Dove Beauty Bar

Contrary to Nivea cream, this staple I grew up with along with Lux soap and if I remember right, my mother used to also buy Dial once in a while and Ivory soap. These where, as far as I can remember, the popular brands of the day. Oh I almost forgot, there was also Camay which I believe was my mom's favorite.

For years I didn't even bother to look at it on trips to the pharmacy or the grocery store. What a snob! Preferring to go for liquid or more expensive formulas, I didn't think it was worth my attention or my money. Then I used Avène's Cold Cream Emollient Soap-Free Cleansing Bar and this product except for the fragrance, felt very similar on my skin. Considering the Avène bar is sold for about $9.00 and Dove can be found at $1.99 for 2 bars, I figured why not give it a go? Now a few years ago I did try one of the Dove creamy shower gels and didn't like it but the Beauty Bar was surprisingly nice to use. I even used it for a week on my face and must admit it didn't dry my skin the way I though it would. That was last summer when my skin was oilier. I don't think I would use it in the middle of winter. For the body, nice lather, the fragrance fresh and quite pleasant brings back tons of memories.

A bit of history

There isn't a lot of information out there about it which is surprising when you compare it to some other brands. All the different sites I visited repeated more or less the same things. I haven't listed any sites for referral for this reason. If you enter in your search engine "dove soap history" you'll likely come across some if not all the sites I've visited.

First developed and introduced in the Netherlands (I wasn't able to find the name of the original company) in 1955, the Dove Beauty Bar is not classified as a soap but as a synthetic detergent bar primarily made from synthetic surfacants, derived vegetable oils and salts from animal fats. Apparently in some countries there are no animal fats in its composition, making it a vegan product. Introduced in the US in 1957 it was quite successful right from the get go. In the 60's Dove continued it's success as a niche skin care product and in the 70's thrived by publicizing dermatologist test findings that indicated that Dove was less drying and irritating than ordinary soap. After a while, Unilever the company that owns the brand, started developing other products under the Dove name.

1957, the first television commercial for the US market

In 2004, Dove launched it's "Campaign For Real Beauty" making us reflect over the unrealistic images of women in advertising and it continued by promoting the "Dove Movement For Self-Esteem".

October 2006, the add that made us think!

About the "Self Esteem Campaign" see the Self Esteem Tool Kit on the Dove website.

The beauty bar is available in an unscented version for sensitive skin. The reviews and ingredient list below are for the original Beauty Cream Bar also known as Beauty Bar for Deep Moisture.

Who can use it? 

Questions about Dove pop up regularly on MUA. Depending on the day and who's on, the responses can be either positive or flat out negative. Some members do have serious skin issues and its quite understandable why they can't use it. Others I believe, will simply say "Heck no!" just because it's "Dove".

As a facial cleanser if you have dry, irritated skin you may want to skip but if you have combination skin that's on the normal side, it can be a nice, more than affordable option. Some clog prone people can't use it while others can. Trying it is really the only way to know. If you find it's not for you, it won't make a big dent in your budget and you'll be able to use it for your body or keep in in a soap dish for hand washing.

If you're planning a trip, consider putting a Dove bar in your toiletry bag instead of a facial cleanser and/or a shower gel. If your skin likes it, it's a great two in one (face and body) and since it's in solid form, no restrictions for air travel. At the end of your vacation/trip you can just leave it behind, at that price, why fuss with a wet cleansing bar? You forgot to bring one, it's available everywhere, really it is!

Reviews:
MakeupAlley: 4.4 / 5 lippies for 766 reviews
Beauté-test: 4.3 / 5 stars for 395 reviews

Ingredients, from the Dove website:
Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Tallowate or Sodium Palmitate, Lauric Acid, Sodium Isethionate, Water, Sodium Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Cocoate or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891).

Just so you can compare the two, Avène's Cold Cream Emollient Soap-Free Cleansing Bar

Ingredients from Beautypedia

Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Water, Paraffin, Stearic Acid, PEG-45 Palm Kernel Glycerides, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Benzyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Fragrance, Glyceryl Stearate, Mineral Oil (Paraffinum Liquidum), Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Sodium Hydroxide, Titanium Dioxide