In 2007, Oprah Winfrey, on her daily show, recommended a Portuguese soap. Orders started pouring in from around the world, and some Portuguese companies that had believed their days were numbered are now thriving.
Portuguese soaps in the spotlight
Portuguese soaps have become a star product and are present in any guidebook of Portugal. More than 80% of the local production is now exported.
It is humorously suggested that during a trip to Oporto, one should purchase a soap as evidence of having visited the city. Additionally, it is said that after navigating the ups and downs of Lisbon, a refreshing bath highlights the charm of Portuguese soaps.
Quality and authenticity
All this is not the result of chance or simply the result of a good communication
Behind this resurgence, there are genuine fundamentals tied to the quality of the products, the preserved expertise, and the respect for tradition. These essential aspects are currently being rediscovered and championed by ambitious entrepreneurs and craftsmen.
Back to the roots
The classic toilet soap, renowned for its lathering ability, pleasant scent, and skin-cleansing properties, has been overshadowed by the popularity of liquid soaps, shower gels, and various products with creamier, oilier, or softer textures.
And yet, with its natural properties and unique cleansing power, soap stands out as a beauty care product with everything to offer. It comes in a myriad of shapes, colors, and scents, composed primarily of natural ingredients such as honey, milk, sweet almond, or olive oil, without the addition of any additives. Soap effectively cleanses the skin, leaving it thoroughly washed without any residue.
A simple comparison between the composition of a shower gel and a Portuguese soap reveals that the shower gel contains a multitude of ingredients in contrast to the simplicity of soap. One may question the necessity of these additional ingredients. Are they beneficial for health? Could they potentially be harmful to the environment? These are important considerations to ponder.
Luxo-Banho soap - Credit Ach Brito
Using a shower gel is three times more expensive than using a solid soap. By opting for high-quality natural soaps, which may have a higher upfront cost but are better for your health, you can take advantage of the savings.
Additionally, soap offers the benefit of producing minimal waste, unlike shower gel bottles which, although recyclable, consume significant resources during production. Portuguese soaps are hand-packed in simple paper or cardboard boxes, further emphasizing their eco-friendly packaging.
Why use Portuguese soaps?
So, you're wondering why you should use Portuguese soap. I have at least 3 reasons to offer you!
- Nothing beats that feeling of scrubbing with soap and feeling the dirt go away. It's not just a physical feeling, it's also a psychological one.
- Soaps are more ecological than shower gels, they don't use plastic materials because most of them are wrapped in paper, they use only 100% natural ingredients and are never tested on animals.
- Soaps add color to the bathroom, have different textures and aromas, some even have special shapes. It's much more fun than a line of plastic bottles!
Portuguese soaps take care of the skin, they nourish, moisturize, cleanse, soothe and even exfoliate and use only natural ingredients.
Portuguese soap boxes
There is nothing like a small box of traditional soaps to treat yourself or to offer. It has become a "must", no way to come back from Lisbon or Porto without a few soaps with deliciously vintage packaging.
"Azulejos" soaps - Luisa Paixão collection
There are soaps for all tastes and for all uses: care soaps, flower soaps, fruit soaps, reissues of old soaps, handmade soaps... It's up to you to let yourself be tempted.
Flower soaps - Luisa Paixão collection
Exfoliating soaps
The exfoliating soaps allow to erase the dead cells which accumulate on the surface of the epidermis. Totally natural, they can be used on both the body and the face.
There are soaps that act chemically, thanks to fruit acids. Be careful not to use these soaps on the face because of their aggressiveness.
Exfoliating soap for men - Luisa Paixão collection
There are also soaps that work mechanically using crushed fruit pits, salt or crushed stone.
Purifying soaps
These soaps, generally based on clay, oils or plants such as lavender, form a foam that eliminates excess sebum on the surface and prevents acne breakouts.
Purifying soap - Luisa Paixão collection
Moisturizing soaps
These soaps are enriched with ingredients with moisturizing properties such as coconut oil, shea butter, ass's milk, goat's milk, chamomile, aloe vera...
The Portuguese soaps are the best in this field; by the care taken in their manufacture, by the quality of the ingredients incorporated: all natural and 100% vegetable and also by the processes of manufacture which guarantee an ideal proportioning between the hydrating elements and the base of soap which preserves the foaming effect.
Soaps for pleasure
If there is also an area in which the Portuguese excel, it is in the ability to integrate extraordinary scents to their soaps.
You will find classic soaps with flowers: rose, lavender or violet of course, but you will also find rarer scents such as hydrangea, lily or lotus.
Fruits are also very used. Thus you will have the choice between soaps with strawberry, lemon, passion fruit. Some craftsmen dare to elaborate, with success, more surprising soaps with honey, figs, mandarins.
Soaps for men
Here we enter a very masculine universe where barbers replace perfumers. The colors, the shapes, the scents change but also the composition of soaps.
Men's skin is richer in collagen and hair. Men's skin is thicker, more oily and acidic and is attacked daily by shaving.
The skin can then quickly dry out and become damaged. Soaps for men take this into account in their formulation.