Liquid Soap Vs. Bar Soap

Liquid Soap Lowers the Bar

Liquid soap continues to gain on bar soap in popularity with the sharpest divide occurring between men and women users. Men are sticking with bar soap by as much as 83% or more while women tend to prefer the liquid version with its pretty packaging and scents and its beauty promises.

Bar soap might be expected to prevail given that it usually costs much less and is probably the better choice for sustainability compared to commercial liquid soap. But it gets low marks for appearance especially when it's sitting in the shower floating in its own slimy residue. And maybe it's just impossible to successfully defend any product that has hair sticking to it.

Still, bar soap has been unfairly criticized on the grounds of health and sanitation. In 2007, The New York Times Science section publicized earlier findings that even if you prewash and soften commercial deodorant soap bars and inoculate them with E. coli and P. aeruginosa bacteria at levels 70 times as high as you're likely to find in your own home, there is still no detectable hazard in routine handwashing.

And now instant foaming soap is posing a new threat to the old bar. This soap starts as a liquid but turns into a more manageable foam when you pump it into your hands. So now bar soap has even lost its potential supporters among those who had difficulty maneuvering with liquid soap and kept dumping big globs down the drain because they couldn't manage to lather in time.

Some good news may be found among those ambitious enough to attempt making their own natural liquid soap which can be used for many green cleaning jobs and both personal and household uses as an alternative to harsh detergents. Most recipes call for a bar of soap (or soap scraps and soap trimmings), distilled water, a grater, a big pot and a hand blender. Be prepared - some websites have warnings to be careful not to hurt your hands because it takes a lot of pressure to grate soap and you have to allow time for the mixture to sit overnight.