How I Rediscovered Nabulsi Soap

Nowadays it boggles my mind, but when I was younger I used soaps and perfumes with very heavy scents. I used Suave and Dove products in industrial size containers. These soaps worked just fine and they were economical especially for big families, so that's what I used when I was a kid. At some point I started using products from Bath and Body Works and Victoria's Secret. It's crazy that I spent so much on junk that made me smell like a lollipop.

My dad hated these heavy scents. He said they would give him a headache. At the time I thought he was just being a grouch but now that I'm older the heavy scents give me a headache too.

What the hell was I thinking? What is even in those products? The powder pink and shimmering glitter caps, the spray in plastic containers made to look like glass. The really deep question to ask is why anyone would think those products made them attractive? I was trying to smell like what I thought a girl is supposed to smell like. Now that I think about it. Yuck, just no. 

As I got older I came to love and only use Nabulsi soap because it cleans off well with no residue and it leaves the skin moisturized without any scent. I think one of the most special things about it is that it cleans vigorously without foaming until your hands or face, or whatever you are cleaning, is actually clean. It is like an indicator. And it is a soft soap that is also gentle. I use it for everything from washing the baby to washing the dishes, to washing my face. On trips when I can only bring a few things I always bring a bar of it. It works for a non-irritating underarm deodorant and as a skin-soother when someone has dandruff, ezcema, or dry skin. My husband likes it as much, if not more, than I do.

The soap is made with only three ingredients, olive oil, water, and a sodium compound. I love that the olive oil and sodium compound are locally sourced and made in Palestine. I love that the sodium compound is a mix of powdered barilla plant ashes (qilw) which grows on the outskirts of Nablus and along the banks of the Jordan River, and lime (sheed) which comes from farms in areas around Nablus. I love Nabulsi soap because it is a simple product with a very long tradition of being made the same way since biblical times. I love that the families who keep their workshops operational do it for the love of their family's dignity and name. I love it because I know what it's from, where it's from, how it's made, and about how its history connects to my own life. It was the only soap my father ever used and I am starting to understand why.

All I know is I'm never stepping foot in a Victoria's Secret again. Who the hell names soap, plus the lotion, plus the body spray, plus body scrub, 'Pure Seduction' or 'Aqua Kiss'? Get out of here with that mess.