Have you ever run out of your usual body soap bar and wondered if you can shower with hand soap? Or, conversely, whether you can use body wash as hand soap? Keep reading to find out what happens when you use hand soap as body wash, and vice versa!
What’s Really the Difference Between Hand Soap and Body Soap?
Any soap is meant to clean surfaces- in the case of hand soap or body wash, that surface is your skin! Though any kind of soap that’s safe for the skin can be used in the shower, there are a few differences between hand soap and body wash that you may want to consider.
Processing
The soap-making process is the same for liquid hand soap and liquid body wash and is the same for body soap bars and hand soap bars. The main differences are in the specific ingredients used in bar soap vs. liquid soap.
Ingredients
A hand soap bar is usually simpler than a body soap bar or body wash when it comes to ingredients. Although a hand soap bar might have a pleasant scent and a nice colour, it’s usually a basic bar soap that does the trick for cleaning your skin.
A body soap bar or body wash tends to have more emollients such as shea butter. Emollients are a type of moisturizing ingredient that smooths and softens your skin; they stay on the skin surface to help your skin stay hydrated.
In other words, body wash is just a little bit more decadent, because who doesn’t want to spoil themselves in the shower?!
Experience
When deciding if you can shower with a liquid hand soap, it comes down to how you prefer soap to feel. Body wash is more viscous, meaning it feels thicker and creamier and is designed to provide a richer lather.
Liquid hand soap is not as thick as body wash and simply designed to dislodge germs and impurities from your skin, so they are sent down the drain, and not much else! So, can you shower with hand soap? The answer is yes, but hand soap is thinner and more utilitarian.
Hand Soap as Body Wash and Vice Versa
Now that you know the differences between hand soap and body soap, you know that it’s not such a big deal to use hand soap as body wash. Does bar soap kill germs? The answer is, only if it’s antibacterial! Does body wash kill germs? Only if it’s antibacterial!
Can I Use Body Wash as Hand Soap?
If you’ve ever wondered, ‘can body wash be used as hand soap?’, the answer is yes, absolutely! You can use liquid soap, a hand soap bar, and a body soap bar interchangeably. If the goal is to get clean, feel free to grab whatever you have on hand for your shower!
However, keep in mind that body wash is usually more expensive so you might want to think twice before using it for every hand wash.
Can You Use Liquid Hand Soap as Body Wash?
Can you shower with liquid hand soap? By now you know the answer is yes- but keep in mind that liquid hand soap is thinner than body wash so it might not feel as luxurious as a shower companion as a lather-rich body wash would. It might also run off your skin faster so you may need more of it to shower than you would body wash.
Can You Use Shampoo Bars as Body Bars?
Shampoo bars are an exciting new trend that offers a travel-friendly form of shampoo that can also be used to clean your body. They share soap bar benefits in that they are more environmentally friendly because they require less packaging and are less resource-heavy to produce than liquid shampoo. They are also lighter and smaller than bottles of liquid shampoo or body wash, so they save you valuable space and weight in your luggage (and they won’t leak into your suitcase either!).
CleanO2 Provides You with a Range of Hand Soap and Body Wash to Meet Every Need
Whether you’re in search of the best soap option for your hands or body, CleanO2 has got a natural soap for all your needs. You can use most of our soap body bars to wash your hands or your body.
We offer one hand soap bar that we don’t recommend for the whole body- our Restoration Scrub hand bar is perfect for people who like to get their hands dirty working in the garden or the garage- but it’s not a hand soap you would want to use on your entire body due to its strong exfoliating properties! You would want a mild soap for your body.
If you prefer a liquid soap, CleanO2’s Shinrin Yoku body wash is a wonderful option for sensitive skin. The refreshing natural scent and thick lather make for a revitalizing shower. Our Clear Carbon Hand Wash is a scent-free option that can be used both on the hands and in the shower. All our natural soaps are made from recycled carbon- good for you, and the environment!