I clearly remember falling for the slick advertising and beautifying promises of liquid body wash in the late 80s and am embarrassed to admit that I continued using those colourful bottles of over-perfumed chemicals for years, ugh!
Thankfully I eventually came to my senses and returned to those lovely eco-friendly solid soaps:
Grab my top 4 fab reasons to switch back to bar soap and clean up more than your skin!
1. Most bar soaps are sold wrapped in a small amount of easily recyclable paper, cardboard or without any wrapping at all which means they have up to 20 times less packaging than liquid body washes.
2. Bar soaps cost less and last longer than bottled body washes. The average person squeezes out seven times more liquid soap per use than when lathering up with a solid bar.
3. Bar soap contains far fewer chemical additives and perservatives than liquid body washes. Sulfates and perfumes are main ingredients in liquid soaps and can strip your skin of its natural oils, leaving it feeling dry, tight and irritated. (once washed down the drain these chemicals and fragraces can also pollute waterways and damage ecosystems)
4. It’s incredibly easy to shop locally and find handmade, natural, non-drying, organic bar soaps at a great price that smell scrumptious and leave your skin feeling soft!
Have you switched back to bar soap?
Grab all of my body and mind beautifying tips, tutorials and reviews right here!
I’ve found with bar soap that, if you unwrap them and let them dry out for a few weeks, they last that much longer.
And foam dispensers are a wonderful way of using up the little smidgy piece of soap that is otherwise too small to use.
Since I have arthritis I cut off a leg of an old pair of panty hose and put the bar of soap in the toe section. Knot the cutoff end and push the knot through the shower curtain hook/loop. No more accidentally dropping the soap and having to bend over to try grabbing the slippery thing, you can make it the perfect height, and if you hang it out of the water stream it airs out between showers so no more gunky soap residue on the ledge. 🙂
Fab idea with the hose! 😀
Hi Sheri,
I love the artisan bar soaps but the water around here is so hard that I just can’t use it. The bars have fissures after just a few days, they look ugly and it’s hard to wash the soap off 🙁
I dilute liquid soap and use a foam dispenser to stretch the volume…
Any idea other than a decalcifying installation?
Cheers, Claudia
I have zero experience with hard water so unfortunately can’t be of any help – the only DIY solution I know is vinegar to remove hard water/limescale from faucets, kettles, etc…
I wonder if you put a pinch or two of baking soda in the liquid soap if that would help. Baking soda has a little bit of sodium which is used to soften water. That might make it easier to wash off.
Otherwise, would something like this help in the shower?
https://www.amazon.com/Filtered-Chlorine-Softener-Showerhead-Filtration/dp/B01LLVLNMK
I’m planning on giving up Dove, and hadn’t really considered the plethora of artisan soaps out there (go figure). Thanks for the reminder!
Dove has bar soap. I am confused.
Dove’s bar soaps contain many of the fragrances & chemicals found in their liquid body washes + they’ve had a questionable track record when it comes to ad campaigns 🙁
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/08/dove-apologises-for-ad-showing-black-woman-turning-into-white-one
https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/may/15/beauty-giant-dove-body-shaped-bottles-repair-damage
http://www.in-mind.org/article/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-of-the-dove-campaign-for-real-beauty
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the natural, locally made soaps found in crafty markets and shops are usually priced cheaper than popular brand body washes (+ they smell “essential oil lovely” and always last longer) 😉