The Super Shower Showdown: Bar Soaps VS Body Wash
Who doesn’t love a nice, cleansing wash shower at the end of a long day? The experience leaves us feeling refreshed and relaxed, and surprisingly, healthy too. However, how healthy exactly are your showering habits? Before you reach for that bar of soap, remember this: your soap may be great at removing dirt and grime, but it’s also great at removing natural oils. Beat that post-shower dryness, and reach for a bottle of body wash instead.
The recent popularity of body washes and shower gels can be attributed in large part to the rise of marketing to the male segment of the population. The most important factor to consider when buying any soap is what type of skin you have, and what you’re going to do with it.
Your skin produces oils that keep it moisturized throughout the day to prevent itself from drying and cracking. Too much of this oil can lead to acne, blackheads, and blemishes. Too little can lead to irritation, flaky skin, and premature ageing. So, the first thing to consider when buying soap is how oily or dry your skin is.
So what’s the difference between bar soap and body wash?
Body washes will have a tendency to be less harsh than regular bar soap. This is because they will have fewer detergent ingredients in them that will strip and remove oils from the skin. So if you have oily skin, you may want to stick with bar soap. But if you have normal or dry skin, the lack of harsh chemicals will benefit your skin more than most bar soaps.
However, it’s still not as cut and dry as that. There are plenty of body washes and shower gels on the market that work just as well for oily skin as the bar versions, and there are just as many bar soaps that will keep your skin moisturized. So the other thing to consider when choosing bar soap vs. body wash is what you’re going to be doing with it.
If you’re just in from out in the field, covered in dirt and grime, you may want to reach for the bar soap. Because of the harsher chemicals in bar soap, they tend to have an easier time cutting through dirt and grime, getting you cleaner than the body wash versions. However, if you’re jumping into the shower after a long day in a dirt-free office, the body wash could be your best bet. Without the need for detergents to cut through dirt, oil, or other types of gunk, your skin would probable be better off with a decent shower gel although don’t forget to pay attention to how oily your skin is.
Bar soap isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Believe it or not, your standard block can wreak havoc on your skin, stripping your dermis of the moisture it needs to remain smooth and healthy. But the latest body washes (or “shower gels”) to hit the shelves of your local pharmacy are different: They not only keep your skin hydrated, they also come loaded with extra benefits, including blends of calming natural ingredients, subtle scents, and triple-duty formulations for seamless washing, shampooing, and shaving.
For a long time, when it came to personal cleanliness, there was only one front-line fighter: bar soap. Of course, bar soap came in many guises – square bars and rounded bars, scented and unscented, clear and opaque – but its essential look and function went unchanged for hundreds of years. Then other cleansers – both soap and non-soap formulas – began to appear. Bar cleansers were joined by liquid products, which were first used primarily for hand washing. The market eventually became flooded with shower gels, also known as body washes, which quickly became a popular alternative to bar soap.
If you’ve spent any time in the skin care aisle at your local store, you know that figuring out which products to buy, soap and non-soap cleansers included, can be a very time-consuming task. So which is better – bar soap or liquid soap? You might be relieved to know that at a very basic level there is no real difference between the two. All types of true soap are composed of the same essential components – alkali salts of fatty acids and detergent properties.
Benefits of Body Wash
One benefit of body wash is that they tend to leave fewer residues on your skin, making it better for you. Since the liquid is washed away much easier than the solids in soap, there is less of a chance of skin irritation because of leftover solids sifting on your skin. Also, soap just contains minerals that body wash doesn’t, so they don’t stay on your skin as well.
Another benefit is that they are easier to use than soaps because they can effectively be used on your hair as well as the skin. So depending on the type of product you use, you may be able to ditch the soap and the shampoo all together. Which woman doesn’t like the idea of saving money, and getting out of the shower quicker and more efficiently? Instead of putting the soap up and using a separate bottle of shampoo, just douse yourself with body wash and scrub everything.
So with these things in mind, there’s no reason to shy away from the body wash. Once you get into the different washes and scents, you should look into the specialty varieties that are even better for your skin. Some producers create some great products that will give you even more benefits than the run of the mill washes.
Solid VS Liquid Soap: Which is better?
When it comes to shower suds, it’s time to spark the debate between bar soap and liquid soap. Let’s talk bar soap first. When it comes to bar soap, there are important factors to consider before leaving the uncovered bar post-shower. Bar soap does harbor bacteria on its surface, so there is a potential risk of self contamination or potentially spreading bacteria to someone else if the bar soap is shared.
Also, research shows that bar soap is historically more drying because it contains sodium hydroxide. However, with the advent of more synthetic detergents, these bars are more hydrating than they used to be. Liquid soap is the most efficient cost cutter for businesses and home consumers, and a product that is popular with users.
Using liquid soap is the preference for businesses, due to cost efficiency. Soap dispensers give each user the proper amount of soap, so there is less waste and better use of soap inventories.
Cleaning the sink areas is much easier, as the soap is quickly cleaned up with no residue. There are no messy soapy bars that leave scum and germs behind when you provide liquid soap. This also makes using soap preferable for home use. Liquid soap is easier for children to use, again with less mess and less waste of product.
DETTOL Dettol Original Shower Foam
Dettol Original Body Wash with pine fragrance: a pH-balanced formula with Dettol’s trusted germ protection that cleanses and protects your skin for a hygienically clean, healthy and refreshing feeling everyday.
A finely fragranced body wash infused with the scent of Black Orchid and Juniper Oil. This scent is inspired by exotic blossoms at the peak of their blossom and embraced into exquisite Fragrance Pearls, giving you an intoxicating scent that lingers long after you step out of the shower.
Dettol Original Anti-Bacterial Soap
Dettol Original bar soap with pine fragrance provides trusted Dettol protection from a wide range of unseen germs. It cleanses and protects your skin for healthy and refreshing feeling everyday.
Handmade soaps from Claire Organics contain fresh and natural high-quality ingredients such as essential oils, shea butter, olive oil, oatmeal, or goat’s milk so it doesn’t harm your skin in the long run.
Against animal testing. Each bar is manually cut and carefully cured for 45 days. Superfatted 5% with Sweet Almond Oil (Superfatting makes a rich emollient soap: moisturizing, soothing, softening).
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