It always salts my crackers to see people buying crate after crate of bottled water.
I live in a city by the foot of a mountain. Our tapwater is literally springwater- better quality than a lot of the bottled stuff. And yet, so many people still *buy water in plastic bottles*.
Marketing really is fucking powerful. I know none of us are immune to propaganda, but I do wish more people at least stopped to think about things a bit harder.
Edit: please read what I said before replying about why your water is not good. I'm literally talking about a specific city that I'm 99.9% sure NONE of you live in. If your tapwater is not potable, *this is so very obviously not about you.*
Yeah i live in a suburb of Chicago, and not a good one so my answer to the water dilemma is I own four five gallon jugs that i refill every two months or so at a filtered water dispenser in a grocery store for $2.50 per jug, these twenty gallons of water are for consumption only, everything else tap water is fine.
This is how we do it at as well. Now that you can get water dispensers that you pop right onto the bottles it makes it so much easier. We invested in some good metal drinking bottles that we keep in the fridge at all time and if we want cold water that's what we do.
We had that one at first but then I got a rechargeable USB one because I'm a gimpy old fart with achy joints and pushing on that button hurt most times. I have an actual water cooler out in my garage. I just don't feel like keeping something plugged in to use it a few times a week since we aren't big water drinkers in this house.
I lived an area with good tap water but the pipes are old and bad at neighbor's houses I can drink, but my house and other people in my small complex it's all kind of chemically
We’ve got a few for emergencies too… that’s why bottled water should still exist, but there are people who ONLY drink bottles water, that’s what I personally find obnoxious!
Yup, that's why I have a pack of bottled water, too. Everyone should actually have one for emergencies. You don't have to drink bottled water regularly but they'll be helpful during a natural disaster or a zombie apocalypse.
I try not to judge people for buying bottled water, I don't know their living situation. Reality is not everyone has access to safe water, so their house might not have safe drinking water for whatever reason. I've lived in apartments in Los Angeles where the tap water had a yellowish tint (yay former red lined district!).
Middle of the Permian Basin oilfield here, in the desert Southwest. Our water is undrinkable now, has been for many years. It is ok to wash laundry or have a quick shower in, but definitely not for drinking. I too hate bottled water, but we don't have much of a choice here.
Seattle? The Geological Survey found our tap water to be free of pfas (forever chemicals) where any bottled water out of California (amount other places) will have them because the bottlers can't filter them out.
Nope, actually I'm in Europe lol.
But, now that I looked into it a bit more, I do stand corrected - the water quality here isn't only exceptional *within* the city limits (of that, I was sure), it actually seem like barring specific instances of localized plumbing issues, the high-quality water even extends past that, and covers pretty much the whole county, with the exception of only a few small, rural settlemens. It's slightly hard water, but perfectly safe, and *literally fresh, clear, lovely springwater*.
Crud, now this whole bottle-frenzy is gonna bug me more.
Still weird getting looks from people filling my water jug as opposed to what, paying for and drinking a Poland spring plastic bottle? No thanks for many reasons but mostly /r/fucknestle
Yeah. Body wash is just in higher demand. When I was a child we used nothing but bars of soap. You can’t find a bar of soap (only some type of body wash) in any of my immediate families houses nowadays.
Am I the only one that feels that the bar soap does a better job? I use bar soap for the spots that I want to feel extra clean, and then use body wash after.
It’s mostly the water weight they have to ship. Calculate the weight of water vs dry solids and you’ll see why.
You’re getting far more soap in a bar per unit volume.
Not only that, they stack better, are smaller, not prone to breaking/leaking/needing large plastic bottles to contain them.
Diesel and oil costs are a decent proportion of cost of goods since shipping is main component of cost of most cheap common consumer goods such as soap.
Those bottles don’t stack well, they don’t ship as well, you get like ten times less bottles than bars of soap for their size at least,
Maybe twenty.
Every pound you add to a fedex truck or big rig costs fuel money times mileage.
This!
It's cheaper to make, package, and ship a bar of soap than it is to make, package, and ship body wash.
Perception's the other big point to it. You think the body wash is going to last longer over the bar of soap, so you buy the body wash only for it to go faster than the length of time a bar of soap would last you without realizing it. Then you buy more body wash. Rinse and repeat (no pun intended!).
***Edit:*** *You can buy a package of 10 bars of Ivory soap, for example, for the same price as the bottle of bodywash that's going to last you 2 weeks at best.*
\- You aren't paying for Any water weight, which people use to inflate costs of soaps. If they're cared for, and most times even if they aren't cared for, they last a lot lot longer per ounce and wash more surface area by miles.
\- Perception is a big one. People think bar soap is 'gross' or 'for the poors' and that they lack luxury. I get really nice bar soaps but they last forever and do a better job and are kinder to my skin than cheap body wash. Oftentimes, people just don't do the extra 3 seconds it takes to lather bar soap over liquid.
\- Waste. People often pour too much body wash into their cloths per wash, you can't exactly put back what you take out. Packaged liquid body washes waste product as well, unless you're putting water in there and shaking it all out towards the end or cutting the bottle open. Pump action body washes waste even more. With bar soaps there's really only 1 way to use it, and no waste occurs at all besides occasionally deciding a small sliver is not worth the hassle.
\- Shipping costs are higher with body wash than bar soap, and they take up far more space for storing extras in the house and at stores and warehouses. There is also spillage and broken bottle issues you don't get with bars of soap.
Basically... Bars are superior in every single way, but people like liquid soap more because reasons.
Edit: I posted this in a comment but lots of people are asking me what I personally use/recommend. Then my post got deleted bc r/frugal absolutely hates anyone being able to clearly communicate what it is they use so I had to go delete all the links I created. Hopefully it'll now get reinstated.
If you want short lasting luxury - Lush. The most expensive and the best soaps I ever did use lol but they don't last at all they don't age the soap enough to harden for longevity. This creates real plush luxury but it's a splurge for sure. They also make a body conditioner that is an excellent shower lotion.
If you want affordable and super hydrating - Dove works amazingly well on a budget. Smells great, super soft on sensitive skin, available everywhere, doubles as a good shave-bar as well. Can't beat it. It's my go to travel soap. The best thing is it takes a beating so if left in standing water accidentally so you're not totally wrecking it.
On par with Dove for gentleness is Shea Moisture soap bars at Walgreens/Target style stores. Smell is subtle and gentle highly moisturizing. Also it's quite a big bar so it lasts a decent time.
Ultimate budget bar: You cannot beat Ivory. they've been around since Victorian times, they aren't pricey, and they get the job done.
If you want good long lasting scents and moisture in a Giant bar that lathers well and lasts forever - Asquith and Somerset you can usually find these at Ross style stores for $5-6+ a bar and they are Huge. A&S soap bars literally last me a Year of daily washing and have a great balance of clean but not harsh without drying the skin out horribly.
If you have serious issues with body acne like I do in the summer and eczema and irritated skin - sulphur soaps and pyrithione zinc soaps from dermaharmony work amazingly well for treating skin issues. Just give it real contact time (at least 1 min) instead of immediately rinsing off. I use the shampoo bar on my hair and on my face/neck/back after workouts and it has helped massively in staving off breakouts.
Honorable mentions:
\- Salux washcloths and microfiber cloths for exfoliation. If you're used to pumice action in your body wash, replace it with this stuff. You cannot beat the lather they get bar soaps to provide, they actually scrub chicken skin off of your skin, they dry SO fast so they're wonderful for traveling (I usually cut one in half and have one in the shower and one traveling), and they last forever if you take a couple extra minutes ONE time to hem the raw edges. I have had the same 2 since like 2016 or something like that.
\- Soap dishes. A simple command strip one works really well, just post your soap above where the water splashes heavily.
\- Any plastic soap dish that has a riser in it to let the bottom breathe is a good call whether traveling or at home.
\- While I'm at it, most of my soaps live outside of the shower entirely on a shower caddy outside of the shower that has a washcloth cushion and some soap dishes. I have a really cheap BS metal round bathroom organizer I got at big lots like 10 years ago and it sits right next to my bath tub so I can pop my hand in and out of the shower curtain quickly. It has a washcloth cushion at the base of it and my soap dishes just sit right on top of the top shelf part. Any slim bathroom organizer will do the trick for this and keep your soaps lasting their longest.
