Did you know that there is a wide range of quality in soaps? The same can be said for soap purpose. All, of course, need to clean. Some may be better at getting rid of very greasy grime. And others could be great moisturizers. Some serve as a deodorant or perfume.
Among my most favorite soaps are triple milled soap or French milled soap. As I understand it, milling essentially involves combining a fatty acid (oil or fat) with sodium hydrochloride. This mixture then is dried into crystals which are rolled three times between large stainless steel rollers. When a paste has formed, it's put into soap molds and dried. Milling makes the soap texture really smooth and hard, which causes it to last longer. And, it also distributes the color and fragrance very evenly.
I love to give this kind of soap for gifts. Christmas, birthday, hostess, etc. Adding some beautiful linen or cotton guest towels creates an especially lovely present.
Shop around before making any purchases. You can pay a lot of money for just one bar of soap like this. I've seen them as high as $18. TJ Maxx has some great prices for soaps of this kind. The bars shown here are only $3.99 – $4.99 there!