All I know is that when DGS got a skin infection, his doctor said he should use the antibacterial liquid soap when he bathes. I pointed out that we have antibacterial bar soap and he told me that germs can live on the surface of a bar of soap. So much better to get soap out of a bottle.

DGS didn't want to use the liquid because he said he thought it would be too hard to get rinsed off. So I bought one of those foamer dispensers of it. When he'd used the liquid out of the dispenser, I filled it back up with 1 part antibacterial liquid soap to three parts water, shook it to combine, and he was good to go.

You don't need special different soap, for different parts of the body. You can use "hand soap" all over with no ill effects. You can use "body soap" on your hands. There is not cause for concern. You can even use it for shampoo. It won't hurt you. You may not get the results for your hair that shampoo will give you depending on your hair type but then again, you may even like the result better. Heck a lot of guys with buzz cut hair swear by using dish detergent as shampoo. If you read the label of cheap shampoo, the ingredients are not much different.

If you have any doubt READ the label to verify the ingredients. They will be the same or very similar between the two.

Do be careful watering down liquid hand or body wash, and trying to use it in one of those foaming dispensers. When you add water you change the PH balance. This can cause mold and bacteria to grow in the mixture. If you do water down your washes and shampoos, only make enough for a few days to go through, and rinse the bottle throughly before refilling.

I used to buy the gallon jugs of SoftSoap when it was on sale, or the generic when I'd find it. There were some promo deals where you buy the gallon jug you'd get a pump bottle with it. Then I found at Fleet Farm it was cheaper to buy the big bottle of Ajax dish liquid. It's lousy stuff for dishes, but works fine for a hand soap.

We really don't need all these different types of cleaners. Less (and fewer) is often better.

It always amazed me how people would not buy refills for the pump bottles. Toss it and buy another pump bottle. To quote Gomer "wasteful, wasteful, wasteful!"

I'm amazed someone hasn't gone off half-cocked yet about antibacterial soaps being the end of human life! LOL

I do that too. I use "dish detergent" in a pump dispenser for hand washing in the kitchen. It's not going to hurt your hands. It's made for hand washing dishes and your hands come into contact with it anyway.

I bought a ceramic pump dispenser for it. It looks better on the counter that the garish 'hand soap' dispensers, and doesn't topple like those little bitty plastic 'hand soap' dispensers that they sell with the soap in them do.

During my frugal university days ... or did it begin before? ... we used a mild dish detergent as shampoo.

Seemed to work about as well as the stuff ten times the price.

No apparent ill effects.

Doesn't seem to have shortened my life - that I can tell, so far ...

... but as the guy who fell off of the 40-storey building was heard to say, as he passed the floors from 27 to 25, "So far ... so good".

Have a lovely end-of-year weekend, everyone.

ole joyful

I remember trying soap on my hair when I was a teen...and I hated what it did to it...it was brittle, dull, and lifeless. I have naturally curly hair and thought that might be why. But, my 14-yo DS occasionally uses soap and I can always tell...his hair looks dull & lifeless...his hair isn't naturally curly, so I think it's the normal affect of soap on hair.

Bar soap will leave a residue in your hair just as it does all over your shower walls. Softsoap is great as a all-around body wash as well as shampoo. Sure does make a difference in the soap scum (lack of) in your shower and bathtub.

I use the regular Softsoap rather than the antibacterial kind but I expect you get the same results.

Soap gives poor performance result no matter how you use it IMHO. There are better things made nowdays. Detergent is almost always preferred over soap for cleaning.

I have tried body wash that my children have left at my house. They just don't feel right for me, it leaves a slick feeling - I can't describe it better. It's like it won't rinse off. Maybe that is what it is supposed to do.

My very favorite for bathing is Zote - the pink kind. My skin feels soft, clean and not dry. Also, it does pretty good for washing hair. I have old grey hair, but my hair is oily and Zote does a good job, but it doesn't dry it.

Of course, I grew up washing my hair with lye soap. We didn't bathe with it, but we washed our hair. Our doctor bought lye soap from my Mother for his family's hair.

Hardly anyone needs antibacterial soap. It does more harm than good by killing off beneficial bacteria on your skin, allowing bad bacteria (potentially antibiotic resistant bacteria) to flourish. It can also lead to yeast overgrowth, as bacteria keep the yeast numbers in check. To be safe, you just need to wash OFF the surface bacteria and keep your resident flora happy. It's all about balance, not trying to kill every living thing on you.

