When it comes to handwashing there are people who prefer bar soap and others who swear by liquid soap. Have you wondered if bar soap kills germs? Or if liquid soap is better? The answers might surprise you — keep reading to find out everything you need to know to settle the bar soap vs. liquid soap debate once and for all.
Let’s Debunk the Bar Soap Vs. Liquid Soap Myths
The recent pandemic put a spotlight on the importance of handwashing. Amid all the interest in hygiene, there is a lot of information going around, and not all of it is true!
What are the Soap Bar Myths?
Let’s look at some common misconceptions about bar soap vs. liquid soap for handwashing.
Soap bar myth #1: Soap bars are dirty
The idea of a wet soap bar lying on the side of a sink and being used by multiple people throughout the day may seem gross. But before you worry about germs being trapped on the soap surface, remember that when you lather up the soap, any impurities would be easily washed away with the water. So, there is no need to worry about bar soap being dirty.
Soap bar myth #2: Soap bars don’t kill germs like liquid soap does
It’s true that soap bars don’t kill germs,but neither does liquid soap! Yep, you read that right. Neither bar soaps nor liquid soaps kill germs. This may surprise you, but unless a soap contains an antibacterial ingredient, it does not actually kill germs. Soap simply reduces the surface tension between your skin and the impurities so they can be washed away more easily.
Soap bar myth #3: Soap bars dry out your skin
Some people prefer liquid body cleanser to bar soap, but there is nothing about soap in a bar form that makes it more likely to dry out your skin. What matters when it comes to protecting your skin is choosing a soap that contains moisturizing ingredients such as shea, aloe, coconut milk, and other all-natural ingredients that CleanO2 uses in all our natural soap bars.
Soap bar myth #4: Natural soap bars don’t lather as well as liquid soap
Everyone loves a thick, bubbly lather in the shower. Natural bar soap like CleanO2’s can lather with the best of them thanks to ingredients like coconut oil and pearl ash, which is made from captured carbon.
Read more: Benefits of cold process soap
3 Benefits of Bar Soap
If you’re used to liquid soap, consider some of these soap bar benefits in case you want to change things up in the shower.
1. Bar soap uses less packaging
Unfortunately, liquid soap tends to come in plastic bottles that are not recyclable. That means that every time you run out of soap, you dispose of a bottle and buy a new one. Bar soap, on the other hand, can be sold with minimal or no packaging. Bar soap also uses less water.
2. The feel and texture of bar soap is nice
Some people are more tactile than others and prefer to have a nice, solid soap they can hold in their hands. Who doesn’t love to lather up in the shower using a silky, foamy bar of soap?
3. Bar soap looks pretty
Bar soaps come in all shapes, colours, and sizes, which means you can find one that appeals to your shower and bathroom aesthetic.
Whether you use a fragrance-free, mild soap bar or you enjoy the best natural scents in your soap bars, you want them to last as long as possible. Now that we’ve seen some soap bar benefits, let’s address one issue with body soap bars: how to stop them from shrinking too fast!
Read more: Aloe vera soap benefitsHow You Can Extend the Life of Your Soap
If you keep your natural soap in the shower, it’s important to store it in a way that lets it drain properly. This will ensure your body bar or hand soap bar will last as long as possible.
A convenient way to extend the life of your natural bar soap is by using a soap mitt like CleanO2’s Exfoliating Shower Mitt. This handy device helps your soap drain and wicks water way to help your soap dry faster and last longer. Plus, it helps create a foamy lather from your natural soap more quickly in the shower and helps you scrub your dead skin cells away.
As an added bonus, the soap mitt even makes it easy to salvage those pesky little soap slivers so that you can get the most out of your best soap rather than letting it escape down the drain.
A really popular way to help your soap bar last longer is to use a CleanO2 soap lift, which makes it easy to keep your soap bar out of the water that pools in soap dishes and on racks. This prevents your bar soap from dissolving in water so that you can get the most out of your body bars.
Why CleanO2 Holds Both Bar Soap and Liquid Soap Dearly
At the end of the day, whether you use bar soap vs. liquid soap is a matter of preference. At CleanO2 we make more natural bar soaps because bar soap requires less packaging, and that’s more closely aligned with our mission to be as sustainable as possible. But the choice is yours: bar soap or liquid wash. The main thing is that you appreciate that they have much more in common than you might have thought.