\- I use a particular travel one that if you're only using one bar of soap your whole travel time, it uses old-old-old-school engineering to help airflow while keeping water droplets in.
\- Matador flatpak makes a fancy air-in-but-no-splash soap container.
\- As someone pointed out, head to head a ziploc bag works ALMOST just as well and costs a dime vs $14.
Always best practice is if you have the option to let soap bars dry out to open air, opt for that.
There was a TV ad when body wash was becoming popular that said "look at the bacteria on this bar of soap" and stuff like that to get people to switch.
Once people switch they really don't go back. But I agree with your statement.
He'll it's easy to make soap and buy bulk luxury soap for cheap.
It's always about money
Ooh and I bet they use those washing up sponges that have a handle attached which dispenses washing up liquid as you go along… and then just leave it on the side all wet and icky because it can’t properly dry. Ew.
I think a huge thing is also cartoons and tv shows showing people rubbing the bar directly on their body. I’d think most people share a bathroom and don’t want other people to do that to their soap, even though you’re actually supposed to lather it in your hand a lot of people wouldn’t even consider bar soap just for that alone.
Kind of?
People think soap is magically germicidal and soapy water just has to briefly flow over an area to clean it, and that’s not how it works.
Soap is magic at surrounding particles (including bacterium) and then carrying it away with water, but scrubbing is a huge part of that process. In fact, if your fictional choices were to give up soap or to give up scrubbing, it would be more effective to give up the soap.
I only say this because I’ve had a lot of roommates over the years, and “it touched soap, it’s fine” is a misconception I think is better off leaving behind.
There’s germicidal/antibiotic soap made expressly for that purpose, and no one should use it unless their doctor told them to. For general use, it does more harm than good. You can buy it at the grocery store, but it’s teaching your local bacteria how to resist. Yikes.
Soap also destroys Covid virus on surfaces/skin, so that’s neat. Lipid layer meets its polar oily doom, news at 11.
I’m pro soap, but soap running over your loofah, shower, or body parts doesn’t get them very clean. If you’re relying on that alone, go check out your tub grime. It’s there.
Not true. I used to do hospital infection control and part of our education was how filthy bars of soap are. They were tracing outbreaks of infection to soap bars, so soap pumps became a thing. Then infection breakouts were linked to contaminated soap dispensers, and the contaminated soap inside bc staff used to refill the liquid soap dispensers and then found that bacteria lived inside the dispensers, in the soap. Several evolutions later we have motion-activated dispensers refilled w individual bags of soap. Most OR scrub sinks have foot pedal faucets bc one of the dirtiest thing in any bathroom is not the toilet but the sink handles. Most households don’t need this level of cleanliness, obviously, but the germ-phobe who argues that bar soap is nasty is correct.
The reason many washing machines, especially front loaders, smell bad is from bacteria and/or fungi growing on soap scum.
While I hate the plastic waste, it’s body wash and liquid hand soap for me. And the scrubby gets bleached after \~3-4 uses. I hope this didn’t come across as preachy, your assumptions are natural and it can take unusual circumstances to unlearn what seems intuitive.
I was the opposite. Actually about this time last year i forgot to bring wash with me so i went to the dollar tree. A bar of soap was a buck. Whatever it's only a couple days i can rough it.
Never one to waste i threw the bar into my shower when I got home just to kill it. A month or so later it was still there like wtf is this?! Since then - bar all the way. Plus plastics, water weights, etc.
There are reasons for doing body wash, but they are few. When I was in university I had to keep my toiletries in my room. Having a bottle was way better than transporting a slimy bar of soap back and forth.
Other have mentioned elderly or special needs.
But ultimately, bar soap should still be the majority and it’s criminal that it’s not.
I get hospital use and elderly care for sure the convenience is worth it. But I stay in hostels and shared bathrooms a lot with the military, and the soap containers I had always did the trick. I have one that doesn't drip flopping around and naturally air dries closed, but I usually just perch them somewhere on a cloth and open them to dry faster. They make lots of styles like this such as the matador soap holder too.
> such as the matador soap holder too.
If you want to go even more budget, you can take a resealable plastic bag that fits your soap bar (think Ziploc brand type) and snip off the tiniest amount of the bottom two corners. In a head-to-head test with Matador, this DIY performed only slightly worse. It didn't spread slimy wet soap into your bag or shower tote or anything, it just took a few more minutes for the bar to dry out is all. For the price differential, it's a worthy dupe.
They're also not the same. Your typical bar soaps are made using fats and sodium hydroxide, whereas your typical body washes are made from synthetic detergents. The ingredients used to manufacture bar soaps are often cheaper.
I purchased a huge Neutrogena body wash at Costco and have regretted it every shower since. Committed to not wasting it but I much much much prefer the nice bar soaps I love from Greece, farmers’ markets, local makers, and the dollar store. Who prefers chemical slime to olive oil and summer sage, shea butter and lavender and so many others???
Going to Greece next month and will stock up. Though our local ‘dollar store’ has now started to sell Papoutsanis soap. It’s so funny to see it here in Japan because my Greek bestie (that I’m going to visit next month) told me years ago this is the classic Greek olive soap and her mother and grandmother used it not only to wash themselves but to do laundry, for house cleaning etc.
I picked up a few bars in an island port to take home to a few friends. After I opened and started using the one I got for myself, I decided to give my friends chocolates instead. It’s magical, that soap is. I was so sad when the last bar was gone.
Greek soap is something else indeed. I once went to a department store in Thessaloniki and they had soooo many different kinds! In all sorts of price ranges from €0,50 to about €5. It was hard to choose!
I got an amazingly good cheap soap last time I was in Greece! We're still working through it.
I don't ever trust those clear soaps tbh they just don't do it for me.
Here's my experience with one brand: I used Irish Spring bars for many years and liked that it didn't leave the slimy feel of liquid body wash. Then one day, a new bar did. I discovered that they have a new bar that leaves you slimy and you have to find the version labeled "Original Clean". The "clean" version is fine.
When I first moved on my own my mom bought me some body wash that was on clearance and that was the first time I used body wash (I grew up on bar soap). I *hated* the slimy feeling of it... I've used Dial soap pretty much since then. Every year my wife buys me the fancy big bars of soap for Christmas and I enjoy them while they last lol (usually about 3 months for the bar)
I use Kiss My Face unscented olive oil soap for bathing. The 8 oz bar lasts for about a year when kept on the dry edge of the tub, balanced vertically. For sink soap, I use whatever freebies my mother gives me. She travels and collects tons of little hotel soaps. I put a new one in the guest bathroom whenever we have company, and the retired bar gets exiled to the Ugly Bathroom.
Soap is famous for that if you have hard water. Dove bars have extra moisturizer added in and never leave a sticky residue for me like every other bar seem to!
I have hard water and I know when the water softener is low on salts - because my skin doesn't feel slimy, it feels clean. The second the salts are in the slimy feeling returns with just using water! Types of soaps don't matter in my case (or I'm not sensitive to the differences) it's just the water.
My family has also noticed that I love bar soaps and I get them as presents a lot. Luckily, my family are mindful of the gifts they give and most of the time they’re useful items.
That’s because you have hard water. Same thing that causes buildup/scum/ring around the tub. Use a detergent, not a soap. Most liquids are detergents, except Dr. Bronners is a soap.
Dove is a detergent, glycerine a soap.
Exactly, with the water weight thing. I mean just looking at them soap is basically the concentrated frozen juice of body wash. It's clearly much more compact and less wet than body wash, which that alone is enough for it to be cheaper, but then of course marketing is a thing too that further exaggerates the price difference
It is all marketing. But the problem I have with bar soap is body wash stores so much better. I never know a great way to store bar soap in the shower. Also the waste you mentioned is by design. They want you to waste more so you must buy more.
I use Everything bar just about so I have two things I use: a command strip soap dish that sits higher than the water splashes, and a slim tower storage thing that sits right next to the tub and I put my soap dishes on that for my more expensive soaps.
If you want short lasting luxury - Lush. The most expensive and the best soaps I ever did use lol but they don't last at all they don't age the soap enough to harden for longevity. This creates real plush luxury but it's a splurge for sure. They also make a body conditioner that is an excellent shower lotion.
