Soap or Shower Gel/Bath Gel?

illumination on 11/01/2016 - 15:04
Last edited 11/01/2016 - 15:53

Ozbargainers,

What do you use, and why?
In fact, is Shower Gel and Bath Gel the same thing? I think it is.. right?

I personally prefer using soap because when you rinse it off, it comes off pretty much as soon as the water hits it and it feels very "effective".
When I'm short on time (e.g. when I'm really bloody tired and wanna get out ASAP) I'll use shower gel, because it takes less time to lather. I also use a sponge to get maximum bubbles so I can use a bit less shower gel.
So realistically, I use both. It depends.

I assume soap is overall cheaper too, but what I do is try and use up on hotel amenities that my dad often gets from his hotel stays wherever he flies to and use them all up before I buy new shampoo/conditioner/shower gel.

Vote on the poll, discuss!

edit: Also - what BRAND do you find is good to use for shower gel/soap? I find bad quality soap is REALLY annoying to use. I haven't really had any experience with any particularly bad shower gel though.

Poll Options

  • 25
    Shower Gel
  • 17
    Soap
  • 3
    Shower Gel or Soap (i.e. depends - discuss)
  • 1
    Other (there's something else you can use..?!?! please share)
  • 3
    Nothing
Health & Beauty

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 11/01/2016 - 15:25

    shower gel with a "shower scrubber". not sure if thats what they're actually called but they show up on google when you search that. the gel lathers easily and the scrubber is good for cleaning/exfoliating. Done the same since I was a kid

  • strikerzebra on 11/01/2016 - 15:27
    +2

    Soap, probably because it's way cheaper, 1 bar of soap last like a year

    • scrimshaw on 11/01/2016 - 15:43
      +2

      And you're also not paying for water. Which incidentally, makes up more than 85 percent of the stuff you buy.

      Have a look at the composition of shower gel —

      My Radox shower gel reads
      Water, Sodium laureth sulfate, Cocamidopropyl betaine, Triethanolamine, Parfum, Acrylates and the rest are basically just organic ingredients from plants that gives it a distinctive herbal lemongrass scent.

      • strikerzebra on 11/01/2016 - 15:44

        So it's basically soap that has been mixed with water to make shower gel?

        • scrimshaw on 11/01/2016 - 15:49
          +2

          Yeap. Sodium laureth sulfate is the active ingredient. It's the only ingredient that makes it a shower gel — without it it's basically body lube. ( ᴗ ͜ʖ ᴗ )

        • illumination on 11/01/2016 - 15:53

          @scrimshaw: Haha I never even thought of shower gel being "mostly water" but why am I not surprised..

          So next time just get some soap, dice it up and mix it with water?

  • Baysew on 11/01/2016 - 15:47

    Other (there's something else you can use..?!?! please share)

    There is apparently.

    Do You Ever Shower with Dish Washing Liquid Instead of Soap ?

    • illumination on 11/01/2016 - 15:55

      Oh yea I recall reading that!

  • gomertose on 11/01/2016 - 19:42

    Who needs soap or shower gel when you have deodorant? Oh wait…

    Teen dies from using too much deodorant

    • illumination on 12/01/2016 - 16:41

      How unfortunate.. but sounds yucky too…

  • sleepy120 on 11/01/2016 - 23:32

    Facial Towel to give everything the once over except the crack and junk LOL. Feels cleaner than just soap/gel and hands alone.

  • Birchy on 12/01/2016 - 09:16

    Do you feel dirty with your hands alone ?

  • unclekenz on 12/01/2016 - 10:29

    Over time, the use of soap irreversibly damages (etches) shower screen glass, whereas shower gel does not.
    So if you care about the appearance of your bathroom, the following info may help: http://drchemical.com.au/the-chemistry-of-cleaning-3-how-to-…

    • illumination on 12/01/2016 - 16:39

      That is interesting. I wouldn't have thought there'd be such a big difference between shower gel and soap such that it would cause that big a difference to the damage to the shower screen glass!

  • terrys on 12/01/2016 - 10:55

    Shower gel in Adelaide, as the hard water here means everything, including the soap, gets coated with a nice scum of calcium stearate. For hand=washing after working on engines or with garden soil, sorbolene works really well.
    I remember going to the Alice once with a group of locals. One of the girls went in the shower, and a few minutes later we were treated to loud screams and laughter - she had squeezed the normal amount of shampoo she would use for the initial wash, started to lather, and the whole cubical had filled with foam…

  • born2reign on 12/01/2016 - 11:29

    Definitely shower gel for me. Soap I find at times dries my skin and feels like my skin loses a bit of elasticity aftewards

  • ssvdh66 on 12/01/2016 - 13:25

    shower gel,I am allergic to what makes soap solid plus Dermatologist claims soap is very bad for the skin

    • illumination on 12/01/2016 - 16:37

      Soap is bad for your skin? Do you have a source for that?

  • Noblejoker on 12/01/2016 - 15:53

    I ticked 'other' as I use QV Wash which is liquid but more cream than gel and is soap free (but not the kind of 'free we like around here)
    Actually surprised that there aren't a few more 'sensitive skin' types here

    • illumination on 12/01/2016 - 16:37

      Ah yes I know QV Wash. I always get the feeling you need to pump a lot even to wash your hands though (relative to a normal shower gel), so I can't imagine how much you'd have to pump to shower yourself.

      So you use that out of necessity for your skin type?

  • illumination on 12/01/2016 - 16:36

    I'm finding the responses quite interesting so far.
    Much higher proportion of people using soap than I expected.

    Those who ticked "Nothing" - I hope at the very least that you still "rinse" yourself with water!!

  • [Deactivated] on 12/01/2016 - 20:54

    Shower jel.

    I found that the pump pack containers use a lot of their products per pump.

    For the sink got a brill ceramic and chrome one from Target for $9,

    For the shower I got a liquid soap despenser like the ones in public toilets, sold at Bunnings.

    Uses less cost less, I have Adelaide water.

  • Brendoo on 13/01/2016 - 05:01

    Soap. I find that shower gel is too oily for my skin. I have quite oily skin and soap washes it nicely and has it feeling how I like it. Shower gel leaves my skin too oily. Also, gel needs a lot more water to wash it off whereas soap washes off quickly. I find that soap lathers much thicker/better than shower gel. I use Lux soap, been using it my whole life and has always been good.

  • Sweet3st on 14/01/2016 - 12:49

    Pears soap.

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