Why do bar soaps still exist?

[dalekphalm]

3 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

Actually even then we're just a bit out of the top 10 global economies at #15

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

Definitely - Mexico does have a decent economy, but standard of living, and average citizen wealth, is still low compared to Canada and USA.

 

Though perhaps that's changing for the better? I don't know - I've never been to Mexico (Closest I've got was Florida).

[LinusTech]

whaaaat? Dove plain unscented bar soap is the bomb. It's all I use - hair AND body. With a loofah it suds up as well as anything, and it's soooooooo cheap.

 

Also my skin's way better since I switched.

[dizmo]

23 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Are you talking about those small "micro beads"? Many companies and retailers are actually banning them, due to the environmental impact (they're so small that most filtering systems don't properly catch them).

 

Personally I've never used a body wash that had them.

Haha yeah. I used them, liked them, but that was when I thought they dissolved. I'd never use them knowing they don't degrade. Who thought that was a good idea? 

[dalekphalm]

10 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Haha yeah. I used them, liked them, but that was when I thought they dissolved. I'd never use them knowing they don't degrade. Who thought that was a good idea? 

Some fool who was thinking about the "exfoliating" power, without the aftermath.

[imreloadin]

3 hours ago, Misanthrope said:

Actually even then we're just a bit out of the top 10 global economies at #15

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

Being in the top global economies doesn't really mean much unfortunately. The US was the world's largest economy (as measured in 2016 per your charts) at 18.6 trillion dollars, China is number three with a GDP of 11.2 trillion dollars. What we need to look at is GDP per capita to really judge standard of living. The US isn't even in the top 10 in that (it's number 11 with a GDP per capita of $57,436). China on the other hand is number 79 on that list with a GDP per capita of $15,399. Mexico is a little higher up the list from China at number 65 with a GDP per capita of $18,938. Granted I've never been to Mexico so maybe you can actually sustain yourself on that fairly well for all I know.

 

On topic: I grew up using Irish Spring and associated the soap residue with a feeling of "cleanliness", which I've seen several people here make reference to. It wasn't until I first used liquid soap however that I found out what true cleanliness actually felt like. When I bathe I want to feel like I've removed soils from my body, not caked more crud onto it

[Misanthrope]

28 minutes ago, imreloadin said:

Being in the top global economies doesn't really mean much unfortunately. The US was the world's largest economy (as measured in 2016 per your charts) at 18.6 trillion dollars, China is number three with a GDP of 11.2 trillion dollars. What we need to look at is GDP per capita to really judge standard of living. The US isn't even in the top 10 in that (it's number 11 with a GDP per capita of $57,436). China on the other hand is number 79 on that list with a GDP per capita of $15,399. Mexico is a little higher up the list from China at number 65 with a GDP per capita of $18,938. Granted I've never been to Mexico so maybe you can actually sustain yourself on that fairly well for all I know.

I can but I won't deny there's profound income inequality. It's just certain marginalized areas though but Mexico has pretty gigantic cities, industry, etc. It's mostly not really as it's usually perceived, just very unequal but midclass people and up have it fairly good in standards of living.

[Virus__]

Bar soap is extremely cheap to manufacture for a start, I can buy 5 bars of Australian made stuff at my local supermarket for under $2, which is probably the equivalent to 10 or more 750ML bottles of the liquid hand soap. It also is easy to transport, especially when travelling. Also it's probably what the majority of the world has access to, if they have access to soap.

 

Personally I use a liquid body wash atm, since I had to stop using bar soaps as they dried my skin out to the point i'd get severe drying & cracking of the skin on my hands, which I couldn't counter-act no matter what I tried. I already had some serious calloused hands from years of manual labour, so that wasn't helping things. I really need to try out the soap free washes, they are meant to be gentle on your skin & not dry it out like a lot of washes do.

[Kamina]

I switch between both.

 

Bars of soap are cheap. No need for sponge and the last quite awhile. 

[Urishima]

On 12.11.2017 at 4:45 PM, AlwaysFSX said:

Bar soap lasts me longer and costs less so.. that might be why.

Also more environmentally friendly in production than liquid soaps, I've heard.

[Automobili3XF]

Because they are cheaper and last longer, i guess?

I still use them, liquid soap is way more expensive...

[MyName13]

1 hour ago, Chevy_Monsenhor said:

Because they are cheaper and last longer, i guess?

I still use them, liquid soap is way more expensive...

Everyone keeps mentioning price, but if most manufacturers switched to liquid wouldn't their prices decrease?

[dalekphalm]

9 minutes ago, MyName13 said:

Everyone keeps mentioning price, but if most manufacturers switched to liquid wouldn't their prices decrease?

To a degree - sure. But Liquid Soap is already mass produced by the Millions. I think whatever "economies of scale" that you could squeeze out, we're already getting.

 

Plus it's just inherently more expensive. Plastic for the packaging, taking up more transportation space, therefore increased cost to deliver, etc.

 

If liquid soap was a new invention, or wasn't very popular, you might have a point - but it's not.

[Automobili3XF]

We are literally discussing soap, lol

[SlipperyPete]

On 11/12/2017 at 11:46 AM, Crunchy Dragon said:

I was raised on bar soap actually. I prefer it to "gels" and similar things. I'm also pretty weird so...

i was also raised on bar soap but since being in college i switched because it is easier to store and by using a shampoo/body gel combo there is less stuff to carry around and worry about

[3 Lions]

19 hours ago, LinusTech said:

whaaaat? Dove plain unscented bar soap is the bomb

Wait, they sell Dove in Canada? 

[emmettontheweb]

On 11/12/2017 at 1:54 PM, WhiteJaguar77 said:

 

There are some that can be used for a bath tub for a nice scent I think. I do remember a pink one named "Sex Bomb."

Those are called bath bombs. They are not the same as soap!

[chilicheeseburger]

Because you can't drop liquid soap in the shower.

[AvocadosGuac]

1 minute ago, chilicheeseburger said:

Because you can't drop liquid soap in the shower.

What happens when the bottle falls and all the soap comes out?

 

I prefer whatever is in my shower. Bar soap is good, liquid soap is good. I hate bar soap in the hair though...

[Chaos_Sorcerer]

I didn't even know body wash existed until I went over to a friend's house a few years ago. I don't really have a preference either way, to be honest. I hate the way bar soap slides around all over the place, though.

 

I mostly use Aveeno and Old Spice at the moment. I don't even use a sponge or anything...

 

As for hand soap...I'm never going back to a bar, though I do use it for my face.

[Chaos_Sorcerer]

21 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Some people consider Mexico Third World, economically. I'm not sure I'd go that far, personally, but I digress.

I don't wanna be an asshole, but isn't Mexico Third World???

[Ithanul]

On 11/13/2017 at 5:03 AM, davrosG5 said:

Use both but still prefer a nice solid bar of soap.

Body wash seems terribly wasteful (and therefore expensive) in comparison plus it doesn't seem to work as well where I live (fairly hard water).

I also find that the bottles that body wash stuff comes in are terribly designed for actual use in a shower - it should be able to hang upside down, open, for the duration of the shower without dripping out until I squeeze out what I need. Haven't found anything that manages this (but I also haven't done extensive testing either so ho hum).

Same way.  Plus, my clay bar soap last a good long time.

 

My Mom and me found a body wash that setup like liquid hand soap with a pump to get the gel out.