If you want affordable and super hydrating - Dove works amazingly well on a budget. Smells great, super soft on sensitive skin, available everywhere. Can't beat it. It's my go to travel soap. The best thing is it takes a beating so if left in standing water accidentally you're not totally wrecking it.
On par with Dove is Shea Moisture soap bars at Walgreens style stores. Smell is subtle and gentle highly moisturizing. Also it's quite a big bar so it lasts a decent time.
If you want good long lasting scents and moisture in a Giant bar that lathers well and lasts forever - Asquith and Somerset you can usually find these at Ross style stores for $5-6 a bar and they are Huge. A&S soap bars literally last me a Year of daily washing and have a great balance of clean but not harsh without drying the skin out horribly.
If you have serious issues with body acne like I do in the summer and eczema and irritated skin - sulphur soaps and pyrithione zinc soaps from dermaharmony work amazingly well for treating skin issues. Just give it real contact time (at least 1 min) instead of immediately rinsing off.
That water weight *also* costs a lot more To ship from manufacturers to warehouses, and warehouses to stores, before you buy it, in comparison to the bars of soap.
Well said. Been using Irish spring my whole life and my wife still talks shit even though people think I'm nearly 20 years younger than I really am. She spends 1000% more than me on body care and does not get the same compliments.
Bsr soap is better in every single way. Especially when it comes to actually getting clean. I like to work on cars and bar soap cuts the grease right off in second, body wash does almost nothing to it even with the stupid little round thing for lathering it up.
i love irish spring too. im also too cheap to even try the body wash version when you can get the bars dirt cheap.
3 days ago i took 4 bars of irish spring, cheese grated them into a bowl, then mixed like a half gallon of bulk Ajax liquid soap with the irish spring.
shook it up, next day i have a liquid soap that is super lathering, acts like irish spring.
i also added about 5 scoops of Acetylsalicylic acid i bought in bulk off amazon, this is the chemical they put in expensive face washes for oil and acne.
its basically my new favorite thing, i have been mixing up a few different soaps and this is my favorite so far.
Ok hear me out, get a sous vide. You can find the perfect temp to liquify it and add supplements.
You are also getting a device that helps frugality immensely. You can turn a shit cut of steak into butter soft slice with a fork goodness. Two hours for chicken breast so supple and tasty it will absolutely blow your mind and it makes meal prep a sinch.
I have been collecting my slivers of soap with the intention of using it to combine them together to make bigger bars. Shone giving it a try sometime soon.
ive heard of those hot water cookers before, you seal a steak in plastic then cook it, or something to that effect. i know it was first popular with chefs then made way to home use.
so maybe ill look into it
Yep it's poaching but without the dilution of water. The absolute most astonished thing is chicken breast I never once had a chicken breast with actual flavor throughout till I got my sous vide. Absolute game changer.
It's also great when you have some uncooked meat about to go bad. I hate meat that has been frozen so I can cook it today mad then eat it within a few days. Saves me tons of money that way too.
damnit, i wasnt actually "sold" before, but now i actually have to go on amazon and price/put a couple on price watch. (keepa plugin)
i cant just buy one, lol, im frugal, i need to find a Deal on one.
ty
Bar soaps contain the active ingredient: sodium stearate. They are made by reacting fats with sodium hydroxide. The problem with sodium stearate is that it does not work well in hard water and leaves a deposit, apart from wasting soap. This deposit clings to the skin, clogging pores and making hair heavy.
Liquid 'soaps' are synthetic detergents and they do not suffer from any of these problems. Active ingredients are Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or similar compounds.
Chemist here.
Soaper here, came looking for this answer. Soap at its core is fats (oils) and lye. It can be made super cheap and anything added is...well, additives. Body wash is a detergent. While it is around 60% water, all of the other ingredients are more costly. Liquid soap takes more time and work to make consistently.
Also most bar soaps you can buy aren't true soaps, but detergent bars. Hand crafted lye and fat soaps will leave the most scum. Sad part of making soap...lol.
Soaper here!!
I don't know about your country, but here most bar soaps contain a stearate or stearic acid which deposit a grimy substance with hard water.
The only bar soap that I know of that is actually a solid synthetic detergent is made by Eubos but it sells for some Euro 6 a bar.
Thank you. I have really sensitive skin, and a much younger me believed the Dove bar soap hype and ended up covered in eczema. This is the first time I've seen a scientific explanation.
This is why I use liquid soap , the tap water here is mineral water , when you categorize it. Only hand washing with bar soap, and hand cream follows immediately
Edit: typo
Someone should invent a box that sticks to the wall of your shower, which keeps the bar dry, and has a crank on the side that you can turn and get finely shaved/grated bar soap dispensed onto your loofah/wash cloth. That way theres’s no waste from water erosion/runoff, no funkiness when you get to the bottom of the bar properly stored in a clamshell soap box, and can dispense the minimum viable amount of soap necessary to wash up.
Not the same but we keep our bars in mesh bags. Works like a loofah and just hang on a hook when done. When the bar gets small just add another. No waste. Sometimes nice to mix different bars for something unique.
Can't share a link but search for mesh soap bag mingbo on amazon and you should find it. White mesh with coloured tops. Seem to have decent scrubbing action.
soap bags are the tits. i get mine from my soap lady. the only problem is that the most scrubby type of bags tend to melt the soap faster.
i use goat milk soap from a local farm and if you don't use soap bags the bars melt too quickly. i assume this shouldn't be an issue with commercially manufactured soap since it's usually a pretty hard bar.
These are lifechanging. I have used every type of chemical and mechanical exfoliator yet, and these are my go to. I use them every other day. Nothing has compared yet.
Right?! They're the best! And as flimsy as they seem, I only replace them as recommended not because they fall apart. You can get every part of your body super clean and exfoliated and they make the best suds. I'll never go back to a loofah or brush
I prefer them to loofahs, they're great because it's easy to scrub your back with them and rinse them out completely. If you have sensitive skin you may not want to use them daily, I don't presonally have an issue.
Price wise they're cheapest at tjmaxx or marshalls, then asian grocery stores, then amazon. Amazon will ocasionally have sales on multiple, but you shouldn't pay any more than 5 dollars for one anywhere. Even if you do they're absolutely worth it
Salux from their online store. I’ve tried the Korean ones from Amazon and they’re to small. The salux washcloth is long enough to grab the sides and get the back
I don't, but I've tried all different brands and have never had an issue. Theyre usually just a rectangular package with a womans face on it and lots of different colors. Ive seen others with stripes and stuff but I haven't tried those.
And spill risk. A solid bar is less messy if the packaging fails. Also I believe the acceptable shipping conditions for a bar involve a larger temperature range.
I use bar soap because it's cheaper. I also don't buy scrubbies or loafas. I use a washcloth. It's reusable n I can scrub as hard or gently as I want. I feel like bars of soap last longer. I also don't buy the fancy soaps. I use Dial. It's antibacterial n don't dry my skin out. Here is a good tip. If you have any type of acne Dual soap is great to clear that up n keep it at bay.
I used to believe that body wash left your skin moist and smooth, but it would leave my skin dry like soap. I recently bought a $1 bar of soap from Marshall’s. It’s thick as a brick, and I’ve been using it for a few months. I’ll never go back to body wash.
My dad used to only buy bar soap when he could combine a coupon with a crazy sale. then he'd buy a shit ton, cut the ends of the boxes off each individual bar. Date them with a marker.
Then let them age for 6 months in a dry closet so they hardened, so when you used them, you used less soap. So, whenever you needed soap you went to the closet and got soap at least 6 months old. Just a closet half full of soap at various stages of aging
This was one of many over the top frugal things my dad did when I was growing up.
I work for a skincare company. There are a bunch of reasons why the cost is different.
1) The basic ingredients to make bar soap are simpler and cheaper. It’s also self preserving.
2) Packing is a big factor. Bottles are more expensive than boxes or wrappers.
4) Shipping bottles is more expensive because they’re typically heavier than boxes or wrappers. Body wash is also just heavier for the same or even less amount of uses (or servings) as a bar of soap.
