A number of our customers very kindly sent in their honest reviews of our Kitchen Helper soap bars, when we sent them out for testing. Here are some of them, in no particular order, so that you may make an informed decision about purchasing our all-natural, solid dishwashing soap.
1️⃣Ms WN Lee
Just to note, I do use them everyday but not on everything as we still have our own liquid soap to use as well.
What I liked:
- How a little swipe on the soap with a sponge really goes a long way
- How well the soap actually cleans. My main challenge usually is greasy, oily plastic takeaway containers, as with normal liquid soap I've to use a lot of it before it feels oil free. With this soap bar, I'll only need to clean it max twice and it comes out squeaky clean.
- My hands don't feel overly dry after washing dishes.
- How long the bar is actually lasting! I've been using it daily for close to a month now and it's still holding up pretty well despite not having a suitable soap dish.
What I felt could be better:
- Washing bottles and containers with a narrow opening is a little bit of a challenge, as with liquid soap I could immediately pour some soap in and give it a good shake and rinse. It's a little troublesome to squeeze out the suds into the bottles to clean.
- There are times where I am in a rush and I felt that the suds took awhile to wash off my hands.
- Don't have a suitable place or container to keep the bar that'll help prolong its life.
2️⃣SY Ong:
I have only tried it on plates and bowls. Not on bigger items like pots and pans yet. My dishes are clean! The soap cleans really well. My hands feel nice. Not harsh at all. It fits well on my rack. I’m attaching a picture here. It’s a rack from Nitori. The size of the soap fits perfectly well.
3️⃣ Ms R. Eng:
I'm so happy that such a Kitchen Helper was made for those who struggle with sensitive skin like I do! I like that it does what a dishwashing detergent does - cleans my normal plates & even the trickiest surfaces to clean (ie: silicone, plastic & scouring for metal) It works even for the most stubborn meat based oil.
Because of my eczema, I avoid being more hands on with detergent because my skin really hurts after. I usually need gloves to wash dishes but it's very mafan to clean with gloves - washing dishes just doesn't feel the same & ever since then I've been unmotivated to clean dishes unless there's some warm water present to expedite things. With the Helper I use my bare hands to clean under cold water & there is no flare up at all :) Plus after washing dishes - my hands does not smell of unpleasant chemicals/icky glove sweat feel on my hands but a clean pleasant smell <3
I don't need to "rewash" / moisturise my hands because of the unpleasant smell after a wash - for the first time after a dishwashing session my hands do not feel icky, smelly from glove use or overly dried out - just clean & fresh like how I have just used quality soap on my hands. Thank you for persevering to make this product happen :) it's a game changer for people who struggle with eczema.
Durability: In our household, we wash dishes three/four times a week - since you've given us Kitchen Helper there are two third of the block left - it is quite long lasting. Its form holds up from the rough sponging it receives (doesn't dissolve too easily).
Other use: At times, I also use the odd ends of the soap as multipurpose cleaner (wipe my kitchen stove/counters with damp cloth)
Tricky point to mention to future users that will take some getting used to:
- they will need to keep it on a soap holder that works for them (see attached picture of our soap holder we like to use - it drains well & I can use the drained soap water to wash dishes) - it's our personal preference as we don't like water pooling in our soaps
- they need to scrub the Kitchen Helper with sponge - ie traditional way of using solid detergent (slight inconvenience for those used to the liquid detergent like my husband) but I don't mind it, this may just be personal preference. I have a sponge stick holder (see pic) & it works for me.
Feedback from my hubby
The Good:
- Good block size
- Long lasting
- Does the job at removing oil
- Smells nice
The not so good:
- Hard to get soap onto sponge unless I rub the sponge hard on the soap block.
- Because it's a block, need to buy a separate and appropriate holder for it. A typical plastic container would just collect water at the bottom of the soap block. Hence we need to buy one of those soap bar holder with a drainage from shopee.
4️⃣K. Chong
I started using it on 01-Jun-24 so it's been 2 weeks. So far so good, I really like it! Attaching 2 pics, one from the first day I started using it and one from today - just a small dent so far 😂 One block would last for quite a while! But do note that we're a small 3-person household and we don't do a lot of heavy-duty cooking, though we do cook almost every day.
