Bar Soap vs. Body Wash

Source: Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock.com 

In your daily quest for clean, great-smelling skin, you’ve got pretty much two options: bar soap and body wash. But which one is better? Here at Black Wolf, we think the answer is body wash, hands down, but there are a few things to consider before you go picking a side. Let’s go hard on this shower showdown to see who comes out on top.

The Shower Showdown: What’s Good for What?

Even if it did its job as well as body wash, bar soap would have one huge disadvantage. Have you ever noticed how disgusting it gets when you leave it out? It develops a slimy texture and leaves scum all over the shower and sink. You’d never catch body wash making a mess in the shower or on the sink, just saying. Here are some more reasons why body wash usually crushes the competition.

• Best for Acne: Body Wash — When it comes to treating pimples on the face and body, you can’t go wrong with a powerful acne body wash. Most standard bar soaps don’t contain any acne-busting ingredients, and they might even contain some that worsen it. So while they may get rid of the grime on the surface of your skin, they probably won’t go deep enough to zap zits. For that, you need ingredients like salicylic acid and activated charcoal, which do double-duty on dirt and bacteria for clearer, healthier skin. Try our Activated Charcoal Body Wash, which features your daily dose of salicylic acid, to get rid of zits from head to toe.
• Best for Hydration: Body Wash — Your standard drugstore bar soaps contain ingredients that have a higher pH and can throw your skin out of balance and dry it out. Obviously, this is bad news for those of us who struggle with dryness, redness, itchiness and flakiness on the body and face. Stock your shower with a hydrating body wash and don’t forget to follow up with a layer of moisturizer for that smooth, sexy finish.
• Best for Everyday Hygiene: Body Wash — We don’t want to gross you out, but when you get up close and personal with a bar of soap, you’re going to find a ton of bacteria lurking on the surface. Not only does the environment harbor bacteria, but the fact that the soap is often shared between multiple members of the household doesn’t improve the situation. Oh yeah, and did we mention that bar soap can also grow mold and mildew when it’s left out in the shower? It’s true and we’re sorry. So if you’re going for squeaky clean — and, when we’re talking about soap that’s the goal, right? — we’d recommend sticking with a good liquid body wash.
• Best for Traveling: Bar Soap — We’re going to throw bar soap a bone here because it’s not good for nothing. If you’re in a hurry when you’re packing (who isn’t?) then you might want to consider tossing some bar soap in your carry-on, since you can’t take liquids or gels over 3.4 ounces onto the plane. If you’re loyal to the liquid and don’t want to worry about messing up your skin when you’re away from home, grab some cheap travel-sized containers and fill them with the top-shelf liquid stuff.
• Best for Lather: Body Wash — We don’t know about you, but here at Black Wolf, we’re suckers for a rich lather. Maybe it’s all mental, but when those bubbles start to foam, we know we’re getting a seriously deep clean and zapping away all the grime on the surface of the skin and beyond. Because of their liquid or gel makeup, body washes tend to lather better than bar soaps, which is a major bonus in our book. 

Source: DG Stock/Shutterstock.com

Don’t Skimp on Cleanliness

As you can see, body wash beats out the competition in pretty much every category, making it the obvious choice for your daily scrub-down. But here’s the deal: Not all body washes are created equal, and some actually kind of suck, so you’ve gotta prioritize quality. Grab a liquid soap that’s part of a solid men’s skincare routine — we see you, Black Wolf — to get clean and smell great with minimal downsides.