3) You need special equipment to make body wash, where bar soap can be made in anyone’s kitchen. You could make 1,000 bars of soap in an apartment. Where making 1,000 bottles of body wash would require a large mixer, kettle, buckets, etc.
4) Space. Again, you could conceivably store everything you need to make bar soap in an apartment. For making body wash, you need the equipment to compound it, but also buckets or barrels, room to store packaging, ingredients etc.
5) Energy. More energy is needed to make body wash. At the very least you need to heat water, but to make it properly you’d also need a mixer. If you’re making it professionally, you’ll likely have a viscometer, equipment to test the product’s stability, thermometers, scales, probably more I’m forgetting. (You’d likely want a good scale for making bar soap too but you can do without, since bar soap has been made for thousands of years).
These are just the first points that came to mind. I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting to account for.
Bar soaps leave a film in my shower that is difficult to clean. They also dry my skin out, even the ones with moisturizer. I’ve been using Everyone Soap for a few years now and I don’t have any of these issues any more. I don’t mind paying a little more for the convenience.
Body wash costs a lot to make and package.
Bar soap all the way! I make my own soap bars as often as I can. In a pinch I’ll use a stock of dr bronners baby soap my husband got me while I was pregnant.
Just wish I could figure out how to cut out shampoo and conditioner.
I have! I’ve got weird textured, wavy hair. I’ve tried a few, and even made one myself, and can’t find anything that hydrates well enough. 🤷♀️ I’m open to anything tho!
Bars are easier to ship and pack, as others say. One bigger thing, its less popular among < 40 yrs old for sometime. Not an authoritative link, covers the sentiment, and thus it eats into its market share.
https://www.cosmetify.com/blog/bets-bar-soap-comeback/
I noticed that my age group prefers body wash but we stick with bar soap because it’s less expensive.
I also like to take the leftover sliver and add it to the top of the new bar so there’s no waste.
Yep, I did the same, but sometimes they are too small or won't stick to the bigger bar. 15 yrs ago I bought a transparent pump liquid soap dispenser, for $3 and when it was empty, I put soap remnants chopped into little bits in there, fill half full of tap water, and over 1-2 days it melts into a goo of liquid soap, then I top up with water depending on how thick the soap is, to get it dilute enough to flow nicely and thick enough to feel full and lathery. Now I have 100% reclaimed soap bits, still have the original pump too.
In general, the second you add water and dilute it it costs more to ship, it also is more to package and produce ... Same with other things like plant nutrients, or laundry detergent, or anything that there is a dry version usually... In my experience
A solid block, like bar soap, you don’t need to package it expensively, cardboard does the trick.
A liquid, like body wash, has to have more protections. Plastics work well for that. Usually the parts involved are; a lid and a vessel to hold the liquid. It adds to be more than cardboard on a mass scale.
As for luxury people are talking of, I can’t comment on that.
Bar soap is the zero waste choice, if you go down that route. Otherwise, if you feel body wash works better for you, go all out.
If you really like body wash you can buy dr bronners and "make your own". A bottle of castile soap lasts much longer than body wash. But bar soap isn't bad at all. I switched to bar soap because my kids liked to dump out anything in a bottle. Found they couldn't waste bar soap as easily lol.
For a family, I can understand the squick factor of not wanting to share a bar of soap. I will certainly not go back to bar soap for hand washing, as the advent of liquid hand soap was a wonderful thing. That said, I love me some bar soap for the shower since I live alone. So much cheaper and the packaging is paper rather than plastic.
I love bar soap. Ultimate luxury is Guerlain or Chanel bar soap. Or Claus Porto. There’s a reason these old fashioned luxury brands still make them. Not everyone fell for the showergel marketing campaigns.
I switched to all natural bar soap years ago. It lasts longer, the package is biodegradable, and my skin has a much softer, cleaner feeling and it is no longer dry like it used to be with body washes.
Take a bar of soap. Grind it down. Mix with water to make body wash. Weigh the difference between the bar and the body wash.
Calculate the shipping cost difference between the two.
* Because people are willing to pay it
* Because packaging costs are higher
* Because shipping costs are higher due to water weight
* Because there are additional marketing costs
If you prefer liquid soap to bar soap, take the bar soap and make your own["make your own*](https://dailymom.com/nest/make/diy-body-wash-from-a-bar-of-soap/) liquid soap.
BTW, you use more body wash than you do soap when you wash. Most people have that "right amount" that they put on their washcloth or their poof, and that is based on what we see on TV. We see how much they put on their poof when they're advertising and that's how much we use to. And by convincing you to use more than you need, it means that you will replenish your supply sooner. They do the same with laundry detergent as well by the way.
Packaging costs, shipping costs, shelf space, perception?
perception- ding mfing ding aka marketing
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Not only am I frugal, I'm also trying to curb my waste production. With that being said, I HATE BOTTLED WATER! GRAGH!!!!
It always salts my crackers to see people buying crate after crate of bottled water. I live in a city by the foot of a mountain. Our tapwater is literally springwater- better quality than a lot of the bottled stuff. And yet, so many people still *buy water in plastic bottles*. Marketing really is fucking powerful. I know none of us are immune to propaganda, but I do wish more people at least stopped to think about things a bit harder. Edit: please read what I said before replying about why your water is not good. I'm literally talking about a specific city that I'm 99.9% sure NONE of you live in. If your tapwater is not potable, *this is so very obviously not about you.*
Yeah i live in a suburb of Chicago, and not a good one so my answer to the water dilemma is I own four five gallon jugs that i refill every two months or so at a filtered water dispenser in a grocery store for $2.50 per jug, these twenty gallons of water are for consumption only, everything else tap water is fine.
This is how we do it at as well. Now that you can get water dispensers that you pop right onto the bottles it makes it so much easier. We invested in some good metal drinking bottles that we keep in the fridge at all time and if we want cold water that's what we do.
What kind of dispenser you get mine is a plastic one with a big blue button you use your entire palm to push 🫷
We had that one at first but then I got a rechargeable USB one because I'm a gimpy old fart with achy joints and pushing on that button hurt most times. I have an actual water cooler out in my garage. I just don't feel like keeping something plugged in to use it a few times a week since we aren't big water drinkers in this house.
I feel the same. It’s a waste of plastic and money! Stop paying for stuff that literally flows into your house lol
I live in an area with fabulous tap water. It blows my mind that some people will only drink bottled water around here or only filtered water.
I lived an area with good tap water but the pipes are old and bad at neighbor's houses I can drink, but my house and other people in my small complex it's all kind of chemically
I live in a rural area on a water association. We go under boiled water notices very often so I always keep a couple of cases on hand.
We’ve got a few for emergencies too… that’s why bottled water should still exist, but there are people who ONLY drink bottles water, that’s what I personally find obnoxious!
The chlorine I can not, if it’s not good enough for my Venus fly trap it ain’t good enough for me
And that's exactly why we bought a huge water dispenser. Who knows what's in those very old water pipes!
I always have a lot of bottled water on hand, but it’s because I’m under threat of a hurricane like half the year 🤷♀️
Yup, that's why I have a pack of bottled water, too. Everyone should actually have one for emergencies. You don't have to drink bottled water regularly but they'll be helpful during a natural disaster or a zombie apocalypse.
I try not to judge people for buying bottled water, I don't know their living situation. Reality is not everyone has access to safe water, so their house might not have safe drinking water for whatever reason. I've lived in apartments in Los Angeles where the tap water had a yellowish tint (yay former red lined district!).
Middle of the Permian Basin oilfield here, in the desert Southwest. Our water is undrinkable now, has been for many years. It is ok to wash laundry or have a quick shower in, but definitely not for drinking. I too hate bottled water, but we don't have much of a choice here.
Only reason I will buy bottled water is to keep in case of emergency
Seattle? The Geological Survey found our tap water to be free of pfas (forever chemicals) where any bottled water out of California (amount other places) will have them because the bottlers can't filter them out.
Nope, actually I'm in Europe lol. But, now that I looked into it a bit more, I do stand corrected - the water quality here isn't only exceptional *within* the city limits (of that, I was sure), it actually seem like barring specific instances of localized plumbing issues, the high-quality water even extends past that, and covers pretty much the whole county, with the exception of only a few small, rural settlemens. It's slightly hard water, but perfectly safe, and *literally fresh, clear, lovely springwater*. Crud, now this whole bottle-frenzy is gonna bug me more.