It takes the oil off very well, I like that it lathers so easily and love the lemongrass scent. I don't pay a lot of attention to my hands (bad habit, I know) but I have not noticed any dryness after a washing session. The soap does melt abit but then I just pour the liquid into the container on the right (with the sponge) and wash with that instead, to keep the block dry-er so it doesn't melt too fast.
All in all, quite happy using it. Will definitely consider purchasing if you make it available for sale.
5️⃣J. Cheah
The size of the Kitchen Helper was way bigger than I had expected. But my first reaction was how I was supposed to use it. It didn’t come with instructions so I thought I would just wing it.
Since this was a bar soap, I searched for a bowl large enough to hold it and then wet my sponge and rubbed on the soap bar to use it.
After a few times of usage, there was some liquid residue in the bowl which resembled regular dish washing liquid.
I loved how sudsy this was though it was hard to adjust to rubbing my sponge on the bar instead of squeezing liquid out .
I have ultra sensitive hands and have used gloves for washing dishes but I thought I would try the Kitchen Helper with bare hands instead. It didn’t feel extremely drying though I can’t compare much as I don’t use bare hands to wash anyway. But my hands were not irritated by it, that’s for sure.
One bar of Kitchen Helper lasted me 3 weeks, and I clean dishes, pots, pans, cutlery, my dog’s bowl every single day.
Pros:
- easy to wash, enough suds to satisfy
- cleans grease and oil well
- lasts 3 weeks which I think is ok
- a little goes a long way
- fragrance free (this is a pro for me but some may find it a con)
Cons:
- - using a bar for washing up takes a bit of getting used to. Perhaps could include a container that is suitable for the kitchen helper soap
6️⃣Mrs S. K. Yeo
You gave a really generous size for the trial! I like the mild lemongrass scent and until now, I still get a whiff of it.
My hands don't feel as dry after use compared to using liquid dish detergents, even the good brands. I don't feel the need to grab my lotion to moisturise my hands after doing the dishes!
It foams up really well with only a few rubs on a wet sponge or loofah!
Since it is so foamy, I sometimes need to rinse a bit longer or use a clean cloth to help with the rinsing, as taught by my mom-in-law. I think this is an old school technique!
SUPER oily dishes and utensils will clean off nicely with a second wash.
I also use it to wash my microfiber kitchen towels. New stains can be removed easily and the towels feel squeaky clean after.
7️⃣Mr RB
I liked the ability for the dish soap to cut through grease even without hot water, I found out later that a little goes a long way
The downside: You have to put it into a container and add water to get a little liquid soap going. Sometimes that water sits there and the results are a bit messy and gloopy. If you let the soap bar sit in a little water it finishes really fast. I guess next time I will cut it into smaller pieces and try to manage the usage differently.
If you do dishwashing the 'Western way' ie fill up the sink with soapy suds and put your dishes into the water, this soap does not work well. You need to break off a piece and dilute it or grate it into the water. I prefer to fill up the sink, put in the soap and pile the dishes in as I have two sinks. However, my maid does washing the Malaysian way, with a sponge and running water.
My ultimate verdict: it's a winner. I don't do the dishes that often but my maid approves of the soap. It cuts out grease well and washes off the soap residue efficiently. I would definitely buy it again if the price was right.
8️⃣Ms S Danker
The soap was easy to produce suds (once wet) which made it easy to clean the dishes with a sponge ( glasswear, cutlery, kitchen utensils). The dishes were clean enough, but some had to be double washed, especially oily plastic containers.
After washing we notice that our sink had a white film residue that was left behind once the sink dried up. This was concerning to us the most.
For our hands, mine was fine after and but my husband's felt dry. My husband didn't enjoy the scent of the soap, he said it had a weird smell ( not sure if it was unscented?).
The soap bar was easy to place on our sink, but it took some time getting used to using it as we usually use liquid soap.
9️⃣Ms E Foo
Based on my 3-week experience, overall it is a great product as it foams well with the right amount used and with the right moist/water applied to rub the soap against the sponge.
What I love most is that it's gentle on my hands and skin compared to the standard dish washing liquid/soap sold in supermarkets.
However, I do need to use much more for oily cutlery (especially for roast pans and air fryer). I have to use 3 applications to remove any oil feel thoroughly. But because it is gentle on my skin, I do not mind having to use more on oily-stubborn cutlery.
I also like the refreshing gingerish scent but the scent is only obvious when I bring the bar close to my nose.
I also have not seen any funny mould or discolouration on the bar soap unlike some other soap bars. So that is another plus :)