For years, every time I hopped in the shower I found myself wondering if I should reach for the bar of soap or the bottle of body wash. The soap left my skin feeling so scrubbed that it practically squeaked, but that tight and itchy feeling afterward told me it had done too much. The body wash, on the other hand, felt almost too silky, like I was rinsing off a layer rather than actually getting clean.
Last month, during what I thought would be a routine skin check, the dermatologist dropped a small but big deal fact: healthy skin hangs out at a pH between 4.5 and 5.5. Typical store-bought soap? It registers anywhere from 9 to 11 on the pH scale. In other words, every time I lathered up with a classic bar I was flooding my skin with something chemically closer to oven cleaner than to moisturizer. That high alkaline rush cooks off the very barrier that keeps moisture in and irritation out, and the squeak simply signals that barrier has been worn thin.
I decided to satisfy my curiosity with a few pH test strips I’d ordered online. Sure enough, after washing with plain old kitchen soap, my forearm didn’t settle back to neutral for a good two hours. Small wonder my skin touched winter and instantly resembled a cracked sidewalk.
Body wash usually aims for a pH closer to 5.5, which sounds perfect until you read the label. Many still pack lather-happy sulfates - look for SLS and SLES - which foam like crazy but can leave sensitive skin feeling like it just met a new allergy. Better bets list gentle cleansers such as cocobetaine or glucosides near the top of the ingredients.
I noticed the change almost as soon as I switched to pH-balanced body wash. In the first week, I was sure it didn't work because my skin felt slick instead of squeaky clean. That slippery feel, I later learned, was my skin politely hanging on to its own oils. By the second week the itchy spot on my back had finally quit bothering me. After a month I realized my lotion bottle wasn’t emptying nearly as fast.
I get it - reading labels can be a drag. Now I mainly hunt for sensitive skin or pH balanced on the back. Price is surprising; a budget brand from the drugstore outperformed the pricey luxury option I once bought. Who knew?
The eco guilt still tugs at me. A good bar soap leaves no plastic trail and does its thing in months, not centuries. Body wash, even the so-called green kind, still rides in a plastic bottle. Some companies are finally offering refill stations, which is a tiny win for the planet.
Because I’m nothing if not realistic, I landed on a middle ground. My face and torso get the pH-balanced wash. Elbows and heels enjoy a sturdy natural bar for those rough patches. Once a week I still indulge in all-over soap for that classic shower-fresh zing. Travel size? I stash soap sheets in my bag - tiny, light, and a total lifesaver.
Have you ever noticed that your skin feels totally different in summer than it does in winter? I certainly have. During those muggy hot months my skin seems fine with a splash more soap; the extra heat makes me feel like I’m in a grease sandwich. But once the cold air rolls in, the same bar feels drying and tight. That’s when I reach for a nice creamy body wash instead. My city’s hard water plays its part too - when the minerals in the tap water are high, every soap I use seems to dry my skin out a little more.
After three years of trial-and-error, the itching has basically vanished. I still use body wash most of the year, but I’ll grab a gentle bar for quick morning showers when the humidity is high.
Bottom line? Just pay attention. If you hop out of the shower feeling tight and scratchy, switch to a gel or creamy cleanser. If you dry off and your skin feels slick in a gross way, a solid bar might work better. Either way, give it a full hour before reaching for lotion. Are you comfortable in that time, or are you hunting for relief? That little gap will tell you whether you’ve picked the right product for that day or season.