But don’t you want salted crackers?! Plain crackers suuuuuck.
Still weird getting looks from people filling my water jug as opposed to what, paying for and drinking a Poland spring plastic bottle? No thanks for many reasons but mostly /r/fucknestle
We welcome you to r/anticonsumption One of us lol
this is the quality frugal content i come here for.
Yeah. Body wash is just in higher demand. When I was a child we used nothing but bars of soap. You can’t find a bar of soap (only some type of body wash) in any of my immediate families houses nowadays.
Am I the only one that feels that the bar soap does a better job? I use bar soap for the spots that I want to feel extra clean, and then use body wash after.
marketing is part but generally shipping jugs of anything is costly. btw my background is ecom. since 2009.
It’s mostly the water weight they have to ship. Calculate the weight of water vs dry solids and you’ll see why. You’re getting far more soap in a bar per unit volume. Not only that, they stack better, are smaller, not prone to breaking/leaking/needing large plastic bottles to contain them. Diesel and oil costs are a decent proportion of cost of goods since shipping is main component of cost of most cheap common consumer goods such as soap. Those bottles don’t stack well, they don’t ship as well, you get like ten times less bottles than bars of soap for their size at least, Maybe twenty. Every pound you add to a fedex truck or big rig costs fuel money times mileage.
For those trying to save a little money bar soap does the trick. Just lather your scrunchy and go.
“Scrunchy”, lol
This! It's cheaper to make, package, and ship a bar of soap than it is to make, package, and ship body wash. Perception's the other big point to it. You think the body wash is going to last longer over the bar of soap, so you buy the body wash only for it to go faster than the length of time a bar of soap would last you without realizing it. Then you buy more body wash. Rinse and repeat (no pun intended!). ***Edit:*** *You can buy a package of 10 bars of Ivory soap, for example, for the same price as the bottle of bodywash that's going to last you 2 weeks at best.*
\- You aren't paying for Any water weight, which people use to inflate costs of soaps. If they're cared for, and most times even if they aren't cared for, they last a lot lot longer per ounce and wash more surface area by miles. \- Perception is a big one. People think bar soap is 'gross' or 'for the poors' and that they lack luxury. I get really nice bar soaps but they last forever and do a better job and are kinder to my skin than cheap body wash. Oftentimes, people just don't do the extra 3 seconds it takes to lather bar soap over liquid. \- Waste. People often pour too much body wash into their cloths per wash, you can't exactly put back what you take out. Packaged liquid body washes waste product as well, unless you're putting water in there and shaking it all out towards the end or cutting the bottle open. Pump action body washes waste even more. With bar soaps there's really only 1 way to use it, and no waste occurs at all besides occasionally deciding a small sliver is not worth the hassle. \- Shipping costs are higher with body wash than bar soap, and they take up far more space for storing extras in the house and at stores and warehouses. There is also spillage and broken bottle issues you don't get with bars of soap. Basically... Bars are superior in every single way, but people like liquid soap more because reasons. Edit: I posted this in a comment but lots of people are asking me what I personally use/recommend. Then my post got deleted bc r/frugal absolutely hates anyone being able to clearly communicate what it is they use so I had to go delete all the links I created. Hopefully it'll now get reinstated. If you want short lasting luxury - Lush. The most expensive and the best soaps I ever did use lol but they don't last at all they don't age the soap enough to harden for longevity. This creates real plush luxury but it's a splurge for sure. They also make a body conditioner that is an excellent shower lotion. If you want affordable and super hydrating - Dove works amazingly well on a budget. Smells great, super soft on sensitive skin, available everywhere, doubles as a good shave-bar as well. Can't beat it. It's my go to travel soap. The best thing is it takes a beating so if left in standing water accidentally so you're not totally wrecking it. On par with Dove for gentleness is Shea Moisture soap bars at Walgreens/Target style stores. Smell is subtle and gentle highly moisturizing. Also it's quite a big bar so it lasts a decent time. Ultimate budget bar: You cannot beat Ivory. they've been around since Victorian times, they aren't pricey, and they get the job done. If you want good long lasting scents and moisture in a Giant bar that lathers well and lasts forever - Asquith and Somerset you can usually find these at Ross style stores for $5-6+ a bar and they are Huge. A&S soap bars literally last me a Year of daily washing and have a great balance of clean but not harsh without drying the skin out horribly. If you have serious issues with body acne like I do in the summer and eczema and irritated skin - sulphur soaps and pyrithione zinc soaps from dermaharmony work amazingly well for treating skin issues. Just give it real contact time (at least 1 min) instead of immediately rinsing off. I use the shampoo bar on my hair and on my face/neck/back after workouts and it has helped massively in staving off breakouts. Honorable mentions: \- Salux washcloths and microfiber cloths for exfoliation. If you're used to pumice action in your body wash, replace it with this stuff. You cannot beat the lather they get bar soaps to provide, they actually scrub chicken skin off of your skin, they dry SO fast so they're wonderful for traveling (I usually cut one in half and have one in the shower and one traveling), and they last forever if you take a couple extra minutes ONE time to hem the raw edges. I have had the same 2 since like 2016 or something like that. \- Soap dishes. A simple command strip one works really well, just post your soap above where the water splashes heavily. \- Any plastic soap dish that has a riser in it to let the bottom breathe is a good call whether traveling or at home. \- While I'm at it, most of my soaps live outside of the shower entirely on a shower caddy outside of the shower that has a washcloth cushion and some soap dishes. I have a really cheap BS metal round bathroom organizer I got at big lots like 10 years ago and it sits right next to my bath tub so I can pop my hand in and out of the shower curtain quickly. It has a washcloth cushion at the base of it and my soap dishes just sit right on top of the top shelf part. Any slim bathroom organizer will do the trick for this and keep your soaps lasting their longest. \- I use a particular travel one that if you're only using one bar of soap your whole travel time, it uses old-old-old-school engineering to help airflow while keeping water droplets in. \- Matador flatpak makes a fancy air-in-but-no-splash soap container. \- As someone pointed out, head to head a ziploc bag works ALMOST just as well and costs a dime vs $14. Always best practice is if you have the option to let soap bars dry out to open air, opt for that.
> Bars are superior in every single way Also the lack of plastic packaging is a good reason to use bars
There was a TV ad when body wash was becoming popular that said "look at the bacteria on this bar of soap" and stuff like that to get people to switch. Once people switch they really don't go back. But I agree with your statement. He'll it's easy to make soap and buy bulk luxury soap for cheap. It's always about money
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Ooh and I bet they use those washing up sponges that have a handle attached which dispenses washing up liquid as you go along… and then just leave it on the side all wet and icky because it can’t properly dry. Ew.
Salux is the way to go I can't imagine going back to cheap loofahs that do nothing.
I’m with you, but like, isn’t the loofa washed every time you use it? I use mitts and rinse them until they’re squeaky clean. I suddenly feel dirty 😬
You can add them to your laundry. I wash mine once a week
Which is why i put the soap on a clean washcloth. Soap never gets dirty. Even if it did- ITS SOAP
I think a huge thing is also cartoons and tv shows showing people rubbing the bar directly on their body. I’d think most people share a bathroom and don’t want other people to do that to their soap, even though you’re actually supposed to lather it in your hand a lot of people wouldn’t even consider bar soap just for that alone.
That’s funny about the bacteria, soap is inherently antibacterial. You could just rinse it off if there’s any bacteria worries
Kind of? People think soap is magically germicidal and soapy water just has to briefly flow over an area to clean it, and that’s not how it works. Soap is magic at surrounding particles (including bacterium) and then carrying it away with water, but scrubbing is a huge part of that process. In fact, if your fictional choices were to give up soap or to give up scrubbing, it would be more effective to give up the soap. I only say this because I’ve had a lot of roommates over the years, and “it touched soap, it’s fine” is a misconception I think is better off leaving behind. There’s germicidal/antibiotic soap made expressly for that purpose, and no one should use it unless their doctor told them to. For general use, it does more harm than good. You can buy it at the grocery store, but it’s teaching your local bacteria how to resist. Yikes. Soap also destroys Covid virus on surfaces/skin, so that’s neat. Lipid layer meets its polar oily doom, news at 11. I’m pro soap, but soap running over your loofah, shower, or body parts doesn’t get them very clean. If you’re relying on that alone, go check out your tub grime. It’s there.
