Bar or Liquid soap?

[noenergy]

Which do most people use?

I assumed that liquid soap to wash hands and shower gel to wash was more hygienic as I heard that used bar soap contained bacteria. And also thought bar soap caused dry skin.

But seen in another thread a lot of people are reverting to bar soap.

So what do most people use and what is best for dry skin?

I prefer liquid soap. Works for me.

Shampoo and conditioner bars (lush) liquid soap, DH is grim I don't want to share soap with him. I do have ceramic soap dispensers though and buy the big method refill pouches

Bar every time now.Pop on top of my upturned wooden nail brush.On a rack in shower cubicle.No mess ,dries out beautifully.Ashamed at how many plastic soap dispensers we've used as a family over the years.Plus enjoy treating myself to a lovely hand made soap and suppporting smaller businesses ,with some amazing smelling soaps that last ages,and you use every last bit..Also far from drying out my hands after years of suffering painful tiny fissures my skin is in better condition than ever.

Re the palm oil thing. Not all palm oil is bad - sustainable sources are available, and many supermarket own brands use that. As an additive it is remarkably efficient - hence the demand for it I presume. Per acre of land it is something like 9 times more productive than the next best oil. If we rush to ditch it in favour of other oils it may actually cause more environmental destruction and degradation. So look for sustainable palm oil or the RSPO logo on packaging (including food)

Dd tells me that bar is less bad for the environment. I had preferred liquid as seemed more hygienic.

Shower gel for me, once I've used up my stash I might see about a bar of soap though as they seem to last longer.

A friend has taught me (well, ds actually) to make real cold process soap - just alkali, oil of your choice, water and essential oil if you want. It is absolutely lovely and I love having the choice of how to make it. Really not hard either

Can't beat a bit of carbolic soap. Hands especially.
I have the skin sensitivity of a stone it might be too strong if you are sensitive.

I have both available and then people can use what they prefer. I love Pears soap.

We switched from shower gels and liquid soaps to bars of soap a year or two ago. Did it for environmental reasons. We also now use bar shampoo and conditioner and bath salts (sought in cardboard boxes) instead of bubble bath. As a family of four we were probably getting through a couple of plastic bottles of stuff a week in the bathrooms alone. That's 100 a year. 200 over the two years. You think that small changes like this can't really make a difference, but I reckon that 200 fewer plastic bottles in landfill is worthwhile.

I've actually found that bars are less drying on the skin than liquids. It's been more of a challenge finding shampoo and conditioner bars that we all like.

From what I've read bar soaps don't spread germs. (I'm emetophobic, so am all over this!) Bacteria and viruses don't survive on the surface of soaps.

I think bar soap gets you cleaner, you can really scrub in those crevices! I've never used shower gel and recently bought bar shampoo which I've yet to try

Bars here too, in shower and upstairs bathroom.
Downstairs loo sink is mini and awkward so have one liquid one, which I refill.

Bar soap is definitely making my skin better (I'd have sworn the opposite a year ago!) And weirdly, we get less of that orange mould type stuff on the grout since ditching shower gel too.

Hmm yogimum are you trying to sell soap by any chance???? I only ask as this is the 2nd zombie thread about soap you've posted on today...

Bar soap.I have a magnet glued to a shelf that runs over the bathroom sink.I push a beer bottle cap into my soap and so hang my soap from the magnet.No mankey soap dish or sink.

These are good. Exfoliating, doesn't make a squidgy mess and seems to last a long time. Had the shampoo bar too, takes a while to lather, if you add more ends up too much.
www.wildgrove.co.uk/store/c2/Handmade_Felted_Soap.html

Bars. Good quality ones. I think they are more effective at controlling BO than gels as well as better for the environment. . I do use shower oils as an occasional treat too.

I'm a liquid soap dodger. Hate the stuff

I’m another recent convert to bar soap for environmental reasons. One less plastic bottle always helps.
Also my DD likes to make ‘potions’ in the bathroom so anything liquid gets wasted.

I was inspired by Mumsnet threads to switch to bar soap and I’m a total convert. I used to suffer with uncomfortably dry hands in winter but not since ditching the liquid soap.

I swapped to bar soap in the shower in early pregnancy as I had started to whiff a bit and no amount of scrubbing with shower gel could stop the BO smell, even with fresh clothes every day and change of washing powder etc. Instantly stopped when started washing with bar soap and I've never looked back. Some are more drying than others.

Liquid "soap" doesn't contain any soap. It's made with laboratory detergents/emulsifiers such as sodium laureth sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate. These chemicals are in pretty much anything you use in your bathroom that foams: bubble bath, shower gel, shampoo, toothpaste, etc. Soap is made by the saponification of oils/fats using alkalis such as sodium hydroxide. This doesn't necessarily mean the soap itself is alkaline: it depends on what kind of fat is used and how much alkali is added: www.quora.com/Is-soap-alkaline-Why-or-why-not.

The only waste associated with most bars of soap is a paper/card wrapper, although many are plastic. While liquid "soap" bottles can usually be recycled, the pump dispenser tops can't: www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/16/which-items-cant-be-recycled-plastic-bags-coffee-cups.

The nicest bar soaps I have tried are Waitrose. They dont sell them in my local branch any more though.
I have bought loads of bar soap on holiday this year though to take back home.
I am trying very hard to reduce plastic consumption.

We use Simple bar soap, except in the downstairs loo as guests might prefer not to share a bar.

Why? We’re old fashioned I guess, grew up with bar soap and never changed... plus the plastic thing of course.