"This stuff WORKS!"

It's always good to know my soaps effectively clean and moisturize, but then again, I or anyone in my family could tell you that. We're the reason I can never claim "Not tested on animals," because my husband, daughter, friends and parents become my guinea pigs for each batch. What feels good, though, I'll admit, is finding out my soaps will not just take care of the routine, run-of-the-mill, every day dirt, but that they'll also do the job against serious dirt, too.

This is a small part of Jim, one of my best friends.

Jim's really into motorcycles - he has two Buell's - and, like most dedicated bikers, he does his own maintenance work. The silver stuff all over his finger is Anti-Seize. It's an aluminum-impregnated grease that not only lubricates moving parts, but it also keeps them from rusting together. It's thick, it's nasty and it's extremely difficult to wash off.

Jim's also a coffee junky. So when I made my coffee mocha soap, I gave him a bar to test out, thinking he'd use it in the shower. Coffee mocha also has a pretty noticeable vanilla note, which also appealed to him. Here's that soap:



The day after I gave him the soap, Jim IM'ed me, "This stuff WORKS!" I was a bit nonchalant about it: "Well, yes, I know it works. It's soap. It's supposed to." That's when he went on to explain to me about anti-seize and how effective the soap is even against that.

So, give the soap a try. I don't think there's anything magical about the Coffee Mocha scent, or about the little bit of baking cocoa I added for color. I think the magic comes in the soap itself and the fact that's it really, truly soap. Let's face it. Detergent's great for clothes and dishes, but not for skin. Using the mess you get at the grocery store would be like having head-to-toe dishpan hands.