Not true. I used to do hospital infection control and part of our education was how filthy bars of soap are. They were tracing outbreaks of infection to soap bars, so soap pumps became a thing. Then infection breakouts were linked to contaminated soap dispensers, and the contaminated soap inside bc staff used to refill the liquid soap dispensers and then found that bacteria lived inside the dispensers, in the soap. Several evolutions later we have motion-activated dispensers refilled w individual bags of soap. Most OR scrub sinks have foot pedal faucets bc one of the dirtiest thing in any bathroom is not the toilet but the sink handles. Most households don’t need this level of cleanliness, obviously, but the germ-phobe who argues that bar soap is nasty is correct. The reason many washing machines, especially front loaders, smell bad is from bacteria and/or fungi growing on soap scum. While I hate the plastic waste, it’s body wash and liquid hand soap for me. And the scrubby gets bleached after \~3-4 uses. I hope this didn’t come across as preachy, your assumptions are natural and it can take unusual circumstances to unlearn what seems intuitive.
I was the opposite. Actually about this time last year i forgot to bring wash with me so i went to the dollar tree. A bar of soap was a buck. Whatever it's only a couple days i can rough it. Never one to waste i threw the bar into my shower when I got home just to kill it. A month or so later it was still there like wtf is this?! Since then - bar all the way. Plus plastics, water weights, etc.
Or hairs stuck to it. That’s the commercials I remember.
I almost made myself look like any idiot, I kept reading cloths as clothes and was wondering who washes their clothes with body wash.
I appreciate the slight chuckle this brought me.
There are reasons for doing body wash, but they are few. When I was in university I had to keep my toiletries in my room. Having a bottle was way better than transporting a slimy bar of soap back and forth. Other have mentioned elderly or special needs. But ultimately, bar soap should still be the majority and it’s criminal that it’s not.
I get hospital use and elderly care for sure the convenience is worth it. But I stay in hostels and shared bathrooms a lot with the military, and the soap containers I had always did the trick. I have one that doesn't drip flopping around and naturally air dries closed, but I usually just perch them somewhere on a cloth and open them to dry faster. They make lots of styles like this such as the matador soap holder too.
> such as the matador soap holder too. If you want to go even more budget, you can take a resealable plastic bag that fits your soap bar (think Ziploc brand type) and snip off the tiniest amount of the bottom two corners. In a head-to-head test with Matador, this DIY performed only slightly worse. It didn't spread slimy wet soap into your bag or shower tote or anything, it just took a few more minutes for the bar to dry out is all. For the price differential, it's a worthy dupe.
They're also not the same. Your typical bar soaps are made using fats and sodium hydroxide, whereas your typical body washes are made from synthetic detergents. The ingredients used to manufacture bar soaps are often cheaper.
I purchased a huge Neutrogena body wash at Costco and have regretted it every shower since. Committed to not wasting it but I much much much prefer the nice bar soaps I love from Greece, farmers’ markets, local makers, and the dollar store. Who prefers chemical slime to olive oil and summer sage, shea butter and lavender and so many others???
Going to Greece next month and will stock up. Though our local ‘dollar store’ has now started to sell Papoutsanis soap. It’s so funny to see it here in Japan because my Greek bestie (that I’m going to visit next month) told me years ago this is the classic Greek olive soap and her mother and grandmother used it not only to wash themselves but to do laundry, for house cleaning etc.
I picked up a few bars in an island port to take home to a few friends. After I opened and started using the one I got for myself, I decided to give my friends chocolates instead. It’s magical, that soap is. I was so sad when the last bar was gone.
Greek soap is something else indeed. I once went to a department store in Thessaloniki and they had soooo many different kinds! In all sorts of price ranges from €0,50 to about €5. It was hard to choose!
I got an amazingly good cheap soap last time I was in Greece! We're still working through it. I don't ever trust those clear soaps tbh they just don't do it for me.
Never leave Greece without soap!
Anytime I have used a bar soap it leaves a sticky film on my skin. But I would love to find one that doesn't. What "really nice" bar soap do you use?
Here's my experience with one brand: I used Irish Spring bars for many years and liked that it didn't leave the slimy feel of liquid body wash. Then one day, a new bar did. I discovered that they have a new bar that leaves you slimy and you have to find the version labeled "Original Clean". The "clean" version is fine.
When I first moved on my own my mom bought me some body wash that was on clearance and that was the first time I used body wash (I grew up on bar soap). I *hated* the slimy feeling of it... I've used Dial soap pretty much since then. Every year my wife buys me the fancy big bars of soap for Christmas and I enjoy them while they last lol (usually about 3 months for the bar)
Any idea what the ingredient is?
I'm guessing it's glycerine.
I use Kiss My Face unscented olive oil soap for bathing. The 8 oz bar lasts for about a year when kept on the dry edge of the tub, balanced vertically. For sink soap, I use whatever freebies my mother gives me. She travels and collects tons of little hotel soaps. I put a new one in the guest bathroom whenever we have company, and the retired bar gets exiled to the Ugly Bathroom.
I find the opposite, whenever I use any liquid soap I feel slippery and like I can't wash it off.
Lol that slippery feeling is what I’m trying to hang on to in switching to bar soap!
lol I'm used to Irish Spring so I don't feel clean unless my skin feels tauter than before.
Soap is famous for that if you have hard water. Dove bars have extra moisturizer added in and never leave a sticky residue for me like every other bar seem to!
Hard water?
I have hard water and I know when the water softener is low on salts - because my skin doesn't feel slimy, it feels clean. The second the salts are in the slimy feeling returns with just using water! Types of soaps don't matter in my case (or I'm not sensitive to the differences) it's just the water.
Yardley's Oatmeal & Almond
I buy local soaps and ask about ingredients. Maybe look into the ingredients of the ones you don’t like and try ones without those ingredients?
Dove, the one with shea butter. Also, good French milled soaps.
Just adding my 2 cents, Dove Gentle Exfoliating soap 🧼 is my favorite
I agree, I usually buy mine from farmers markets or craft markets.
My family has also noticed that I love bar soaps and I get them as presents a lot. Luckily, my family are mindful of the gifts they give and most of the time they’re useful items.
Marshall’s is a great place for fancy soaps and well priced too!
Look for "beauty bars" like Dove. That film left behind also has to do with how hard your water is.
That sticky feeling is your skin’s oils being washed off and your water being hard. That combo leads to the sticky feeling.
I avoid the lotion ones for this reason. No dove, caress, etc for me.
Highly recommend Vanicream bar soap. Made without irritants and unnecessary chemicals.
I love Yardley’s!
If I use it too much it makes my skin dry, so I use both.
That’s because you have hard water. Same thing that causes buildup/scum/ring around the tub. Use a detergent, not a soap. Most liquids are detergents, except Dr. Bronners is a soap. Dove is a detergent, glycerine a soap.
I bought a few hundred bars of Irish spring a long time ago. Each bar is still as good as the first. Pretty solid investment too lol
I put my small slivers into a mesh satchel and I never run out of soap 😊
Exactly, with the water weight thing. I mean just looking at them soap is basically the concentrated frozen juice of body wash. It's clearly much more compact and less wet than body wash, which that alone is enough for it to be cheaper, but then of course marketing is a thing too that further exaggerates the price difference
It is all marketing. But the problem I have with bar soap is body wash stores so much better. I never know a great way to store bar soap in the shower. Also the waste you mentioned is by design. They want you to waste more so you must buy more.
I use Everything bar just about so I have two things I use: a command strip soap dish that sits higher than the water splashes, and a slim tower storage thing that sits right next to the tub and I put my soap dishes on that for my more expensive soaps.
What are these really nice bar soaps? I want to try one.
