Body washes come in a terrible, non-biodegradable plastic container! I will NEVER use one!
Bar Soap vs. Body Wash: Battle of Economics
- Thread starter WetShavingRules
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They're also highly recyclable.
Most bar soaps come in a terrible non-recyclable plastic film shrink wrap over the box.
I found a nice lavender bar soap for a decent price since I'm tired of rising prices on old spice. $2.50 a bar, I'll let you know how it lasts.
If it hits the first week of February for one bar, I'd call it a win.
Bar soap keeps better, takes up less space, costs less, travel better, etc. And you're not paying for water, you're just paying for soap.
There are some nice body washes though, for a splurge. Neutrogena original, CO Bigelow Mentha, Lemon, Bay Rum, etc.
There are some nice body washes though, for a splurge. Neutrogena original, CO Bigelow Mentha, Lemon, Bay Rum, etc.
Get a magnetic soap holder off AliExpress or Amazon - like we had in the '80s.
It also works upside down: Drill a small hole in a crown cap or a plastic cap (like from a tetra pack - doesn't rust) using a cork screw (or whatever) and press it into the soap - if the soap is hard use it a few times with warm water first. The cap puts distance between the soap and the sink's (or any) surface, this way it can dry fast. Also great when travelling.
Unfortunately here in Germany local chains listed out most bar soaps in favor of liquid syndets. Only a handful of brands remain and Germany's biggest producer of soaps (Kappus) just went bankrupt. So, not much choice in local stores here - for more exotic stuff I have to buy online.
I envy you guys in the States for the variety of bar soaps available. If you're into bar soaps check out BarSoapGuy's YT-Channel (I think he's funny).
Btw. Dove like other "beauty bars" is a so called "combo soap" (part real soap, part syndet).
Since I am on sabbatical I am staying busy with other things, picked up Yardley lavender and oatmeal for a buck each and trader Joe's triple milled soap for $3.50 each, Amazon they are $9.50 or so.goint to try them , I use Irish springs but it goes quick and dries my skin.
Most "brand name" bar soap is going to be like that, dry skin inducing alkaline heavy surfactants.
Saponified fats went out of style ages ago in favor of cheap additives to cut down on the good stuff.
Saponified fats went out of style ages ago in favor of cheap additives to cut down on the good stuff.
Irish Spring ingredients: Soap (Sodium Tallowate, Sodium Cocoate, and/or Sodium Palm Kernelate); Water; Hydrogenated Tallow Acid (Skin Conditioner); Coconut Acid; Glycerin (Skin Conditioner); Fragrance; Sodium Chloride; Pentasodium Pentetate; Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate; Titanium Dioxide; D&C Green No.
So I'm not sure what you mean by "saponified fats went out of style ages ago".
Soap is soap and "industral" soap like irish spring is mostly saponified tallow and cocos/palm oil like above. To get hard/curd/"marseille" soap, salt is used to separate the glycerin - which is often re-added to the soap base with other moisturizers/skin enhancers and/or fats making toilet soaps plus some water softeners (like EDTA).
Irish spring doesn't contain any (excess) fats it seems but it looks quite "clean" to me. So it's basically a curd soap with fragrance - of course it dries the skin. It's just that some people need lotion.
So I'm not sure what you mean by "saponified fats went out of style ages ago".
Soap is soap and "industral" soap like irish spring is mostly saponified tallow and cocos/palm oil like above. To get hard/curd/"marseille" soap, salt is used to separate the glycerin - which is often re-added to the soap base with other moisturizers/skin enhancers and/or fats making toilet soaps plus some water softeners (like EDTA).
Irish spring doesn't contain any (excess) fats it seems but it looks quite "clean" to me. So it's basically a curd soap with fragrance - of course it dries the skin. It's just that some people need lotion.
I need a bar soap to feel clean. I can't do a body wash for shower or even a liquid pump soap for hands. I mostly use Grandpa's or Packer Pine Tar soap, but Stirling Rosemary/Mint bar is good for a change. If my skin is a little dry or itchy when showering, I first load the wash cloth with bar soap, then squirt a little Aveeno Skin Relief body wash onto the wash cloth for some moisturizing. I can't do a body wash by itself.
For that I could buy an 8-pack of Dove Men bar soap, which would last me at least 8 months. Wheres the value in that?
Never said it was more economical than bar soap. It is an alternative to smaller , over priced name brand body wash.
Aleppo soaps all the way these days. Maybe because I live in the cold north of Scandinavia and get dry skin during winter time I will not necessarily go for the cheapest. For the cheapest I twice made my own based on a recipe I found on the internet. It had pig lard, olive and coconut oil. Made about four pound batches. They turned out great. Even for shaving in a pinch the where really good. No lasting foam, but really soft and soothing with tons of slickness. The long curing period became a bit annoying, and then I discovered the Aleppo soaps on eBay...
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I've tried a few bar soaps from shaving soap makers. So far Stirling is the one I've liked best.
