I keep it on a grated soap dish so it can dry fully between uses rather than sitting in water. Stored that way the bar holds its shape well and does not turn mushy. At about $13, the price per ounce ends up a bit higher than some comparable zinc soaps, many of which come in four ounce bars. Overall the formulation is thoughtful and clearly labeled. The smaller bar size is the main reason I stop short of a perfect rating. For that reason I place this at four stars. It performs well for its intended purpose, but the smaller bar makes the value feel slightly less competitive. Read more
It was nice to see pyrithione zinc formula added to a bar of soap with the charcoal, so not only was a mild case of folliculitis being handled well over the last couple of applications across the last several evenings before a shower, but the charcoal gets the skin additionally clean. I will typically feel a difference after using charcoal soap, so I'm pretty happy that the other ingredients were added to try to counterbalance it. It smells pretty neutral to me, but I'm more concerned about the effectiveness: it took off any remaining deodorant I had applied to my skin that morning, and did a great job on sweaty skin after a workout. I'm going to add this because it's necessary: follow the directions about how this is supposed to be used. The soap itself lathers extremely well, but it's not really supposed to go into the shower with you in the way that you would normally use soap if you want the full effect of the chemical formula; for that, you should lather it and apply it and allow it to sit there for just a little while per the directions so it gets in and starts to do its work. Then you wash it off. This is probably a smaller bar of soap than most of us would typically use, so using as directed will help you preserve it as long as need be. It's also pricey for one bar of soap, but given the ingredients and longitivity if used properly, it should be around a while. Great value, then! Very highly recommended. Read more
