Lots of customers tells us they have a strong preference when it comes to liquid or bar soap. Some prefers the convenience of a quick pump of liquid soap in the shower, while others enjoy the somewhat traditional ritual of lathering up a bar and taking a little longer to cleanse and refresh the body. Here at Little Soap, we’re obviously huge fans of the humble bar soap- but that doesn’t mean that liquid soap doesn’t have its place! With this in mind, we thought we’d do a little liquid vs bar soap investigation to see how they compare. Plus, read to the end to find out how to turn bar soap into liquid for the best of both worlds!
Advantages of bar soap
Ah, the good old bar of soap! There’s a reason why many prefer this over any liquid soap, full stop. The simple act of rubbing the bar against your hands not only has the power to bring back memories of childhood, but the friction actually works to help remove debris and clean the skin a lot more effectively than liquid soap.
Our Eco Warrior Moisturising Hand & Body Bar is an excellent example of a bar soap that truly cleanses, with a creamy and rich lather that nourishes and protects. This bar can be used all over the body and to clean hands, making it an economical choice too- plus, bar soaps tend to last a lot longer than their liquid counterparts.
Bar soaps are great for travel too- no liquid means no chance of accidental spills, which is always a good thing! Bar soaps can be stored safely in a small box and taken wherever you are- just add water!
Not only that, soap bars tend to be the more sustainable option, coming packaged in boxes made of thin cardboard as opposed to plastic bottles. Here at Little Soap, our Eco Warrior soap bars (like all the other soap bars we produce) are packaged in an eco-friendly way. All our cartons are 100% recyclable and the glossy varnish is made from a recyclable resin made from non-toxic, non-mutagenic, non-carcinogenic and non-reproductive toxic raw materials. They are free of solvents and do not emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) making them environmentally friendly. It is cured with UV light, making it 100% recyclable, along with the card it is printed on.
Advantages of liquid soap
Liquid soap is a great option for smaller bathrooms in particular. Bottles of soap do tend to keep sink areas clean and perhaps more tidy- no need to deal with wet soap bar residue for example. Soap dispensers are perhaps easier to use, more convenient and often a good choice for smaller children.
Generally speaking, liquid soap does tend to produce a richer, more creamy lather -but come on, regular users of our soaps will know that while our gorgeous Organic Pure Lavender Liquid Soap is truly divine and produces an amazing lather, the foam coming off the Eco Warrior Beauty Edit Chill Bar is literally next to nothing too- rich, creamy and very luxurious!
About our plastic packaging
Just a note on packaging here too. While in most cases, bar soaps are indeed the most eco-friendly option, we’d like to point out that our own liquid soaps are also responsibly packaged too.
We agree with customers who are worried about the plastic pollution crisis. This is why we have deleted many of our liquid product lines that are packaged in plastic. Our customers’ views on plastic also spurred us on to create our Eco Warrior range and put what is traditionally in liquid form into bars. The range includes a shampoo bar, shave bar, exfoliating bar, facial bar and body bar.
For the few liquid soap lines we have in our Organic and Little Beast ranges, we use polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. The most commonly used type of plastic for bottles is also highly recyclable and breaks down faster than other plastics (PET products biodegrade in around 50 years or so).
We look forward to the day when all our packaging is made from recycled materials. Unfortunately, the pure essential oils we use (i.e. non-synthetic fragrances) erode recycled materials too quickly.
How to turn bar soap into liquid soap
Want the best of both worlds? Don’t we all! Now, we’re not saying that bar soap is definitely the best and you should only ever use that, but we are saying that if you prefer bar soap but every now and then would like to use a liquid version… then this is for you. All you need is one bar of soap, a litre of water, a cheese grater, a large pot to boil it all up in and an electric mixer. Here’s how to male liquid soap in three easy steps…
- Grate your desired soap bar. This is a really important step!
- Bring the water to the boil in the pot, then remove from the heat. Add in the grated soap and stir until its completely dissolved. Leave to sit overnight.
- Blend with a hand mixer. This will make sure that the end result is smooth and creamy.
And that’s it! So now there really is no excuse- bar soaps for the win!