I have had a similar experience with Irish spring (it was drying). I also read your links above. I know very little about soaps, but was wondering if it was possible to get a purely saponified soap that was extremely moisturizing? What is it about the soap that is irritating.... The high pH? It seems the link you posted indicates maybe not.
For some reason, I thought the Marseille soaps were considered very gentle. Would you agree with that? Are they also considered moisturizing? If so, what are they doing better than other soap making styles? Thanks!
I have been using Yardleys oatmeal since my last post, cheap and seems less drying, I also picked up triple milled French vegatable based soap from trader Joe's to try, Turkish olive oil base and Aleppo are next in I guess a few months. Also for the purest with best reviews , grandma's pure lye soap seems to be loved.
tl;dr at the end.
A pure soap is a curd soap (salts of fatty acids only). The amount of oils/fat and lye is calculated so that all fats are saponified when cooked (faster saponification than when cold processed, which can take weeks) with lye and no excess fat remains.
Salt (NaCl) is used to separate the glycerin and excess lye from the soap.
This is the soap base for (industrial) toilet soaps where glycerin and fats are re-added later plus usually some fragrance, color and additives like EDTA.
Curd soaps sold in stores are actually toilet soaps because they're often enriched with glycerin and sometimes fat too. A toilet bar soap like Irish Spring or Palmolive just contains more glycerin/fat.
Glycerin binds water and is considered a moisturizing agent (should be less than 15% in your lotion, else it sucks the water out your skin).
Fats/oils on the other hand are "sealants" and like the sebum (tallow, sweat and dead skin cells) on your skin prevents moisture (water) to evaporate and also protects against germs.
But soaps are actually for removing fat/oils - which is what the sebum on you skin basically is (tallow).
So if the excess fat in the soap remains on your skin after washing or if it is already "bind" by the soap and just goes down the drain is debatable - latter would simply result in a less efficient and hence less harsh or milder soap.
It's said that different fat/oils (fatty acids) result in different soaps in respect to harshness. Olive oil based soaps are said to be very gentle to the skin. But I can tell you I had some Turkish olive oil based curd soap that left my skin dry (degreased) as hell.
Olive oil based soaps like Savon De Marseille, Aleppo Soap, Nablus Soap, Greek soap, etc are all curd soaps (hot processed and salt is used to seperate glycerin). They only contain very little excess fats. Not so sure about Aleppo and Nablus soap though, it seemed to me they have a little more.
For cold processed soaps on the other hand no salt is used to separate the glycerin and it usually is calculated so that excess fats remain in the soap depending on it's intended use (e.g more fat for skin, less so for hair or household cleaning). So they are usually milder soaps. You could simply make your own soap and try what works best for you. You have to take some precautions though (wear gloves and protective glasses, don't pour water in the Sodium Hydroxide) because lye is caustic, but it's actually as easy as baking a cake. You can find tons of resources about soap making, like soap calculators, on the internet.
If a high pH is bad for your skin is debatable. It could also be all just marketing to sell liquid synthetic detergents (showering gel, shampoo, etc) as suspected in this article from 1991 by German magazine Der Spiegel (use google translate). The scientific consensus (among dermatologists) as of now is, it seems, that a high pH is bad for your skin.
But MY skin likes real soap much better than synthetic detergents like SLS/SLES. No more dry elbows which I always had when using showering gels, no more itching, redish skin either. I mostly use the Palmolive bar btw. (also for hair).
Soap has one downside though imho: When used with hard water you get soap scum which can only be removed (from hair and bath tub) with acids like vinegar or citric acid (like doing a vinegar rinse after washing you hair, which I do all the time) .
tl;dr: Different soaps have different amounts of excess fat and glycerin. You just have to find out what works best for your skin type. Always use lotion (not pure oils) after showering and even after washing your hands. Dermatologists would simply tell you to wash/shower less. Drink lots of water - "moisture" in your epidermis comes from within, the sebum/fat on your skin "seals" it. Put a wet towel on your heater in winter - high air humidity=less dry skin.
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Bar soap always, my favorite is Zest Aqua.
In winter I use baby liquid soap from dr bonner.I buy an 1gal in the fall and it last me all winter into spring. 1/2 floz a day.
During warmer months, I use bar soap. I have three bars. I use one, while the others dry out.They really last a longtime..
Doing this I have no dry skin..I’ve lye soap works for me..
During warmer months, I use bar soap. I have three bars. I use one, while the others dry out.They really last a longtime..
Doing this I have no dry skin..I’ve lye soap works for me..
PdP No. 63 bar soap is my favorite--I'll never go back to body wash. The PdP is $7/bar on Amazon. I use it with a loofah and it lasts me a good 4 or 5 months. I opened a bar in October and just barely opened a new bar about 2 weeks ago.
I love that PdP 63 soap but it doesn’t last anywhere near that long for me.
Do you shower once a week?
Do you shower once a week?
Nope--every day! The first bar I had didn't last that long, but then I read that lathering up with a loofah or washcloth helps soap last longer (something to do with oil on the skin dissolving soap faster). I spent a dollar for a loofah and the soap went from last a few weeks to a few months.
