Soap in the Bed

This is my go to soap.  It might be old fashioned, Yardley has been around forever and ever, but it is my absolute favorite.  Oh, I've catted around with other soaps- the liquid kind, the wonderful smelling expensive stuff from Bath and Body, the hand made versions- made by hippies in Asheville, or by Grendel- but I have rediscovered my first love and am wondering why I ever left.  It is perfect for the skin, smells grand and even sits sweetly in the soap dish, having that drying property of old fashioned soap where it doesn't stay all slimy at the bottom, but skins up quickly.  Wonderful, wonderful stuff...and at the dollar store.

I bought it for an experiment.  For years Mother has been swearing that a bar of soap in the bed keeps away leg cramps.  Now, I don't have leg cramps- for one reason, I love love love the taste of diet tonic water and drink it when I can- but Mr. Owens does.  So I thought I'd give it a go- but then, which soap?  I knew that (obviously) liquid soap wouldn't work, or any of the handmade kind as they get soft very quickly when warm and are mostly glycerine based.  I never was keen on the scent of Ivory, Lux, Lifebouy, Dial- and while I admire the bold striping of Irish Spring and Coast, they smell like waking up, not going to sleep.  Dove reminds me of  my Mother, and while I like the scent and love my mother, again, it is not a bedtime smell. I was about to buy it anyway, but then I spotted the Yardley at the dollar store- stacked demurely between the neon liquid soaps with scents like 'tropical paradise', 'freesa spirit', 'berry banana blast'.

Yardley is great for washing, and in bed. (No pun intended!)  The scent is clean, just feminine enough, and it holds up well.  The sheets smell amazing- Turrello loves it- but it is not over powering.  And the lavender is real, not the synthetic 'lavender' smell found in laundry detergent.  I keep the soap loose, and it 'roams' all over the bed- it is cool and smooth, and somehow comforting to the feet.  I thought it would be annoying but it is addicting instead~ I've become a fan.

But what of the leg cramps?  Well, a bit of research into it, (Geek is Good) I found out that soap contains sodium chloride, which naturally replenishes potassium.  Potassium is key to preventing leg cramps- and you can get it from bananas, gatorade, tonic water etc.  Now, obviously you don't eat the soap, and the washing with it doesn't do the trick either.  And the fancy soaps/ organic soaps/ glycerine soaps are made differently, so they don't work in the same way.  What happens is this: the soap is in bed, where it is warmed by the heat of your body (or electric blanket).  The heat helps the soap to 'breathe', releasing sodium chloride, which is kept in the closed environment of the blankets and absorbed into your skin- your pores are open because of the warm bed.  The potassium is replenished and- wala- no leg cramps.  Brilliant!