Virginia Soaps & Scents {Review}

This year at our local homeschool convention I visited the booth for Virginia Soaps & Scents. I knew that they were on the review list for Homeschool Crew and just wanted to meet the owners and see all of their products in person. I walked up to the booth a little skeptical of all the homemade soaps and scents and left with a bag of purchases I was very anxious to try!

I can honestly say that Roy & Richelle are two of the sweetest and most amazing people you will meet. I wandered back to their booth several times over the course of the weekend, spent a lot of time talking to them, and bought several things from their booth because I was so impressed with what they offered. One of the things that I really wanted, a shaving bar, had already sold out and a few days later I found a package in my mailbox with shaving bars and a sweet note from Richelle inside ~ just because. Needless to say, I’m in love with their company!

About Virginia Soaps & Scents

Soapmaking for the Spargurs started out as a homeschool project while studying Colonial Williamsburg. What began as a one-time project turned into a fun family adventure with the entire family developing recipes and starting a business together. Everything that Virginia Soaps & Scents produces {from labels to making soaps} is done in their own home.

The bars are all hand cut, giving them each a unique look. As for what is in the soap? All of their soaps are made with natural oils ~ no chemicals.

We use many combinations of oils in our soaps, but almost all will contain olive oil and coconut oil – in combination with other oils such as lard, cocoa butter, safflower, sunflower, canola, peanut, palm or soybean oils.

Products I’ve Used {and LOVE!!}

Members of the Homeschool Crew recieved a sampler kit that included mini bars of Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Soap, Fresh Orange Soap, Coconut Lemongrass Soap, a Ginger Lime Shampoo Bar, and a Laundry Soap Kit. Prior to the review I had purchased similar products from the company with different scents and have been using them since June.

I struggle with different scents and smells, often getting migraines because of something that others might not even notice, so I am very cautious to try new things. The bars that I purchased myself were very mild and don’t overwhelm you with their scent {they also have a line of Fragrance Free products too!}. The scents that I have used are: Caribbean Breeze {shaving bar}, Coconut Lemongrass {Shampoo Bar} as well as the ones sent to us to review.

Laundry Soap ~ I’ve wanted to make my own laundry soap for quite some time, so I purchased two of their cleaning bars prior to receiving the kit. Making it was so incredibly simple ~ I just grated the cleaning bars, followed their recipe online, and had homemade laundry detergent in under 15 minutes. We’ve been using the detergent now for quite some time and I’m hooked! The kids love it too, since they can easily scoop the detergent out themselves and help with the laundry {Mommy loves this part too!}. The 9 oz {$3.95} cleaning bar will make two batches of detergent, enough for 128 loads of laundry.

Others have asked if we’ve noticed any change in our laundry ~ is it getting clean? Absolutely yes! The bars are unscented, so the detergent doesn’t have any overwhelming smell either. Just ‘clean’. I did have to purchase a box of Borax and also washing soda, but both boxes are going to last me for a LONG time. After figuring out the cost of the detergent, it works out to about 5 cents a load of laundry, and you’ll have plenty of Borax and washing soda for future batches. The detergent is low-sudsing, so you can also use it with front loading washers!! Soon I’ll be posting about how the whole ‘making detergent’ process too. :)

If you aren’t sure that you want to make your own detergent and want to ‘test the waters’ to see if it would work for you, they offer a Laundry Soap Kit for $4.95 that includes everything you need to make a batch of detergent ~ all you need to do is add water! Cleaning bars are $3.95 for a 9 oz bar or laundry kits are available for $4.95 each {enough to make 2 gallons of detergent}.

Shampoo Bar ~ I have to admit that I was a little skeptical on the shampoo bar at first. This was another thing that I bought prior to receiving the review packet. I was worried more about it because I have psoriasis that flares up from time to time. The shampoo has a GREAT lather and leaves your hair feeling very clean. Basically, it works just like the shampoo that I was using before. I do think that I need to switch over to the Oily Hair/Clarifying Shampoo Bar though, so that is getting added to my next order. Shampoo bars are $5.50 for a 5.5 oz bar or 2/$10.

Shaving Bars ~ Again, I was a little cautious on these because my legs will break out from the simplest thing. The shaving bars have a little more ‘glide’ in them than the regular soap thanks to castor oil, which helps out a lot when shaving your legs. The Caribbean Breeze scent is light and I haven’t had any breakouts while using them. Shaving bars are $4.95 for 2 ~ 2 oz. cubes.

Soap Bars ~ If you read our family blog, you might remember that we are a liquid soap using family. To the point that Zachary was in awe of a bar of soap while we were visiting friends. The soap has been hidden from little hands and stays with me. I am loving the Oatmeal, Milk, and Honey bar as well as the Fresh Orange scents. Soap bars are $4.50 for a 4.5 oz bar, 3/$10 or 10/$35.

Orders and More

I don’t think I need to remind you that Christmas is coming soon, and their products would make great stocking stuffers and gifts for so many on your list! For the holiday season they have Christmas Scents available: Wild Bayberry, Pumpkin Spice, and Peppermint soaps {I turned my order in this last weekend so I wouldn’t miss out on them!!}.

Be sure to visit Virginia Soaps & Scents and see the wide variety of products and soap scents that they have available. If you haven’t already figured it out, I highly recommend them for both their products and wonderful customer service ~ tell them I sent you over! :)