I used to keep a spray bottle with some diluted dish soap on the sink for various purposes. Spray on the counter and clean, spray on a dish if just a dish or two to wash and not fill the sink. Spray my hands and wash. But now I've been using the Dawn Direct Foam and that has replaced it. And I have a foam pump of hand soap too. Don't really need them both. Guess I didn't need to put that out. Ah sometimes you revert back to the old ways!

"It does more harm than good..."
That's a totally unsubstantiated myth. Some believe it's not good, but to say it does more harm is not true. Whether it's needed or not is open to discussion and I wouldn't argue that too much. But just like the paranoia about it developing "super" bacteria that can't be killed, well that too is just more paranoia.

Thanks everyone...

I didn't think it would be a big deal, but I wanted to make sure. I'm going to use the hand soap as our body wash.

As for antibacterial, I have to use that on my face - No choice. I don't know about the whole you should/should not use antibacterial becuase of the "buggers" that are out there, and i'm going to sound a bit gruff here - I don't really care about it. I lived without all the antibacterial stuff and I do see some value in being exposed and value in being protected. This is the one soap that I have it in, so I don't feel that I'm overdoing it.

My son has to use the liquid soap because his hand can't seem to find the bar rack in the shower after he's done, so I wind up with mushy soap on the floor the next morning. But we have to have soap - I mean he's 9 and he wears dirt like clothes, so he needs to have a way to wash it off...This was just inexpensive, so I got it. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something between hand/body soap.

What is Zote? I'm going to have to look that up (I prefer bar soap, but can make due with what I have right now.) I don't want to use detergent on my skin or my families skin. I agree, if I were using it for house cleaning or clothes, I'd do something a bit different than soap, but I'm not aware of a "skin detergent" beside soap...if I'm missing something let me know. I want to be safe, environmentally friendly and yet stay within a budget. I try to keep a small footprint, but I'm still a work in process.

Anyway, I wanted to say thank you to everyone. I'll let you know if I see "big" changes. I appreciate all of your advice.

imgodsgrl, Zote is really a soap for washing clothing. It is made in Mexico. If your store has a aisle for Mexican products, it is usually there and in some laundry sections. It comes in a fairly large bar and I just cut it into halves or fourths with a knife.

I'm trying to remember why I first used it, or why. I don't know if anyone else would like it for their hair, as I said, mine is gray, old, oily and short and it works fine for me.

I just like the way my skin feels and it isn't too perfumed. I don't know that I have an allergy to perfumes, but heavily perfumed products affect me the same why second hand smoke does.

If you don't like it for bathing, a lot of people use it for the homemade laundry detergent and I've finally completed my quest for the necessary ingredients and when I get home after the holidays, I'm making laundry detergents.

Oh Wow...
I have a big jug of Soft Soap handsoap that I got on clearance last year at Target. Some really low price. Was just looking at it yesterday and thinking that I'd never be able to use it all. Now I will!!! I can mix some in the with Dial body wash and no one will be the wiser :)

Posted by imgodsgrl: "What is Zote? I'm going to have to look that up (I prefer bar soap, but can make due with what I have right now.) I don't want to use detergent on my skin or my families skin. I agree, if I were using it for house cleaning or clothes, I'd do something a bit different than soap, but I'm not aware of a "skin detergent" beside soap...if I'm missing something let me know."

Just about every bath cleansing bar sold is detergent. You probably already are using detergent for your family's bathing and showering. Most grocery stores and drugstores only carry detergent bars.

If you want to use REAL soap for bathing your family you should look for it in bath boutiques and health food stores. Look for the words "French milled" on the label to tell you it is real soap or just read the ingredients printed on the label when you shop.

You can also find real soap to wash you clothing in. Check out Zum Clean from the same makers of the famous Zum Bar for bathing:
http://www.indigowild.com/shopping/zum-clean.cfm?f=1

Zote:
http://www.zote.com.mx/english/tech_info.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Zum

According to the CDC, antibacterial soap IS a cause for concern

Here is a link that might be useful: Antibacterial products and antibiotic resistance

We have a septic system and I heard or read that we should not use antibacterial products because it can cause harm to what is growing in the system. It amazes me how much time I have to spend when shopping for soap (liquid, bar or dish). Manufacturers assume everyone wants antibacterial...

In northern California most K-Marts stock Zote Bar Soap in the clothes detergent aisle.
A few months ago the price was 79 cents for a bar of 14.1 oz (400 g).