To find this bizarre? Friend and soap

Hand soap is more alkaline than shower gel because it is designed to effectively remove dirt and germs. The ingredients are often the same as shower gel but in different quantities. Shower gel tends to have a neutral PH so it doesn’t irritate your skin when you rub it all over your body.

But when you told your friend there was some soap behind the shower screen, she was probably looking for soap not shower gel! My shower is quite close to my sink but I would never expect anyone to get anything out of my shower! Apart from that, I always use antibacterial hand wash, but most of the shower gel I use isn’t.

soap is soap is fucking soap
I had a BF once who refused to wash his body with face wash when we were out of body wash. BECAUSE IT WAS FOR FACES.

Wot a moron.

Just buy some liquid hand soap for the bathroom sink
it’s odd not having any and I wouldn’t think you meant shower gel either

to me soap is a bar of soap and shower gel is shower gel

Brilliant

The thing is, most people wouldnt call a bottle of shower get soap. So she was looking for soap and it didnt occure to her that you mean a shower gel.

This.
As opposed to other people on this thread, I HAVE used shower gel to wash my hands when I've run out of hand wash, but then I'd put the bottle by the sink so it's obvious and I would have explained that to a confused visitor.

This is disingenuous and quite annoying. Many shower gels have moisturisers and emollients especially for people with sensitive skin issues. They may be more scented. They can be much more expensive. If it is all soap, will you wash a new born with hand soap? I have scalp issues and can never just use any old shampoo - even it is all just 'soap'.

I admittedly use shower gel as hand soap and even vice versa when I run out of one or the other. They’re probably not that different other than the anti bacterial agent in anti bacterial hand soap. However, I agree that you are the one who behaved strangely here. If I was your friend it wouldn’t have even occurred to me to look for shower gel and if I saw the shower gel I wouldn’t even register that it is what you meant. And in your situation I would tell the guest ‘sorry, I’ve run out of soap but there’s shower gel if you don’t mind using that?’. It’s a bit strange to use shower gel in someone else’s bathroom with no explanation imo

It's that you seem to think it perfectly ordinary to not have a means of washing your hands on or next to the sink
No she doesnt. She just forgot to refill it. She doesn't normally not have handsoap at the sink. And accidentally running out of stuff is entirely ordinary.

Overall I still think OP is BU for not just shouting back "sorry, must have run out. There's shower gel by the bath you can use instead" and avoiding the entire situation but the number of people insistent that she intentionally only uses shower gel to wash her hands and keeps it in an awkward place is bizarre.

That’s not what it’s about .

She said soap , but meant shower gel. They have 2 different names - shower gel was in the shower, obviously it confused her . Regardless of if they do the same things.

Just like if the friend was having a shower and asked where the shower gel was and was told it’s there , but there was just a dispenser with handwash in on the sink and not in the shower, she wouldn’t have automatically assumed that’s what she meant regardless of the fact they’re both soap

Good grief there are some brain dead people replying to this thread. The soap on the sink ran out, surely you’d have a look around for an alternative (shower gel is an alternative, it cleans your fucking skin, no?) before shouting out to your friend like a child?

If you'd said oh if the dispenser is empty just use the shower gel on the bath, she wouldn't have commented. It's that you seem to think it perfectly ordinary to not have a means of washing your hands on or next to the sink and that visitors should just use your shower gel when you say oh there's soap on the bath.

ETA I use shower oil and bars of hand soap, so I wouldn't naturally think oh I'll look and see if she has any shower gel I can use to wash my hands, I would also think it was impolite. Hand soap or wash, or whatever you put in your dispenser is on our next to the hand basin, it's implied it's there for anyone to use for that purpose. Your shower gel is in the shower/on the bath I wouldn't assume it was just for anyone to use for whatever purpose.

You’re the weird one here, not her.

I'm with your friend here. She's was asking for soap. Not shower gel. I wouldn't have thought to use shower gel as soap replacement.

Hmm I completely see your point OP, but at the same time, we do just have odd rules in society that we naturally learn.

Shower gel isn't for hand washing
Cereal isn't for lunch
Flannels aren't for drying pots
Car air fresheners aren't for the house
Egg shaped chocolate is only for Easter...etc

Not that any of those make any sense I suppose

I mean, yes they are similar but you should have said use the shower gel. I would have been confused in her situation too.

Shower gel IS soap.

Why do you think it's different?

What do you think is different to shower gel and liquid hand soap?

Its not about not using shower gel, most people would use that if out of hand soap, but in someone elses house, when directed to 'the soap', thats what you would look for. All OP had to do, was say, you can use the shower gel its on the edge of the bath

I find shower gel a lot thicker than handsoap also.

It’s unreal, I’m sure people just do it for a reaction

Oh ok, yeah that changes it , I’m with the friend here !

Yep - hand wash is a 'public' facility for anybody who is visiting to help themselves to when washing their hands after using the toilet; whereas the bath/shower is a more 'personal' part of the bathroom, which you wouldn't normally go looking around in if you were just a daytime visitor.

Also, plenty of people like to buy expensive/luxury bath and shower products for their own use. I can just see another thread on here complaining about 'CF friend who snooped behind my shower screen when she'd only gone in there to use the loo and touched and used my posh expensive shower gel to wash her hands after having a poo'!

I feel like I’ve entered the twilight zone on this thread. All these people saying they’d never use shower gel to wash their hands, wtf. Who gives a shit, I wouldn’t think twice if the soap dispenser was empty! You’re not the weird one, OP.