Bar Soap vs Body Wash Showdown

Discussion in 'Skincare' started by Hoss304, Aug 20, 2017.

  1. John Ruschmeyer

    John Ruschmeyer Well-Known Member

    A related (I think) question... My wife recently bought me a Harry's gift pack that was on clearance at Target. It consists of a bar soap and a small body wash, both in the same scent. So, when/where is the appropriate place to use each?
     
  2. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    Shower and shower (use the soap for your face).
     
  3. John Ruschmeyer

    John Ruschmeyer Well-Known Member

    Okay, that's what I assumed.

    Of course, I have to wonder... when/why did we decide that cleaning the body requires a liquid rather than just using the same bar of soap?
     
  4. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    I don't see where either is "required" as opposed to the other.
     
  5. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I've never really understood that either. That's why I just use bar soap.
     
  6. Hoss304

    Hoss304 Well-Known Member

    My gal is a Bath & Body Works shopper. I've been using thier line along with the CO Bigelow stuff. With coupons and stuff she uses it's great deals. I'm on the hunt for Barbasol body wash.

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
     
    Paul Turner likes this.
  7. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    I am, too(on the Barbasol).
     
  8. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    In some instances, the soap might be gentler/less drying for your face than the body wash depending on the ingredients. But, end of the day, detergent is detergent. So long as you don't get overly dry skin, there's no reason you can't use shower gel on your face and soap on your body and vice versa. And even with potential dryness, lotion application is easy enough.
     
  9. MntnMan62

    MntnMan62 Well-Known Member

    I grew up on Ivory Bar Soap as I’m sure many here have. My wife and I have been using Lever bar soap for years. Then one day she got a large container of Olay Body Wash with Shea Butter. I worked the body wash into my routine as the last thing I use. And I don’t use more than a small amount. So I’m mostly washing with the bar soap. We are now almost through a package of 15 or so bars of Kirkland bath soap. But because of lots of people talking about artisan bar soaps, I’m thinking of trying some. Stirling would be high on my list as their Barbershop is my favorite shave soap. What puzzles me though is some people talking about not keeping their bar soap in the shower because it gets soggy. We keep our soap in a plastic soap dish with one of those separate pieces that has little prongs on each side so the soap is elevated off the dish allowing it to dry between uses. All we do is rinse out the dish while in the shower, rinse off the bar of soap and be sure there is no water in the dish. It stays in the shower and by the next morning the bar is totally dry. Well, if I find a good artisan bar soap I won’t keep using the body wash at all.
     
    Shadow Shaver likes this.
  10. Leo501

    Leo501 Well-Known Member

    I prefer bar soap. For years I used only Tone soap w/ shea butter, original scent. My skin is both sensitive and dry, and heavily scented soaps like Irish Spring or Coast make it dry & itchy. Tone is getting hard to find, so I've been experimenting:

    Like: Cremo, Yardley English Lavender
    Dislike: Duke Cannon, Pecksniff's (picked up cheap @ TJ Maxx)
     
  11. chevyguy

    chevyguy Well-Known Member

    Mine sit's in the shower in the dish with a Soap Saver sponge in between it and the dish. Stirling Bath Soaps are awesome.

    Clayton

    Sent from my SM-A705U using Tapatalk
     
  12. Michael_W

    Michael_W Well-Known Member

    Kirk's Castile bar soap is okay for basic hand-washing, in my opinion. Canus Caprina goat milk soap is also great. I prefer the olive oil and wheat grass scent, or the plain. But Stirling bar soap is by far now my favorite. I'm going through the Pig Trail bar now for my face, with Nubian Heritage African Black Soap body wash for my psoriasis. After the Pig Trail I have the Scots Pine Sheep and the Autumn Glory bars to go through. I used to enjoy Grandpa's Pine Tar soap and shampoo for my psoriasis, but after it went corporate and the formulation changed, I kind of stopped using it especially as it became harder to locate locally.
     
