Soap bars, I can't believe the difference it's made to my hands

[FlaviaAlbia]

This is sort of a general thank you to those who posted about soap bars on a few informative threads.

I've been meaning to try it for ages instead of liquid hand soap and wandered though the soapy bit in TK Maxx yesterday and bought a bar.

I have awful problems with dry skin on on my hands and the skin on my knuckles cracking. I only started using it yesterday but I can see and feel a difference already. It's amazing!

Im a nurse and too OCD about germs to use bar soap.

Its when the soap gets jelly like and watery that all the germs start multiplying.

Iv got permanently dry hands from work anyway !

@MyBeloved agree!

Phew - glad it isn't just me!

I didn’t know this will try it thnajs very much

L'occitane do a lovely shea butter liquid soap that doesn't dry hands out. You can buy a refill which is more economical.

MyBeloved the issue with decanting liquid soap, is that the soap become contaminated by mixing with the 'older' soap in the dispenser, and the ongoing cleanliness of the actual container.
Again, not such an issue in domestic use, but not acceptable in any clinical setting.

I've discovered another benefit when I was scrubbing DS's nails last night. The bar soap seems to shift the dirt so much more easily than the liquid, maybe because it sticks to the nail brush better. Plus DS is fancinated by the soap bar and doesn't squirt half of it down the plug for fun.

The science about bacteria is fascinating. HCP will know how to wash hands properly for hygiene but I thought for the rest of the population the antibacterial blub was mostly just blub because you needed to wash your hands for ages for it to work.

We've switched to bar soap in the kitchen and bathroom (pears because it smells like my granny), but what do you do about the shower? For some reason I feel icky about sharing with dh and the dc. Do I need to get over myself or buy us all a nifty soap magnet and a bar each?

Get a bar each...soap is cheap as chips and last ages...you can't go wrong with it really

Re liquid soap, I buy refills in pouches so there is jess plastic waste. I wait until the dispenser is empty then scrub it with a brush and put it in the washing machine. I also pump fresh hot water through the pump. Hopefully that way it's clean. I'll be switching to bar soap though now to see if it makes a difference.

That should have been the dishwasher, not the washing machine!!!

Re. Soap dishes - get two ceramic ones, and when one becomes wet/scummy just swap it out for the spare one, and put the dirty one in the dishwasher (if you have one).
I do this every couple of days, along with changing the hand towel.

Just wash your hands as you get in the shower. Then you're washing the top layer of soap plus any poo crumbs off before you wash your face :)

What are these poo crumbs of which you speak?

Ewww
There's sporners corner for that kind of thing...

More like poo corner

Omg OP I've had terribly bad dry cracking hands ever since I can remember. I switched to bar soap a few weeks ago and my hands are totally healed and not dry at all now - I never made the connection until reading your post!!

Knobblies on order! Which soap do you recommend? Turns out Pears is ethically a bad choice. My wishlist - ethical, cheapish, not prone to cracking or going slimy.

I have been suffering from really dry, sore hands in winter...I assumed it was due to DC (extra hand washing) but actually maybe it's down to liquid hand soap. I'm converted to the idea of bar soap now...just need to purchase lots of soap & soap holders! Loving the tips on this thread & the other massive soap thread about people feeling fresher for longer using soap instead of shower gel.

I have had terrible cracked hands every winter until I swopped to soap bars too. This winter no problems at all and it's been very cold and I've been out dog walking every day. I never made any connection with liquid soap and shower gels! I just thought I had very sensitive skin in winter. I can't believe the difference.

What's everyone's favourite soaps? I love L'Occitane, The Body Shop shea butter and also tried Nesti Dante which the kids love too.

I now have 2 soap bars from L'occtaine, two bars of Nesti Dante from Holland and Barrett, another two from TK Maxx that are the same as the first one I got and an olive oil one from a health food shop.

The L'occtaine ones are the only ones with Palm oil but they're expensive friendly palm oil apparently.

Plus I have £38 of Nesti Dante in my Amazon basket. I think I may have a problem.

Nesti Dante smell incredible. Flax, Rosewater and Marine Lily is not at all the type of scent I'd normally go for but I keep picking it up and sniffing it, it's my favourite so far.

Autocorrect does not approve of my spending. Eco friendly. Not expensive friendly.

I put some big shells 🐚 or nice stones in the soap-dish, and then the soapbar on top of that. You still have to clean everything (I rinse them while I clean the bathroom) but your soap stays dry.

I live in London and soap bars just feel horrible. Any suggestions for brands that actually lather up and don’t feel like a lump of lard?

I live in London and none of my soaps feel like a lump of lard. How funny.