The Rundown: Bar Soap vs. Liquid Hand Soap

So you’ve hit the point during the pandemic where you’ve mastered washing your hands, baking bread, establishing a routine, safely participating in social movements, taking your vitamins, getting proper beauty rest, and generally self-actualizing. Now that you’re a hyper-evolved human you can circle back to perfecting the basics like: should I be using bar soap or hand soap?  

Okay, okay. No one has accomplished that entire list but we’re out here trying our best with you and we see you! While we can cheerlead you for all those other items on the list, we can definitively give you the rundown on that question of bar soap or hand soap.

The TL;DR: Both are good for killing pathogens like Covid-19 so just keep washing your hands for 20 seconds with a good, luxurious lather. 

Now, for the rest of the class who’s still here. Let’s dive in. 

Bar Soap

Before we get started, we have to debunk the myth floating around that bar soap can spread bacteria. The logic behind the myth is that skin particles left on the bar soap when one person uses it could then carry bacteria from that soap user to the next. However, countless studies have proved this to be untrue. In all of these studies, scientists purposely contaminated their hands with bacteria strains like E.Coli and Staph. Not only were these pathogens removed from their hands but they conclusively found that the bacteria was not transferred to subsequent bar soap users. 

The Good: 

• Fewer ingredients. For the all-natural, keep-it-simple folks, bar soap is always made with fewer ingredients. This way you’ll know exactly what’s going on your skin.

• Gets out that dirt. The general act of rubbing the bar against your skin creates some friction that loosens debris on the skin so it can help clean out those larger particles. 

• More eco-friendly. There’s typically less packaging involved and it’s usually encased in cardboard rather than a plastic bottle. 

• Budget-friendly. Without the cost of packaging and fewer ingredients, bar soap will almost always be more wallet-friendly. 

The Cons:

• Dries out skin more. Bar soap typically has a higher pH, which can dry out your skin. Some products are infused with ingredients like glycerin that actually soothes the skin. Keep an eye out for this if you’re concerned! Ours also includes shea butter. (Just saying).

• Countertop residue. We all know about that soap mush that lingers on the soap dish and counter. Yikes. 

Liquid Hand Soap

The Good: 

• Moisturizing. A key bonus of a liquid hand soap is that formulas can include more ingredients that help moisturize the skin. Vitamin e oil, shea butter, natural extracts, glycerin, and the list goes on. While bar soap keeps it simple, liquid hand soap does have a lot of goodness that gets included in the formula.  

• Counterspace efficient. It’s tidy, it’s neat, and it can add to your bathroom aesthetics. We’re about it. (Peep our cute amber apothecary bottles that give you the spa vibes you’ve been missing). 

• A smoother lather. The formula of a liquid hand soap was created to get that sudsy, rich lather that goes smoothly on the skin. Since we’re doing a lot of handwashing these days, it’s often the preferred experience. 

The Bad: 

• Less eco-friendly. There’s definitely more packaging and so it’s a product that will take much more energy to create and more energy to recycle. (And yes, please always recycle). That said, a refillable liquid hand soap container can also do the trick if you’re able to buy eco-friendly bags of liquid soap intended for refills. (Pssst, get on the list to snag some of our refillable bags of Sea Mineral soap). 

• The price point. More ingredients and more packaging will also translate to a little more dinero. 

In sum, whatever you choose is really personal preference but the key message is keep washing your hands! And to loop back to our point about doing all the things during this pandemic, remember that you’re also donating a soap bar to someone in need when you get a Soapbox purchase.

Mmm don’t you just love it when you set out to do one good thing and it actually accomplishes two?