A fair few decades ago all you ever saw on basins and baths were solid soap bars to wash ourselves and our hands and I seem to recall that all of a sudden in the 80s the pump dispenser liquid soaps became popular and also shower gel instead of soap.
Even up to a few years ago, liquid soap was much more popular and prevalent than soap bars but it does seem that this trend is reversing as people realise that bar soap is much better for the environment due to the lack of plastic waste.
So this is one thing we can all do to save a little bit of plastic without costing any money and really without much inconvenience.
Some people have concerns that used soap bars can harbour bacteria and can pass on disease but this does not appear to be the case. If you look at this study then it appears that disease is unlikely to be transferred from a bar of soap onto the next user.
Obviously one thing you need to check when you are buying a bar of soap is that it doesn’t actually come wrapped in plastic! You also need to pick and choose a good quality soap that will not dry your skin out and does not contain harmful chemicals.
One thing you can do is to buy handmade soap from a local maker who uses quality ingredients – you can often speak to local makers about what they use to make their soap.
Also check if you can the pH of the soap bar (the pH of skin is around 5.5) and maybe look for natural ingredients like Aloe Vera.
If you use a bar of soap then it is recommended to keep it in a dish that drains the water out so that it doesn’t turn to mush and leave a pool of slime!
