Many months ago, I read a description of this soap on a website I check a little too often and knew I had to, in the very least, buy a bar of it and give it the old college try. (What does that last little bit mean any way?) I went ahead and bought two bars just in case I loved it and upon the arrival of my box, I immediately became oddly infatuated with the whole concept of the soap and became that precocious kid who is walking around asking people to smell and touch whatever the newest thing that has caught their fancy. I made just about anyone who came over at least smell the box and some would be brave enough to get the bar out of the box and handle it. I, even went as far as, to bring the soap to school and show it to all my students who in return, for the most part, thought I was even weirder than previously thought. But some also became quickly attached to the smell and have sense told me that they too have made the same purchase.
And as with most things with me, the whole idea of using the soap went from semi-normal to blown way out of proportion. I've been called an extremist before and all I'll really say is that I get it genetically from all sides of the gene pool and some from my surroundings. I began, in my mind, and then to my students doing these little advertising bits for the soap and with each bit, the soap and what it does got more and more absurd. And they sort of went like this:
"Have you ever been watching a John Wayne movie and wondered what a man like that used for soap or smelled like....
"...then use 'Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap'."
Or
"Have you ever wanted to be the type of man that walks with bears and claws their lifestyle out of the wilderness like Jeremiah Johnson...
...then try 'Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap'."
Or
"Have you ever wanted to smell like the kind of guy that could lead a nation into the extreme wilderness and have them survive off of locusts and manna and stretch out your arms and separate a sea....
...then try 'Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap'."
You get the idea. I know, I know, it's just a soap, but the soap sort of emits this strange amount of strength from it and it's not just the heavy pine tar scent. It seems like once you begin using it, it feels as if you are going in the complete opposite direction as many of today's male grooming and metrosexual goops and lotions. It is as if you are using a soap you bought off a guy who was with Lewis & Clark or is best friends with Daniel Boone or de Vaca. All of which seems just as absurd until you give the picture of "Grandpa" that's on the box a good look in the eye and dump the soap out into your hand and give it the once over; even going so far as to run some warm water and wash your face with it for the first time. After that first washing, all of the above won't seem so far fetched.
And as the back of the box claims, it has been known to be good for everything from shampoo to shaving lotion; each of which I've tested and can say that it is a sufficient shampoo, but it is one of the best shaving lathers that I've ever used. And the soap has also been known to help people who struggle with dandruff, Psoriasis, Eczema, and many other major and minor skin irritations. I'm not sure about any of those, but I will say that it does do a great job of cleaning and when you finish your shower, you do feel fresh and clean.
In all honesty and putting most of the absurdity behind me, Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap, is a really good soap. It does smell and when I say that I am VERY serious. You can just place it in your bathroom and minutes later, it is the only smell that you will experience when you go near or in the bathroom. The smell grew on me, but it did not grow on my wife. The only thing that I can tell you that it smells like is that of a campfire. Many others who smelled it compared it to everything from beef jerky (disgusting) to dog food (even more disgusting). I only think it smells like the fires that smolder days after they've been set or break out like in a state forest or when they are clearing land. I happen to like this smell, but others may hate it. And you may like it, but just not want to smell it in your shower. I will say that after bathing with it, you do not smell like it for even an hour after you bathe.
It is a great soap and an even greater shaving lather. It is an efficient shampoo, but if you have thin hair like me, then it'll make it feel really dry. I have a read a couple of places saying it makes a great deodorant, but from my single day experience, I can say that either it isn't or South Georgia is not the place to try that out. If you have normal skin, I don't think there is much resistance to it, but if you have sensitive skin, then your skin may fight you a little. If you have marble or granite fixtures in your bathroom, the soap does leave behind an odd film, but most bar soaps do too, but unlike we'll say Irish Spring, "Grandpa's", washes off easily. And if natural soap is your thing, then look no further that this soap. It only has seven total ingredients and three of those are water, pine tar, and salt. This is a far cry from 15+ ingredients that make up the bar of my usual, Irish Spring soap, that most people who didn't take Organic Chemistry II could pronounce or know what they're referring to. I'm not knocking, Irish Spring. I love that soap. I've been using it since before middle school and I plan on doing so until something better comes along, but I was just showing the differences of ingredients.
Since the summer and my fateful box containing two bars of Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap, I have since used both bars and do not currently have a bar, but one should arrive tomorrow. I enjoyed the soap and will keep using it. It won't be a monthly thing, but merely just a special thing. The lone drawback for me, besides the fact that my bride doesn't just love it, is that each bar can put you back around $6. And when it comes to soap, that is quite a bit. I can sometimes find other soaps, soaps my bride and I both like, for far less and get multiple bars. I would encourage others to buy a bar. I will say that this is the first summer and XC season in which I didn't have to go to a doctor to get my biannual shot for a severe poison ivy breakout. I'm giving most of that credit to the soap and for me that's worth more than $6.
Go get some Pine Tar Soap and as FH would say, "lather up, lather up",
DAVID
1. I like your blog post and the new background.
ReplyDelete2. I CAN'T BELIEVE that you have ordered another bar of that stinky soap! Gag.
3. Why haven't you changed your current reading selection to Hunger Games yet?