Body Wash 101: Everything You Need To Know

The skincare and bodycare industry has come a long (loonnnggg) way from ye olde days when cleaning yourself required using a rough soap-like bar produced from animal fat, water, and… ash? Thankfully, some clever cats called Proctor & Gamble introduced Ivory Soap in 1878, and today, there is a bundle of options you can choose to get yourself squeaky clean on the daily.

Besides washing yourself with bar soap, options like cleaning creams, astringents and toners, exfoliating scrubs, facial masks, and body wash are just a few of the popular washing products you can use every day to keep yourself spotless from head to toe.

So How Should I Cleanse My Body?

To get down and soapy with your wash of choice, moisten your skin in the shower or bath, slather some products on your hands, and then rub your body with either your hands, loofah or a washcloth. Once soaped up, rinse it all off and use a towel to pat yourself dry – avoid rubbing since it will remove moisture. After bathing, experts and our mums advise applying moisturiser to help seal the deal on all that delicious moisture your body wash just gave your skin.

What's The Difference Between Body Wash And Soap?

Although body wash and soap produce lather similarly, there are a few important distinctions between the two. For instance, skin sensitivity and personal preference (and… perhaps your star sign?) are some reasons one might choose a body wash over a block of bar soap. Harsh soaps might be slightly more abrasive, but body wash – especially our whipped shower foams laced with hydrating ingredients – are more gentle on the skin.

How Does Body Wash Work Exactly?

Aside from a hydration station, what is the point of body wash? To remove makeup, sweat, odour, excess oil, ghosts of tequila shots and other substances from your skin, of course! Here’s how.

Although there are many different skin types, body wash typically has the same components: a hydrophilic (water-soluble) and a lipophilic (fat-soluble) one. Because dirt itself is lipophilic (a fancy word that means ‘tending to combine with or dissolve in lipids or fats!), it won't dissolve in water. Think how magically an oil-based cleanser helps destabilise your kohl eyeliner! If you have a schmear of daily grime on yourself, simply rinsing yourself with water won't whip you into the pristine state of chill you may desire. The only item that will dissolve the grime and take it off your skin is something fatty, oily… something lipophilic.

👉 You'll LOVE: Why Shower Foam? 

Maximising Your Body Wash Gains

To get the most out of your body wash, here are a few hot soapy tips from yours truly:

Favour Warm, Not Hot, Water
Regardless of the sort of cleanser you use, use warm water rather than hot and only take brief showers. Limiting the heat and the time under the tap can assist in keeping your skin supple and smooth because hot water and big amounts of water can dry it out like the Sahara desert.

👉 Related: Turn Up The Chill, Because Cold Showers Are Good For You 

Know Your Skin Type
Your skin type will determine the kind of body wash you use, just like any other skin cleanser. The four most prevalent varieties of skin are normal, oily, dry, and sensitive. After checking in with your derm, some low-key experimenting is the greatest way to determine your skin type and uncover the best body wash for you.

Keep Things Gentle
Strong soap could be too harsh for someone with dry skin because it removes many of the oils their skin already lacks. Use a gentle cleanser instead, which frequently has the terms “foam,” "cream," or "oil" on the label. Try to look for body washes with Vitamin C and AHAs as a kinder way to bid adieu to flaky, dry skin than rough, physical exfoliants.

👉 More: Shower Cream vs. Body Wash

Choose Your Fighter
We believe a body wash is preferable to a soap bar for multiple reasons. Generally, body washes are formulated to match skin pH better, transit fewer bacteria, and are gentler on your skin. Also, if you run out of hand soap and wonder if you may use body wash in its place, the answer is… absolutely. Body washes and shower gels have compositions that are the most similar to hand soap, which means that they frequently have the elements you need to clean your hands and get rid of germs without irritating your skin.

As for whether body washes can replace your face wash, shampoo or conditioner, our response is a little less enthusiastic.

Happy Sundae x

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