  13. Daywalker

    Daywalker Active Member

    To avoid the soap getting soggy you can use this hack:
    Press a plastic cap (like from a Tetra Pak or a crown cork, which rusts in the long run though), with a little hole in it, into the bar soap (after you used it with warm water it's a bit softer and easier to press in) and use it as a stand. This way the soap dries fast. Works way better than
    any soap dish or loofah (also, sponges + water = germs paradise).
    Or simply buy one of those magnetic soap bar holders (available for around 3 bucks on AliExpress or Amazon) we used to use in the 80s - same principal.

    I prefer bar soaps myself and use them for hair, face and body.

    Unfortunately here in Germany people prefer liquid syndets (I read Japanese are the same) and the variety of real soap bars shrunk over the years.
    Kappus, a German soap manufacturer (biggest in Western Europe) even went out of business last year.

    I use Palmolive bar soap most of the time because it's widely available, smells soapy and works great for my hair too.
    Since we have very hard water I also have to do a vinegar rinse (actually I just spray it in my hair filled in a spray bottle and wash it out) for avoiding soap scum to build up - it's also a great conditioner because an acidic rinse closes the hair's cuticula which makes it shiny and easy to comb.

    BTW, soap is a detergent too and Dove is not a pure soap (salt of fatty acids) but a so called combo soap - part synthetic detergent, part real soap. I guess that's why they call it a beauty bar and not a soap bar.
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2020
    Silvestris likes this.
  14. Michael_W

    Michael_W Well-Known Member

    All I do is put my soap on a marble soap dish well away from any water, corner of the tub opposite the shower end. Keeps fairly dry there. Of course, not all bathtubs are designed to allow for that, so my advice is, just keep the soap within reach but well enough away from water. A flatter soap dish (not a tray) is less likely to collect water.
     
    MrDaniel's likes this.
  15. Daywalker

    Daywalker Active Member

    It also depends on how frequently the soap is used (now way more than usual). I tried a lot of different dishes, loofah, etc. but found nothing I was really satisfied with (except magnetic holders). It's an inexpensive hack which you can use everywhere, bathroom, kitchen, etc. - also in the gym or when travelling.
     
    Michael_W likes this.
  16. John Beeman

    John Beeman Little chicken in hot water

    A long time ago, at the beginning of this thread, I stated that I had (for the most part) given up body washes in favor of bar soaps.
    That’s still true but because I have enough soap for an army, I still haven’t finished various bottles of body wash previously accumulated.
    Mostly they just sit patiently on the shelf waiting for an occasional turn in the shower.
    However, a few months ago I was in either a TJMaxx or Marshall’s and I sniffed a bottle of Cremo Bourbon and Oak body wash that was economically priced and it ended up in my shopping basket. A couple of showers later I was on the hunt for another bottle just in case they had any intention of discontinuing the scent.
    I have to confess that I’ve probably reached for the Cremo more than anything else to the point that I might actually empty the bottle. It’s just that good of a scent.
     
    Michael_W and brit like this.
  17. Carson West

    Carson West Well-Known Member

    I think dermatologists would agree that Dove soap is one of the best performers, as it's not drying. It's the Arko of soaps: a great performer, inexpensive, and the scent is nothing fancy.

    Stirling makes wonderful soaps. They come in a million great scents and they moisturize the skin even more than Dove. But like all luxury soaps, they're pricey.

    I can't speak for the liquid soaps because I don't use them.
     
    Michael_W likes this.
  18. Michael_W

    Michael_W Well-Known Member

    Stirling soaps are no more expensive than the bar soaps found at Wal-Mart and Target. Given the choice, I'd rather buy from Stirling, a small business, than from a large company selling its wares in big box store chains.
     
  19. Carson West

    Carson West Well-Known Member

    Stirling soaps sell for $4.65 a bar. A bar of Dove soap sells for about $1.09 in Walmart. Granted, the Stirling bars are larger, but you're still spending a lot more per ounce. I like small businesses too, when I can afford them.
     
  20. Michael_W

    Michael_W Well-Known Member

    Maybe your area has lower prices. Here in Cleveland, I haven't seen Dove soap bars go for anything under four, four and a half bucks. And I've had the Stirling bars last a lot longer than Dove.
     

Share This Page