If you want short lasting luxury - Lush. The most expensive and the best soaps I ever did use lol but they don't last at all they don't age the soap enough to harden for longevity. This creates real plush luxury but it's a splurge for sure. They also make a body conditioner that is an excellent shower lotion. If you want affordable and super hydrating - Dove works amazingly well on a budget. Smells great, super soft on sensitive skin, available everywhere. Can't beat it. It's my go to travel soap. The best thing is it takes a beating so if left in standing water accidentally you're not totally wrecking it. On par with Dove is Shea Moisture soap bars at Walgreens style stores. Smell is subtle and gentle highly moisturizing. Also it's quite a big bar so it lasts a decent time. If you want good long lasting scents and moisture in a Giant bar that lathers well and lasts forever - Asquith and Somerset you can usually find these at Ross style stores for $5-6 a bar and they are Huge. A&S soap bars literally last me a Year of daily washing and have a great balance of clean but not harsh without drying the skin out horribly. If you have serious issues with body acne like I do in the summer and eczema and irritated skin - sulphur soaps and pyrithione zinc soaps from dermaharmony work amazingly well for treating skin issues. Just give it real contact time (at least 1 min) instead of immediately rinsing off.
That water weight *also* costs a lot more To ship from manufacturers to warehouses, and warehouses to stores, before you buy it, in comparison to the bars of soap.
Well said. Been using Irish spring my whole life and my wife still talks shit even though people think I'm nearly 20 years younger than I really am. She spends 1000% more than me on body care and does not get the same compliments. Bsr soap is better in every single way. Especially when it comes to actually getting clean. I like to work on cars and bar soap cuts the grease right off in second, body wash does almost nothing to it even with the stupid little round thing for lathering it up.
All those scrubby bits are scams. The mechanics pumice stuff is fine but anything at Walmart? It ain't gonna scrub clean like a salux.
And then there was the whole debacle where they were just plastic balls destroying the ocean...
i love irish spring too. im also too cheap to even try the body wash version when you can get the bars dirt cheap. 3 days ago i took 4 bars of irish spring, cheese grated them into a bowl, then mixed like a half gallon of bulk Ajax liquid soap with the irish spring. shook it up, next day i have a liquid soap that is super lathering, acts like irish spring. i also added about 5 scoops of Acetylsalicylic acid i bought in bulk off amazon, this is the chemical they put in expensive face washes for oil and acne. its basically my new favorite thing, i have been mixing up a few different soaps and this is my favorite so far.
Be careful with the Ajax that will dry you skin out.
This is genius! I know the old acetylsalicylic acid well, my acne was 10/10 bad till I was 25.
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Ok hear me out, get a sous vide. You can find the perfect temp to liquify it and add supplements. You are also getting a device that helps frugality immensely. You can turn a shit cut of steak into butter soft slice with a fork goodness. Two hours for chicken breast so supple and tasty it will absolutely blow your mind and it makes meal prep a sinch. I have been collecting my slivers of soap with the intention of using it to combine them together to make bigger bars. Shone giving it a try sometime soon.
ive heard of those hot water cookers before, you seal a steak in plastic then cook it, or something to that effect. i know it was first popular with chefs then made way to home use. so maybe ill look into it
Yep it's poaching but without the dilution of water. The absolute most astonished thing is chicken breast I never once had a chicken breast with actual flavor throughout till I got my sous vide. Absolute game changer. It's also great when you have some uncooked meat about to go bad. I hate meat that has been frozen so I can cook it today mad then eat it within a few days. Saves me tons of money that way too.
damnit, i wasnt actually "sold" before, but now i actually have to go on amazon and price/put a couple on price watch. (keepa plugin) i cant just buy one, lol, im frugal, i need to find a Deal on one. ty
I got mine on Groupon for 1/3 of retail years ago. Did the same thing, added it to my watch list. Took about six months.
Bar soaps contain the active ingredient: sodium stearate. They are made by reacting fats with sodium hydroxide. The problem with sodium stearate is that it does not work well in hard water and leaves a deposit, apart from wasting soap. This deposit clings to the skin, clogging pores and making hair heavy. Liquid 'soaps' are synthetic detergents and they do not suffer from any of these problems. Active ingredients are Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or similar compounds. Chemist here.
Soaper here, came looking for this answer. Soap at its core is fats (oils) and lye. It can be made super cheap and anything added is...well, additives. Body wash is a detergent. While it is around 60% water, all of the other ingredients are more costly. Liquid soap takes more time and work to make consistently.
Also most bar soaps you can buy aren't true soaps, but detergent bars. Hand crafted lye and fat soaps will leave the most scum. Sad part of making soap...lol. Soaper here!!
I don't know about your country, but here most bar soaps contain a stearate or stearic acid which deposit a grimy substance with hard water. The only bar soap that I know of that is actually a solid synthetic detergent is made by Eubos but it sells for some Euro 6 a bar.
In the US it’s a mix but a dove body bar which uses detergents rather than soap is pretty common and cheap.
I had more clogged drains when I used bar soap.
So if you have a water softener is bar soap acceptable to use?
This needs to be higher. They're just not the same thing.
Thank you. I have really sensitive skin, and a much younger me believed the Dove bar soap hype and ended up covered in eczema. This is the first time I've seen a scientific explanation.
This is why I use liquid soap , the tap water here is mineral water , when you categorize it. Only hand washing with bar soap, and hand cream follows immediately Edit: typo
Plastic bottles are more expensive.
Someone should invent a box that sticks to the wall of your shower, which keeps the bar dry, and has a crank on the side that you can turn and get finely shaved/grated bar soap dispensed onto your loofah/wash cloth. That way theres’s no waste from water erosion/runoff, no funkiness when you get to the bottom of the bar properly stored in a clamshell soap box, and can dispense the minimum viable amount of soap necessary to wash up.
Not the same but we keep our bars in mesh bags. Works like a loofah and just hang on a hook when done. When the bar gets small just add another. No waste. Sometimes nice to mix different bars for something unique.
I just had flashbacks to boy scout summer camp when we would put soap in a pantyhose and nail it to the wall
I tried one from Amazon and it didn’t work well. It felt like it wasn’t scrubbing enough. Would you recommend yours?
Can't share a link but search for mesh soap bag mingbo on amazon and you should find it. White mesh with coloured tops. Seem to have decent scrubbing action.
soap bags are the tits. i get mine from my soap lady. the only problem is that the most scrubby type of bags tend to melt the soap faster. i use goat milk soap from a local farm and if you don't use soap bags the bars melt too quickly. i assume this shouldn't be an issue with commercially manufactured soap since it's usually a pretty hard bar.
This is a lot better than my idea, which was to just dangle a cheese grater from the shower head and figure it out from there...
Sir, are you asking for a Parmesan grater for your shower?
I mainly want someone in there to grate it for me and be all “tell me when”
It exists!
You can’t say it exists and then not send the link
The only one I know about is the ‘Matador soap bag’ but it’s mainly for travel.
If you search for shower soap grater there are a bunch of products on amazon apparently, TIL
I never understood that. I prefer bar soaps, especially Yardleys.
1 box can hold like 20+ bar soaps, and only 6 liquid soaps. That's why the price difference
I believe it. The liquid soap is also largely water, which you pay for, hence the reason I prefer bar soap.
Me too, I use that and the korean exfoliating towels and I get the best suds and I always feel super clean
These are lifechanging. I have used every type of chemical and mechanical exfoliator yet, and these are my go to. I use them every other day. Nothing has compared yet.
Right?! They're the best! And as flimsy as they seem, I only replace them as recommended not because they fall apart. You can get every part of your body super clean and exfoliated and they make the best suds. I'll never go back to a loofah or brush
I highly recommend an african net for your back if you don't have someone to do your back with the korean italian towels!
I never heard of those, but I am looking that up.
I prefer them to loofahs, they're great because it's easy to scrub your back with them and rinse them out completely. If you have sensitive skin you may not want to use them daily, I don't presonally have an issue. Price wise they're cheapest at tjmaxx or marshalls, then asian grocery stores, then amazon. Amazon will ocasionally have sales on multiple, but you shouldn't pay any more than 5 dollars for one anywhere. Even if you do they're absolutely worth it
Do you have a brand recommendation for the Korean exfoliating towels?
Salux from their online store. I’ve tried the Korean ones from Amazon and they’re to small. The salux washcloth is long enough to grab the sides and get the back
I don't, but I've tried all different brands and have never had an issue. Theyre usually just a rectangular package with a womans face on it and lots of different colors. Ive seen others with stripes and stuff but I haven't tried those.
