Chandrika

Chandrika soap is made in Kerala to an Ayurvedic recipe that, according to the brand, dates back to the 1940s. The green bar is a household name across South India and among Malayali and Tamil families abroad, many of whom grew up with it in the bathroom at home.

We keep Chandrika in skin care, part of our personal care and household department. The Classic bar here is the Double Ayurveda version: pure coconut oil soap with seven herbs listed on the wrapper, among them dry ginger and lime peel, and no parabens. The wrapper is the same green paper many shoppers remember from home.

Families use it as the everyday bath soap for the whole household, for the face and body. It lathers well in soft or hard water and leaves a clean herbal scent that fades gently. It also pairs naturally with an oil bath: rub warm coconut or gingelly oil into the hair and skin, wait a while, then wash off with a Chandrika bar, the old Saturday routine in many South Indian homes.

Keep the bar on a draining soap dish between uses so it stays firm and lasts. Store spare bars in a dry cupboard, where they keep their scent for months. For hair and body oils to use before bathing, browse Ayurvedic hair oiling and hair oils.