In this day and age of choices and comparisons, the options available for your shower can be overwhelming. Shampoos, conditioners, deep hydrating treatments, face treatments, razors, shaving products, scrubs, oils, and more can make their way into your shower and your routine before you even realize what happened. Even when you try to take it back to the basics and simply select something with which you can clean your body, the choices seem endless. For many people, that choice begins with the classic debate: body wash or bar soap? Read on to compare the two, learn about the best French milled soap, and decide which option is the best for your needs.
Cleaning Ability
To start off, you have to consider the reason people use soap and body wash—to get clean. In this category, both options get the job done. Both come in high and low-end products, and you can choose where you’d like to be on that spectrum.
Hydration
The main complaint that people have against bar soap is that it is so drying. This complaint stems from cheap soaps that do, in fact, contain drying agents and aren’t ideal for many adults. Modern bars of soap, however, contain ingredients like aloe, botanical oils, and glycerin that hydrate just as well as any body wash. French milled soap that you can buy online, for example, is generally more hydrating, lathering, and luxurious than body wash.
Hygiene
There is the common misconception that sharing bar soap or leaving it in the warm, wet shower make it a breeding ground for germs. Studies have shown this to be untrue. In fact, using bar soap is more hygienic than the loofahs and sponges that generally accompany liquid body washes.
VALUE
Natural soap bars are made from 100% plant oils (no animal fats). Body wash is primarily water with various synthetic ingredients to create lather and remove oils from your skin. With French milled natural soap bars you pay for plant oils that last a long time while providing a moisturizing cleaning experience. With body wash the largest cost is the packaging/container and the contents are primarily water!
Other Considerations
While personal preference will always win out, there are a few more common considerations. Bar soap gets reduced to slippery little slivers, wasting those last few washes. Body washes tend to take up more space in your shower. Bar soap doesn’t travel as well. In general, your personal preference should dictate your shopping choices.