How really clean are you?

I am really a stickler for showering after a fire, whether real world or for training.  I have long believed the faster I can get all the by-products off from my skin the healthier it is for me, and my family.  The problem has always been that lingering smell of smoke even after I showered.  I tried showering first in cool water to remove the contaminants without opening the skin pores more than they already were.  I would follow that with a warm or hot shower.  So I was washing my hair and body at least twice.  I was a convert to body wash, using 3 or 4 different brands, and used that for well over a decade with the same results of always having that aroma of smoke lingering even after multiple showers.

My wife began making homemade soap the old fashioned way with lye and coconut, olive, sunflower, palm, and castor oils, and bees wax.  She converted me to using her natural soap for both washing my hair and body and I noticed immediately the lack of smoke smell after showering.  My wife commented as soon as I sat down on the couch that I didn’t smell like smoke.  She used to tell me I smelled like smoke for days after a fire or practice burn.

Am I saying that her soap is something special?  Maybe, maybe not.  The truth is her soap has all natural ingredients and none of them are a petroleum base like many commercial soaps and body washes.  I guess my entire point here is if you smell like smoke after your shower are you truly clean?  If not, why do you keep using the same products and the same process year after year?  If the contaminants are causing negative health effects, all the way up to cancer, maybe it is time to research a better way to clean your body and hair after smoke exposure.