How do you use Bar Soap? Where or how do you store it? Are these some questions you have on using bar soap? Read on as we talk all things bar soap to help you convert with ease.
So you've used body wash all your life (by the way, hate to break it to ya, body wash is not soap... read more here) and you've recently stumbled across ads, videos and posts on bar soaps and you decided you'd like to give it a try but have no idea how to use it and how to store it.
There's a few reasons why many people like you are starting to switch to using bar soap and the industry is also on the rise. Most bar soaps are packaged using less plastic compared to a plastic bottle of body wash, if any at all. Our bars of goat milk soaps are packaged using a paper cigar band and shipping material also does not contain plastic as we don't want to contribute to the global plastic problem.
Many are also switching because they've discovered body wash is not soap and realized it may be adding to the reasons why they're getting breakouts, dry skin and other skin conditions due to the low quality ingredients. These chemically derived ingredients pull oils off your skin and all the chemicals gets absorbed into your largest organ, the skin.
Not all soaps are made equal.
Before we get started, we want you to know that most bar soaps you find at your local grocery store are made with low quality ingredients, in fact you really should read the ingredient list. For example, here is a list of ingredients for a well known bar of soap:
Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Lauric Acid,
Sodium Oleate, Water (Eau), Sodium Isethionate, Sodium
Stearate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Fragrance (Parfum),
Sodium Laurate, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Tetrasodium EDTA,
Sodium Chloride, Kaolin or (ou) Titanium Dioxide.
As you can see, these ingredients sound a lot like chemicals, don't you think? Sodium Lauroyl Isethionate is a foaming cleansing agent primarily used in detergents. You can check out the whole list of ingredients on your own time, but the main thing is that most of these ingredients are chemically made and are detergents.
We want you to be aware of what you're putting on your skin, it's great you want to switch from using body washes which 1. is not really soap and 2. always comes in a plastic bottle so when you use them, you're adding to the harm it does to the environment each time you purchase a bottle.
When you switch to a bar soap, it's important you choose the best quality soap as you're putting these products on your largest organ of the body. Do you really want to lather with these chemicals?
Real soap is made of lye (sodium hydroxide), lye is mixed with oils which goes through a process called saponification which is when the lye eats the oils making an end product called soap. That's what our soaps are made with with the huge added benefit of fresh, creamy, moisturizing goat milk from our own homestead.
Here are a few tips on bar soap usage care:
- It's very simple, you lather a bar of soap by rubbing a bar between your hands under some water to create bubbles that captures dirt and bacteria and washes it away as you rinse off. You can also lather a bar of soap on a loofah/sponge and use it that way too.
- Bar soap and water don't mix - Bar soaps will melt in the water, you'll notice when you lather with a bar, the soap loses a bit of body each time. It's because the water is taking the soap away for you to use. If you store your soaps somewhere where it gets wet all the time, it will eventually disappear right in front of your eyes.
- Keep the bar of soap you're using somewhere where water will not touch. Here are a few examples of where you can store your soaps:
On your shower caddy railing such as ones shown below:
This will help keep your soap dry when you're done in the shower but still give you easy access.
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- On a wooden soap rack: You can find them almost anywhere, we have them listed here if you'd like to purchase one.
This can be used by your kitchen or bathroom sink, you may also keep a small dish on the bottom to catch any water dripping if needed.
In a Soap Pouch or Soap Jacket (as we like to call it): You simply place your bar of soap into a pouch, we have them listed here. We love using these especially for the end pieces of soap we like to keep them all in the pouch to use until no soap is left. It's also great for kids as they can keep it in place and hang it up to dry once they're done using them.
These also provide an amazing scrubby feeling when you lather with your soap.
Don't be intimidated to using bar soaps, it's very easy and so much more ecofriendly. We hope this article was helpful to you in your switch and journey, let us know in the comments if you have any questions!
Note: There are some affiliate links to products in this post