Hippie Soap

I am looking to buy some new soap.  For lack of better term, I'm looking for some hippie soap.  What the heck is hippie soap?  I want a bath soap (preferably liquid, but I can live with bars) that is as natural as possible and that does not have any endocrine disruptors. 

My husband enjoyed a hearty laugh at my concerns about my bath soap and he inquired if I'd be procuring Cherokee hair tampons next (seems like we've had this conversation more than once), but I have a good reason for wanting hippie soap.  Well, maybe not a good reason.  More like a sad and pathetic reason, but it's a reason and it's mine.

I didn't use my regular soap for weeks after I discovered I was pregnant last November because I'd been trying to get pregnant for so long and I was afraid to use anything that might be harmful to embryonic or (later on) fetal development.  I used a very mild facial cleanser instead of my regular bath wash.  I ultimately thought I was being a little too paranoid and I was being silly to fear soap so I began to use it again.  My baby died a few weeks later.

Was it the soap?  No, I don't believe so.  But I already had hormonal difficulties and who's to say that it didn't tip my hormones out of balance just enough to cause "fetal demise"? 

I discovered the Skin Deep database recently and learned that my regular bath wash is a 6 on their scale and the facial cleanser is a 3.  Both are indicated as potentially causing endocrine disruption.  Obviously, I don't want to use either.

So, here's where I'm hoping that my crunchy readers will come through with some recommendations for me.  Tell me what bath products you would recommend.  I'm specifically concerned about avoiding anything that might stimulate or mimic estrogen and, from a reproductive standpoint, I'd like to keep things as hormonally neutral as possible. 

What soap do you use in the shower?  Is it liquid or bar?  Where do you buy it?  Is it expensive?  Does it smell like Birkenstocks & hairy armpits or is it something that a mainstream-hippie would be willing to use?  Does the line/brand have other products that are worth checking out?

I'm Definitely a Hippie

I wrote a post nearly a year ago in which I wondered:  Am I a Hippie?  My hubs could be called The Man and he often laughs or rolls his eyes while groaning at my hippie tendencies.  Thankfully, he's mainly just amused at the things I do, say, and think and he gives me the freedom to march to the beat of my own drum.  Thanks to a few recent conversations, I'm reaching the conclusion that I'm becoming more of a hippie by the day.

~ I had a lengthy conversation just yesterday with my sister about my feelings on breastfeeding as it relates to raising my own child and, as you might guess, I sounded like a milkalicious mama because I regret not breastfeeding my son until he was at least 18-months.  Assuming that I have the same enviable milk supply if I have a second child, I will absolutely nurse until they are 1 1/2-years old.  It's really not all that long and breastmilk is still beneficial to toddlers, so why wouldn't I want to offer him the best if I possibly could?  For the record, she thought I was a weirdo for nursing my son until he was just about 13-months of age and implied that he's breast-obsessed because I nursed him too long.  If that's the reason, I want to know why my non-breastfed husband also likes boobies.  Hell, I was breastfed until I was nine-months old and even I like a nice set of boobs!

~ I've had enough friends remark that I should make my son walk or sit in a stroller (rather than wear him on my hip or back in a carrier) that I realize I am a little out of the mainstream when it comes to my parenting choices as it relates to restraining my child and keeping him safe in a crowd.  I don't see the difference between wearing him in a carrier (pouch, SSC, and ring sling are my favorites for my lil' 30-pounder) and pushing him in a stroller.  Why is it considered okay to put him in a stroller, but not let him ride on my back?  Perhaps a choke-chain and leash would be more socially acceptable?  If that doesn't work, I also have a shock-collar that worked beautifully on modifying the behavior of our 90-pound GSD. . .

~ A friend remarked on Facebook that she'd like to have chats with other mamas in person rather than over the computer.  She added that it would be nice to have these conversations while we were all preparing community meals so that we could work out our conflicts with self while actually feeding the entire tribe.  I have to admit, this appeals to me on so many levels.  I'm a very social individual and I frequently feel tormented with middle-aged angst so I'd love the opportunity to rap with women on a deep and meaningful level every single day and so much the better if real work were accomplished at the same time.  I also don't mind working hard for the benefit of others besides myself or even my own family.  I know that I sound like I'm just a few steps away from embracing communal living arrangements (if you know my hubs, you'll know that this will NEVER happen!) and I know that hippie communes ended up presenting their own specific sets of problems (as one would expect in most communistic environments, the shirkers piss the hell out of workers), but the freedom and the sharing aspect certainly appeals to me.

I think it's pretty clear:  I'm definitely a hippie.