That’s the burning question of the day
And here I hadn’t even known there was a choice. The only place I’d ever encountered body wash was in the locker room of a gym I used to attend years ago. The showers at that place were thoughtfully provided with dispensers of the stuff, which I assumed were there for people who’d simply forgotten to bring their own soap with them.
Dummy me. Little did I know that I was standing on the threshold of a cutting-edge technology that would revolutionize the showering industry.
Good old soap has always been good enough for me. I deal with the potential mushiness factor by keeping my soap elevated on a neat little gizmo like this, a wonderful product you can buy for about 99 cents or less, one of the most fabulous bargains modern life offers:
Soap is effective. Soap is much cheaper than body wash. Soap has always been a product that didn’t seem to need perfecting. Who knew that a host of people would some day find it icky and unsanitary, as some of the commenters on the soap vs. body wash article seem to? It reminds me of that claptrap about needing to sterilize one’s toothbrush to prevent getting sick from it. Not true.
[NOTE: I don't share my soap with those near and dear. But it turns out that even doing that isn't really going to harm anyone]
Previously a lifelong Democrat, born in New York and living in New England, surrounded by liberals on all sides, I've found myself slowly but surely 
August 27th, 2012 at 10:15 am
Soap gives me eczema. Body wash doesn’t. I use Olay Body Wash with Shea butter. A container lasts about two months.
August 27th, 2012 at 11:27 am
Of all the comic pet peeves that go right by me, this one does resonate a little.
Just what you want after splitting half a cord or even a face cord of wood and brush hogging five acres at the ole vacation home, then dragging your tired ass into the bathroom only to find the normal soap and shampoo are missing.
Instead the shelf is lined instead with her “conditioners” etc, and you face the prospect of trying to clean up with an oily slather of a pseudosoap conditioning goop having a heavy, oppressive scent that won’t rinse off.
You need to pour the evening gin over your torso as an astringent, rather than drink it. I guess you just toss the olive in the fire.
Not to get too clinical, but don’t any of the people who use this crap have chest hair?
Uh, maybe I already answered my own question.
August 27th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Soap Savers are one of the few products that will actually pay for themselves; many times over if use use them long enough.
I’ve often wondered why the designers of those built-in tub/shower soap holders have never figured out that soap bars turn to mush in their product. One of life’s little mysteries.
August 27th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Body wash. Why not just call it “liquid soap”?
You couldn’t charge as much.
As for sharing it, I figure it’s soap. It can clean itself.
August 27th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
“Soap has always been a product that didn’t seem to need perfecting.”
Maybe so but it is also rightly said that the history of advertisi8ng is the history of soap. And now, it would seem, “body wash.”
August 27th, 2012 at 2:42 pm
I too discovered body wash at the gym. Hey, as I am a man of reasonably short hair, I soon discovered that the same stuff worked fine as shampoo. Win-win! But my poor wife still goes into the locker room with a wheelbarrow full of unguents and potions.
August 27th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
I have a variety of things in my shower: regular bar soap, body wash, shampoo, and the most versatile of all, Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castille Soap. Which I use depends on my mood and how much time I am inclined to spend in the shower. The castille soap, though, comes in a huge bottle and while not cheap, it lasts for a long, long, long time, as just a few drops in a washcloth will go a long way. Likewise, a few drops of the castille soap also make an excellent shampoo.
August 27th, 2012 at 6:12 pm
One of my pet peeves with women is 19 bottles of something or the other in the shower that ends up on your toe. It’s right up there with their 19 pillows on a bed.
As a single man i have it all down to one bottle that is soap, shampoo and conditioner. Now THAT is brilliant simplicity!
August 27th, 2012 at 7:26 pm
Body wash or soap?
Well, there is a third option.
Plenty of discussion in the comments.
August 28th, 2012 at 12:40 am
I use a body wash that is also a shampoo. Wash your hair and then everything else with one product. Just need one bottle in the shower. I use a el cheapo brand so its not expensive. Bar of soap in a shower is a pain.
August 28th, 2012 at 1:07 am
soap.
August 28th, 2012 at 1:31 am
Even on this one I differ from my girlfriend. I could use a bar of soap and it’ll last me 3 months.
My girlfriend squeezes so much body wash out of the bottle that it lasts her a week.
Me? I say nothing because i’m a smart man. What is $3 more per week in the scheme of things?
At least she is clean!
August 28th, 2012 at 2:19 am
Heh …a soap thread. I was a convert to three-in-one a few years back. It was body wash, shampoo, and you could shave with it (most of the time I just lather up while taking a shower). All in one bottle of liquid guy soap. Convenient. And in marked contrast to the floating array of mysterious bottles in the “other” corner of the shower.
But a few months ago …I dunno, I’d ran out of the stuff (I never pay attention, sigh), and I grabbed the “emergency bar” that we always seem to keep, but never use.
It smelled …good. Like soap. Clean. I’d forgotten how good plain, unscented bar soap smells.
It was actually easier to soap up my body brush with (no wash clothe, no luffa, no sponge: hard bristle is best) than the runny liquid had been.
And bar soap makes a hell-a lather with a shaving brush.
So I’m a re-convert to plain ol’ bar soap (Kirkland white at Costco).
…but I still have a 3-in-1: I use it as shampoo (and it’s good for an emergency, when the bar melts away).
Ooh. Late night comment. And I just heard coyotes howling in the canyon.
August 28th, 2012 at 4:45 am
Did any of you ever bite a soap bar when you were little because the texture was so smooth and creamy? and then had to spit it out? bitter disappointment!
Got a Dove bar, one of those plastic gizmos, and a bottle of orange-scented stuff from Whole Foods whose smell I love. Soap, all kinds, is one of those little luxuries this art bum can afford.
August 28th, 2012 at 7:50 am
I watched my friends mom wash my friends mouth out with soap.
As an adult now I have a strange fetish.
Just kidding!
August 28th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
Body wash. Soap is harsh and drying, but I do love Kiss My Face Olive Oil soap.
Neo – don’t tell me you’re using it on your face too!! EEK! If so – can I suggest good old-fashioned (and incredibly high rated) Cetaphil for face cleaning? Awesome stuff – no need to moisturize after unless you have really dry skin.
August 28th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
JuliB: I haven’t used soap on my face since I was in my twenties. When I turned 30 I went for a facial cause I thought it would be a hoot (don’t think I’ve had one since). But the person there discussed products with me, and recommended these, which I’ve used ever since. They’re expensive but last a long time, and I think they’re very good.
August 28th, 2012 at 8:08 pm
Body wash or soap?
Well, there is a third option.
Plenty of discussion in the comments.
Oh, geez. Save us from idiots who think they don’t stink. And I’m someone who KNOWS I don’t stink *MUCH*.
There’s a reason soap exists. Saying it gives you eczema, this I can grasp though I’ve never had the problem. More than likely you just need to hunt for the right soap, though. Your skin is probably more sensitive to pH levels than most, so you need a milder soap.
If you want to avoid soap, though, then go the Roman Bath method… it probably really is better for the skin, though likely more expensive than soap nowadays.
Realize that the Romans didn’t have soap, soap is a medieval invention. So what did the Romans do in the bath?
Simple: Olive Oil+ “strigil“. Mind you, even the Romans had brains enough (unlike the bozo in the link above) to grasp that body odors weren’t all that wonderful, and perfumed their olive oils.
You rub the oil all over your body, then scrape it off using the strigil. This carries away most of the grime with it. Add a quick soak in the hot, then cold, baths, and “bob’s your uncle”. Substitute showers for modern times, if you like.