My skin is so fussy it's not all that wise to change products, but I've become interested in trying soap instead of shower gel because it may be more economical, and to reduce packaging. (Body skin is also prone to these. This isn't a face soap I'm after but perhaps they would suit.
I don't think I've ever used a bar soap in adulthood that didn't dry my hands out badly. Dove, Simple etc, all a load of crap IMO. (Most standard handwashes are too harsh as well.)
As a kid I remember translucent soaps with glycerin, like Pears, were much more tolerable than opaque soaps. Generally though, I never looked back once I could buy shower gel with pocket money as a teenager, felt much better than soap.
Much as I'd like it to from an ethical standpoint, my skin doesn't respond well to all-natural ingredients. Over the years my pores have been blocked by olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, sunflower oil in products. Most soaps I've looked at contain at least one of these.
How long does soap last? (How long is a piece of string, yes...) Trying to compare with shower gel in terms of price for length of use.
As I can't really afford a lot of mistakes this might be a case of "if it ain't broke don't fix it", and that attempts to try soaps might waste more money than keeping on with the shower gel. But perhaps there is something suitable these days?