Product Review: Dove Bar

aka: In which Dove totally saves the heck out of my skin.

You guys ever go through a time when nothing seems to go right? Those things that you thought were so steadfast and reliable fail you, and when you try to fix it, everything just seems to screw up more?

Well I have. Just recently, in fact. Of course, I am talking about my skin here. For weeks (months?) I'd been battling these weird dry itchy patches on my torso. (Hot image, I know). They recur from time to time, for no discernible reason. It might be mild eczema, or just the frustratingly vague "contact dermatitis". I don't know, it's never bothered me enough to go get it diagnosed. I don't know what triggers it... it usually appears on my neck or torso, and it can happen during any season. I haven't changed my skincare routine or even laundry detergent recently. But when these patches flare up, they're super irritating, never mind the gross scaly appearance and feel. Ugh!

Anyway. Because these incidents don't seem to be tied to any changes in my skincare routine, I never bothered changing my showergel to try stop the irritation. I mean, I'd used the same stuff for months without problem, so why should I switch? Luckily for me, the kind folks at Dove decided to send me a Dove Bar to try out.

An unassuming looking little thing, right? In the age of fancy body washes which promise to exfoliate, and moisturize, and turn back the hands of time, and make your skin glow like Jennifer Garner's (as if!), it's easy to forget about the plain ol' "beauty bar". But maybe it's time we gave it another look!

Dove's big claim is that the Dove Bar doesn't leave the filmy soap scum on your skin that regular soap does. Well, as someone who doesn't typically use regular soap, I didn't think this was a big deal. But maybe "soap scum" is code for "irritating weirdness", because ever since I've started using the Dove Bar, my annoyingly itchy skin has started to fade! I've been ultra lazy lately, and haven't been moisturizing much. But despite this, my skin is feeling remarkably normal, and those itchy patches seem to have gone into remission. Could Dove Bar be the secret weapon against irritated skin?

Okay folks, let's be good critical thinkers here. It *could* be the case that the skin irritation would have stopped on its own, and that the Dove Bar had nothing to do with it. After all, in the past, the patches do eventually disappear on their own. On the other hand, I've been using fancy moisturizers and healing oils on the dry patches, and no permanent relief happened until I started using Dove. And, the Classic bar I've been using isn't even the Sensitive Skin (fragrance-free) one, which would presumably be even more soothing for problem areas.

Personally, if the shoe ain't broke, I'm not going to fix it. That is to say, the Dove Bar is going to be my "gentle" cleanser of choice now unless some other problem crops up. Sure, it's not fancy or incredibly indulgent, but it works. I'd even be willing to use it on my face in a pinch, which is something I would have hesitated to do with my old body washes. (Incidentally, bar soap doesn't count as a "liquid" during air travel, which makes it a great choice for the travel toilettries kit.)

And bonus? It's really affordable, and the bar makes my bathroom smell nice even when I'm not using it. So yeah, that's pretty much a no-brainer for me. Good for the wallet, and for the skin!