Bar Soap VS Body/ Shower Wash archived

My g/f, the product queen, is sitting next to me. I'm waiting for her response. (She was a finalist to be on 'Dr Oz' on his 'Who uses the most beauty products' episode last fall).

Bar soap and we each have our own. Growing up, it was one bar for 4 people. Looking back, that was kind of gross.

I use bar soap. My wife uses body wash. Baby uses baby soap.

We have two full bathrooms in the house. I use bar soap upstairs. Kids use kids body wash upstairs. Hubs uses whatever I put in his shower downstairs.

Stop using bar soaps in the shower -- the fat in soap binds with the hair and (eventually) will lead to a clog. Use liquid body wash instead.

I like and use these Shower Gels:

Molton Brown - Black Pepper
Roger & Gallet - Gingembre
Keihl's - Pour Homme
Body & Bath's - Cucucumber Melon

1st two that I like for the Fall/Winter, and
2nd two in the Spring & Summer months.

I HATE bar soap... my husband uses Ivory bar soap. I use Jason's body wash--lavender. My nephew uses Axe shower gel--not crazy about it, but it's his choice. We use softsoap liquid soap in the bathrooms and in the kitchen dispenser.

conandrob240 said:

Bar soap and we each have our own. Growing up, it was one bar for 4 people. Looking back, that was kind of gross.

As long as there isn't "stuff" (hairs, pieces of dirt, etc.) stuck on the soap, what's the problem? We have two different kinds of bar soap (a facial bar and a deodorant bar) and it is hard enough to arrange for soap trays for those two. I can't imagine having one or more separate bars for each person who uses the same shower/bathtub. (All four members of our family use the same bathroom for bathing/showering because our only other bathroom is on a different floor of the house from our bedrooms.)

Because you, presumably touch the soap to your body or to a washcloth that you use to scrub your body. At best, it is covered with someone's skin cells. At worst, well...

I was forbidden to comment further!

Body wash for sure!!! Agree with peteglider on that - don't want bar soap gunking up the pipes.

I read that body wash is more common now because it's much more profitable. I'm glad for the warning. I use glycerine bars which feel non-gooky. No clogs yet.

Water, Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Glycerin, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Propylene Glycol, Linoleamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Matricaria (Chamomilla Recutita) Flower Extract, Citric Acid, Triclosan, Yellow 5, Red 33, Fragrance (1206-83).

But hey...at least your pipes are clean.

I was using shower gel, but then switched to the more economical soap. Do I have that right about soap being cheaper than shower gel (including el cheapo shower gels such as Suave or dollar store brand)? I like soaps with moisturizer, such as Caress, so they cost a bit more than generic. I don't care about sharing the bar. I was raised by wolves and have tremendous immunity to germs.

I am worried about Pete's comments about about bar soap clogging the drain though, because I buy a lot of Drano and the price of that stuff can add up. If that's true, maybe I should go back to the gel.

But wait. "Body wash" is not soap. Don't you need soap for its antibacterial qualities?

All women think they have 'sensitive skin' so they have to use special moisturizing crap, with Shea Butter (what the ***** is Shea Butter anyway?) No woman has normal skin or normal hair. Special shampoo, special conditioner and some kinda special rinse.

Men? Cheap bar soap, store brand shampoo.

We use the same soap, one bar for the shower, one for the sink.

For those who think sharing soap is "gross," how do you get around the fact that the same soap you use for your face is the bar you presumably use for your dirtier parts? Or do you have one bar for your top and another for your, er, bottom?? That doesn't make sense to me.

Tom_Reingold said:

I read that body wash is more common now because it's much more profitable. I'm glad for the warning. I use glycerine bars which feel non-gooky. No clogs yet.

I don't know about that, Tom. I buy a quart of body wash for less than ten dollars and it lasts me about 6-9 months. My husband uses the bar soap and probably goes through at least a bar a month... bar soap ain't cheap... Add to that, the jason's doesn't make me break out, and I am glad to pay any extra--if it is extra...

shoshannah said:

But wait. "Body wash" is not soap. Don't you need soap for its antibacterial qualities?

I try to buy soap, and dishwashing liquid without anti-bacterial properties... Gotta build those immunities...

Soap in any form is not antibacterial, except in that it removes some of the germs from your body. And the antibacterial products that are so popular now are actually part of the phenomenon that is creating "super-bugs," those lovely little antibiotic-resistant germs that are spreading through hospitals like wildfire.

I use Dove bar soap only because most other stuff makes me itchy.

Well, first off, if I did use the bar on ALL of my parts, at least they would be from my own parts and not others'. But I never wash my face with bar soap, I use separate stuff for that (Cetaphil)

We'll use pretty much anything that doesn't make me sneeze. A lot of soaps do that, unfortunately. Regular Dove, Ivory, and various others are out. But I find I do pretty well with soaps we buy at Marshall's that are triple-milled, scented with essential oils... and discounted up the wazoo.

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

All women think they have 'sensitive skin' so they have to use special moisturizing crap, with Shea Butter (what the ***** is Shea Butter anyway?) No woman has normal skin or normal hair. Special shampoo, special conditioner and some kinda special rinse.

Men? Cheap bar soap, store brand shampoo.

When we went to Yosemite, I said, in the spirit of the space, I will not bring soap or body wash... two days later, my legs and back and arms were on fire... The body wash they had in the shower was horrible! I walked to the Valley center to buy an extravagantly expensive body wash (one you could find in a local store much cheaper)...

What is the soap that is so biodegradable you can use it in rivers? Dr. Bronner's?

bar soap for the face, bodywash for everywhere else

i can't stand bar soap. i think it gets scummy and gross. plus it slides out of my hands too easily. i hated sharing bar sap as a kid -there were eight of us using the same soap. as soon as i was able i bought my own bar soap. when body wash came out with more choices i bought it. tried to convince my family to with no luck.

now i use two shampoos, a conditioner, and body wash,

I use 365 glycerin bar soap from Whole Foods--Lavender or aloe and olive. Mr. L uses Irish Spring. 2 separate bathrooms. Downstairs in powder room we use Kiss My Face liquid soap in the bathroom--pear scent.

Ya know, never thought of bar soap as evil, until a co-worker pointed it out... However, my skin is much happier with the body wash...

I dunno. Seems to me that if you rinse the bar of soap, it should be pretty clean. I mean, it's soap, ya know?

Tom_Reingold said:

I dunno. Seems to me that if you rinse the bar of soap, it should be pretty clean. I mean, it's soap, ya know?

My thoughts exactly.

conandrob240 said:

Because you, presumably touch the soap to your body or to a washcloth that you use to scrub your body. At best, it is covered with someone's skin cells. At worst, well...

It's SOAP!!!

I use a combo. Both are in our shower. Since "our parts" touch, we share the same bar soap. LOL