Bar Soap vs. Body Wash: Which Is Better for Your Skin?

Bar soap and body wash ultimately have the same job: cleanse the skin. But the ingredients, the way they’re made, and even the packaging can be quite different.

A traditionally made bar such as our Lemongrass Calendula Soap is a remarkably simple product—plant oils transformed into soap, with naturally occurring glycerin retained in the finished bar.

So, is bar soap or body wash better for your skin? There isn’t a universal answer. The more useful question is what’s actually in the cleanser you use every day.

What’s Really in Your Cleanser?

Many commercial body washes are primarily water combined with synthetic cleansing agents or surfactants. Depending on the product, the ingredient list may also include synthetic fragrance, preservatives, thickeners, stabilizers, artificial colours and other ingredients needed to give a water-based cleanser its scent, texture, appearance and shelf life.

Traditional handcrafted soap takes a very different route. Real soap is created through saponification, the reaction that occurs when fats or oils are combined with an alkali. During this process, the oils and sodium hydroxide are transformed into soap. Once saponification is complete, no active lye remains in the finished bar.

At Potager, our organic soaps are made in small batches using plant oils, shea butter, pure essential oils and carefully chosen botanicals. Rather than relying on synthetic fragrance for scent, we use essential oils to create bars ranging from lavender and lemongrass to eucalyptus, mint and patchouli.

The result is a cleanser made very differently from the conventional liquid body washes lining most bath aisles.

Why Potager Soap Feels Different

Traditional soapmaking naturally creates glycerin, a humectant that helps attract moisture. At Potager, that naturally occurring glycerin remains in the finished bar rather than being removed.

We also use shea butter in our organic soaps, giving the lather a rich, conditioning feel. Together, the glycerin and shea butter help create a bar that cleanses while leaving skin feeling comfortable and moisturized.

Our French Lavender Soap, for example, pairs this moisturizing soap base with pure lavender essential oil for a gentle, aromatic everyday bar.

Different bars can also provide quite different bathing experiences. Our Secret Garden Soap, for example, combines lavender, patchouli and geranium essential oils for an earthy floral scent.

For something brighter, Lemongrass Calendula Soap pairs fresh lemongrass essential oil with organic calendula petals. And Eucalyptus Mint Soap brings together eucalyptus, spearmint and peppermint essential oils for a crisp, cooling scent.

The cleansing ritual is simple, but the experience doesn’t have to be ordinary.

Bar Soap Has a Packaging Advantage

There’s another difference that has nothing to do with skin: packaging.

Liquid body wash requires a container—usually a plastic bottle with a cap or pump—and much of what is being packaged and transported is water. Bar soap is naturally concentrated and requires considerably less packaging.

Our wrapped bars are packaged in letterpress paper, tied with natural twine and finished with our signature wax seal. Many of our soaps are also available without individual wrapping.

For someone looking to reduce unnecessary packaging in the bathroom, switching from body wash to bar soap is a relatively simple change.

So, Which Is Better: Bar Soap or Body Wash?

Neither format is automatically better simply because it is a liquid or a solid. What matters is what goes into it, how it is made and how it feels on your skin.

But traditionally made bar soap offers some distinct advantages: naturally occurring glycerin, concentrated ingredients, minimal packaging and an enormous range of essential-oil and botanical combinations.

It also brings a certain simplicity back to the bath.

At Potager, we’ve been making soap in small batches in Massachusetts since 1999. Our collection includes floral, herbal, citrus, mint, oatmeal and seasonal bars, each made with the same focus on ingredients and traditional soapmaking.

Explore the full Potager soap collection and find the bar that suits you.