Where can I buy bulk quantities of high-quality body soap online?

March 2, 2012 11:45 AM

Where can I buy bulk quantities of high-quality body soap online?

I'm sick of using soaps that smell like laundry detergent and have been trying to find bulk quantities of cheap (or at least cheapish), high-quality soaps online. I haven't had much luck.

I plan on buying enough soap to last me four or five years and plan on paying a maximum of $75 on it. I want to buy a huge amount of soap so that I don't have to worry about buying it for a really long time.

I've found lots of soaps which sound promising, but I'm not interested in paying $10 for 100 gram bars of soap; that's way out of my budget (especially considering how fast I go through soap).

I don't care much about what ingredients the soaps you recommend contain as long as they:

• Don't smell like laundry detergent
• Don't dry skin out

I'm generally more of a fan of glycerin-based soaps than non-glycerin based ones, but recommend any soaps you feel perform well. Also, if you could recommend high-quality olive oil soaps, that would be great (I think a soap with oil in it would work well for me since I have very dry skin).

I'm also fine with unscented soap recommendations as I care more about the performance of soap rather than the scent. But a good scent + high performance = awesomeness.

Lastly: Please recommend sites which have PayPal support as that's my preferred method of paying for stuff online.

Thanks.

posted by GlassHeart to clothing, beauty, & fashion (10 answers total)

Hotel supply stores? Custodial supply stores?
posted by Sunburnt at 11:57 AM on March 2, 2012

I am given to understand that savon de Marseille is incredibly long-lasting and, as long as you don't get it in lavendar, shouldn't smell like laundry detergent.

There's lots of sources, I'm sure many of them take PayPal.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:01 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seconding savon de Marseille. Add this Japanese bath towel to your routine and you'll literally need just a wee dollop for tons of lather.
posted by Dragonness at 12:27 PM on March 2, 2012 [3 favorites]

You should probably go check on Etsy because you might be able to work something out with a seller.
posted by spunweb at 12:57 PM on March 2, 2012

Yes, if you are buying from a boutique soapmaker, I am sure you will be able to special order bulk soaps at a discounted rate if you just send them an email.
posted by Vaike at 1:11 PM on March 2, 2012

Vanicream soap is unscented and lasts me for at least two months, even in the shower. I can get through 3-4 Dove soap bars in that time. It's about $3.40-$3.50 for a 110gr bar.

If you are looking for "male" scents, Cusson's Imperial Leather soap lasts for ever - and it has that type of aftershave scent that most men like (sandalwood-ish). These are going on Amazon for $2.50/125gr bar, if you buy 6 at once.

In general, if you want long-lasting soap, look for British or European brands. They tend to be harder and so longer-lasting. American brands tend to be made to wash down the drain.
posted by Susurration at 1:13 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

This may be more involved than you want, but I had a similar impulse a few years ago when I realized I couldn't afford to keep myself in the yummy smelling farmer's market soap I'd gotten addicted to. I order a few pounds of melt and pour soap base from Brambleberry.com, melt it in the microwave, mix in a few essential oils, and pour them into silicone muffin tins to harden. About 15 minutes worth of work for about a year's worth of soap. Not into that much work? You can just slice off a piece of soap with a good kitchen knife instead. I buy five pound blocks of the Shea butter soap, and get to skip moisturizer. But you can buy 25 pounds of white soap for $39. They also have bulk glycerin soap. That amount would last me about six years. They take PayPal.
posted by instamatic at 1:21 PM on March 2, 2012

enough soap to last me four or five years

After being stored that long, even the nicest soap isn't going to smell like much. Why not stock up at TJ Maxx or Marshalls or some other such discounter?
posted by Ideefixe at 1:24 PM on March 2, 2012

It's not super duper cheap, but you might consider Lush.
posted by SisterHavana at 2:44 PM on March 2, 2012

Dragonness: "Seconding savon de Marseille. Add this Japanese bath towel to your routine and you'll literally need just a wee dollop for tons of lather."

Nice. Looks like I'm going to get plenty of Savon de Marseille and some of those bath towels as well.

I've been wanting to get better washcloths, so it's great that you recommended those in addition to the soap. I won't be buying them from Amazon though -- I'll be buying them from here.
posted by GlassHeart at 6:33 PM on March 2, 2012 [1 favorite]