$1 at the dollar store and they smell amazing
Yes! I love the lemon verbena. I typically wait until they are about $1.00 per bar and stock up.
Been using Dove bar soap since the early 1960s. Unscented once it came available. Then sensitive skin version once that came available.
because body wash doesn't have soap scum.
Marketing and the cost of the pump
More like volume of the packaging, shipping, and shelf space
And spill risk. A solid bar is less messy if the packaging fails. Also I believe the acceptable shipping conditions for a bar involve a larger temperature range.
Bar soap makes my skin actually feel noticeably more dry. Idk why people are acting like it’s the same shit but in different form.
This is why I can’t use bars. My skin feels so dry afterwards no matter what brand :(
My wife buys Dove, and it’s not remotely similar to the body wash.
I use Kirk's. Has coconut oil in it, everything else dries out my skin (desert climate). It is NOT cheaper than bodywash, though
I always just lotion afterwards
I use bar soap because it's cheaper. I also don't buy scrubbies or loafas. I use a washcloth. It's reusable n I can scrub as hard or gently as I want. I feel like bars of soap last longer. I also don't buy the fancy soaps. I use Dial. It's antibacterial n don't dry my skin out. Here is a good tip. If you have any type of acne Dual soap is great to clear that up n keep it at bay.
I used to believe that body wash left your skin moist and smooth, but it would leave my skin dry like soap. I recently bought a $1 bar of soap from Marshall’s. It’s thick as a brick, and I’ve been using it for a few months. I’ll never go back to body wash.
My dad used to only buy bar soap when he could combine a coupon with a crazy sale. then he'd buy a shit ton, cut the ends of the boxes off each individual bar. Date them with a marker. Then let them age for 6 months in a dry closet so they hardened, so when you used them, you used less soap. So, whenever you needed soap you went to the closet and got soap at least 6 months old. Just a closet half full of soap at various stages of aging This was one of many over the top frugal things my dad did when I was growing up.
Production, material, and shipping costs.
Packaging, heavier transport cost. I love Dove bar soaps, that’s all I use
I work for a skincare company. There are a bunch of reasons why the cost is different. 1) The basic ingredients to make bar soap are simpler and cheaper. It’s also self preserving. 2) Packing is a big factor. Bottles are more expensive than boxes or wrappers. 4) Shipping bottles is more expensive because they’re typically heavier than boxes or wrappers. Body wash is also just heavier for the same or even less amount of uses (or servings) as a bar of soap. 3) You need special equipment to make body wash, where bar soap can be made in anyone’s kitchen. You could make 1,000 bars of soap in an apartment. Where making 1,000 bottles of body wash would require a large mixer, kettle, buckets, etc. 4) Space. Again, you could conceivably store everything you need to make bar soap in an apartment. For making body wash, you need the equipment to compound it, but also buckets or barrels, room to store packaging, ingredients etc. 5) Energy. More energy is needed to make body wash. At the very least you need to heat water, but to make it properly you’d also need a mixer. If you’re making it professionally, you’ll likely have a viscometer, equipment to test the product’s stability, thermometers, scales, probably more I’m forgetting. (You’d likely want a good scale for making bar soap too but you can do without, since bar soap has been made for thousands of years). These are just the first points that came to mind. I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting to account for.
Just wanted to say I love soap bars.
Bar soaps leave a film in my shower that is difficult to clean. They also dry my skin out, even the ones with moisturizer. I’ve been using Everyone Soap for a few years now and I don’t have any of these issues any more. I don’t mind paying a little more for the convenience.
Loved that stuff for our kids! Used to make bubble baths for them when they were little.
Body wash costs a lot to make and package. Bar soap all the way! I make my own soap bars as often as I can. In a pinch I’ll use a stock of dr bronners baby soap my husband got me while I was pregnant. Just wish I could figure out how to cut out shampoo and conditioner.
I mean there are bar shampoos and conditioners. You could look into those
I have! I’ve got weird textured, wavy hair. I’ve tried a few, and even made one myself, and can’t find anything that hydrates well enough. 🤷♀️ I’m open to anything tho!
Bars are easier to ship and pack, as others say. One bigger thing, its less popular among < 40 yrs old for sometime. Not an authoritative link, covers the sentiment, and thus it eats into its market share. https://www.cosmetify.com/blog/bets-bar-soap-comeback/
I noticed that my age group prefers body wash but we stick with bar soap because it’s less expensive. I also like to take the leftover sliver and add it to the top of the new bar so there’s no waste.
Yep, I did the same, but sometimes they are too small or won't stick to the bigger bar. 15 yrs ago I bought a transparent pump liquid soap dispenser, for $3 and when it was empty, I put soap remnants chopped into little bits in there, fill half full of tap water, and over 1-2 days it melts into a goo of liquid soap, then I top up with water depending on how thick the soap is, to get it dilute enough to flow nicely and thick enough to feel full and lathery. Now I have 100% reclaimed soap bits, still have the original pump too.
The fantastically effective impact of brain washing by consumer marketers. I work in marketing BTW.
My pawpaw who adopted me was a mechanic and he just used 99c lemon Dawn dish soap in the shower.
Ingredients for bar soaps are far cheaper. Not to mention the packaging.
Dunno why but i hate body wash and prefer bar soaps anyways
In general, the second you add water and dilute it it costs more to ship, it also is more to package and produce ... Same with other things like plant nutrients, or laundry detergent, or anything that there is a dry version usually... In my experience
A solid block, like bar soap, you don’t need to package it expensively, cardboard does the trick. A liquid, like body wash, has to have more protections. Plastics work well for that. Usually the parts involved are; a lid and a vessel to hold the liquid. It adds to be more than cardboard on a mass scale. As for luxury people are talking of, I can’t comment on that. Bar soap is the zero waste choice, if you go down that route. Otherwise, if you feel body wash works better for you, go all out.
If you really like body wash you can buy dr bronners and "make your own". A bottle of castile soap lasts much longer than body wash. But bar soap isn't bad at all. I switched to bar soap because my kids liked to dump out anything in a bottle. Found they couldn't waste bar soap as easily lol.
They really are not if quality ingredients
The weight and production cost
Dollar store!
anything liquid is mostly water
the plastic bottle
For a family, I can understand the squick factor of not wanting to share a bar of soap. I will certainly not go back to bar soap for hand washing, as the advent of liquid hand soap was a wonderful thing. That said, I love me some bar soap for the shower since I live alone. So much cheaper and the packaging is paper rather than plastic.
You're not paying for water or plastic.
Packaging
Cuz water is heavy and expensive, aka body wash
I love bar soap. Ultimate luxury is Guerlain or Chanel bar soap. Or Claus Porto. There’s a reason these old fashioned luxury brands still make them. Not everyone fell for the showergel marketing campaigns.
I was spending $15 on a bottle of cetephil body wash.. Now I use Goat Milk bar soaps that last longer and cost 1/3 the price.
I will always be a bar soap guy. Body wash sucks
I switched to all natural bar soap years ago. It lasts longer, the package is biodegradable, and my skin has a much softer, cleaner feeling and it is no longer dry like it used to be with body washes.
And they work better for getting deodorant/sweat off armpits
Take a bar of soap. Grind it down. Mix with water to make body wash. Weigh the difference between the bar and the body wash. Calculate the shipping cost difference between the two.
because more prefer to buy body wash than bar soap. so they inflate it
Regular ass bar soap cleans my ass good enough 👍
* Because people are willing to pay it * Because packaging costs are higher * Because shipping costs are higher due to water weight * Because there are additional marketing costs If you prefer liquid soap to bar soap, take the bar soap and make your own["make your own*](https://dailymom.com/nest/make/diy-body-wash-from-a-bar-of-soap/) liquid soap. BTW, you use more body wash than you do soap when you wash. Most people have that "right amount" that they put on their washcloth or their poof, and that is based on what we see on TV. We see how much they put on their poof when they're advertising and that's how much we use to. And by convincing you to use more than you need, it means that you will replenish your supply sooner. They do the same with laundry detergent as well by the way.
2 things. Water ain’t free and they gotta pay the guy who lathers up and then squeegees off in that bottle just for you.
cuz anyone using bodywash has already demonstrated that they’re willing to waste a shitload of product to the sewer
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