Neev Herbal Almond Rose Soap Review

Before I start this post,  let me tell you two things about me:

1. I’m not much of a “soap” person. I’ll choose shower gels and body washes over soap any day.
2. While I love roses and the fragrance of the flowers,  I’m not too fond of rose fragranced beauty products and perfumes.

Despite this,  I simply LOVE the Neev Herbal Almond Rose soap that I “discovered” during my stay at The Tamara in Coorg.  While all the toiletries at The Tamara were from Rustic Art,  a lovely organic brand I have used before,  the soap was from Neev Herbal.  Initially,  I wasn’t even going to try out but seeing a new,  unknown brand,  I got curious and tried it. And loved it!  And bought a few more from Tamara’s souvenir shop.  Read on to know why…

About Neev

Neev Herbal Handmade Soaps is the enterprise wing of Neev Trust, an NGO started by Shikha and Anurag, a couple who believe in Integral Living, not only for themselves but for others too – for the sociosphere, biosphere and geosphere. The Neev Trust works in rural areas and slums around Jamshedpur and trains women in various different skills to help them become independent. The Neev soaps are certified by Craftmark and comply with the BIS and AYUSH standards of the Government Of India.

 

 Almond Rose Soap

“It keeps the skin dew fresh and young looking, delays the appearance of wrinkles, blackheads, dryness and even pimples.”

Ok, the soap isn’t really much to look at but it is one of the most gentle, moisturising and fragrant soaps I have used. Ever. The entire cottage was filled with the aroma of roses after I showered with this soap. And it’s a lovely fragrance too. Not a synthetic, artificial one but something really close to the real fragrance of roses with a slight hints of geranium coming through as well.

The best part about the Neev Herbal Almond Rose soap is that it didn’t dry out my skin. Even in winter, in Coorg, my skin felt soft and moist after bathing with this soap. Of course, since it was winter and the skin on my body is absolutely parched, I did apply body butter but now, when the weather is so hot in Mumbai, I don’t feel the need to apply a lotion. It is super gentle too, though there are tiny almond grits in it, the soap doesn’t feel abrasive and I used it even on my face. It is gentle enough for children to bathe with as well. Unlike several other handmade soaps which melt and break within a couple of days of usage, this soap lasts quite long too.

 Ingredients

The Neev Herbal Soaps are Grade A or Grade 1 soaps  since they contain TFM (Total Fatty Matter) of over 76%. The Almond Rose soap has TFM of 77.8%. Here are the ingredients:

Olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, mahua oil, lye, pure essential oils of rose, geranium, palmarosa and rosemary and roasted and ground almonds.

Price

25g – ₹30

75g – ₹80

100g – ₹100

I had bought the 75g soap (in the pic above) from The Tamara’s souvenir shop because they didn’t have the 100g size. Considering that they are handmade with all natural ingredients and that they are made by women working in these rural self-help groups, I think they are priced very reasonably. They can be bought online from www.thinkofus.in or you can contact Neev form here.

After reading about all the work that Shikha and Anurag and their NEEV Trust does, I am impressed. Buying and using these soaps also makes me feel good that I am, in a small little way, able to contribute towards the betterment of the some of the rural women who are working hard to supplement their meager family incomes. The NEEV website has quite an impressive range of products and besides the soaps, I am going to buy the hair wash powder aromatherapy deo as well. Perhaps even the kajal, face wash and hair oil…..

Have you heard of Neev Herbal soaps before? Are you a soap person or a shower gel one? Do you like rose fragranced products?  I would love to read your comments 🙂