What's the difference between body wash, and bar soap?
All mild soaps do the same thing - dislodge dirt from your skin's surface. The differences come in the ingredients and mechanism for dirt removal.
Bar soap works by dissolving the dirt on the surface of your skin.
As sweat and dirt mix with your body's natural oils, it can settle on your skin and breed bacteria. Bar soaps break this oily layer apart and lift pathogens away from your skin.
Body wash uses the same cleansing mechanism to get dirt off your skin, but often contains a mixture of ingredients meant to help treat common skin conditions.
Dryness, clogged pores, and skin flaking can all be addressed with a body wash. Body wash usually contains ingredients meant to restore skin moisture that the cleansing process can strip.
When to Use Bar Soap or Body Wash
If your skin is sensitive or easily irritated, you may be more inclined to use bar soap. Goldbach says that bar soaps are typically void of potentially irritating ingredients, so there's less risk of an allergy.
If your skin is incredibly dry or you notice that it feels tight, scaly, rough, or itchy, a body wash may better suit your needs. Liquid body washes tend to be more moisturizing and calming on the skin. They are often the go-to option for people with chronic conditions like eczema or acne since they can be formulated with potent, active ingredients to help mitigate the issue. "A lot of the body wash choices today are formulated to be as mild and gentle as your skin needs," Nekaras shares.
Which is better for the environment?
Bar soaps typically come in less packaging, unlike a body wash bottle. Plus body wash is packaged in plastic, made from petroleum-based materials that can take centuries to decompose.
Bar soap, on the other hand, is often packaged in recycled paper or cardboard, which breaks down much more quickly.
With a soap bar, you also tend to get more value for your money because a body wash can run out pretty quickly and you're continually buying more plastic bottles. Bar soaps aren't just good for your wallet but are also kinder to the environment.
Which is more hygienic?
Bar soaps often get a bad rap for being unsanitary and their ability to breed bacteria. But is this true? The reality is, that it's not the bar soap itself that is dirty; it's how you store the bar.
We're not saying that leaving your soap in a watery soap dish is hygienic - because it's not - but storing your bar soap in a dry area and washing it before each use will prevent bacteria from being transferred onto your skin. If you're looking to eliminate all risk of bacteria then a body wash is right for you.
