Generally speaking its fine to wash your body with shampoo, its just not good to wash your hair with body soap
this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2025
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the real shower thought is always in the comments
Wait, why not? I wash my hair with bar soap all the time and it seems fine.
Shampoo is pH balanced for your hair. Body wash and shower soap are not.
Your hair likes slight acidity, believe it or not. (Look up "apple cider vinegar use in hair") And, soap is basic. Using soap/body wash in hair will strip your hair of too much oil and throw of your hair's pH balance. This usually makes your hair dry and frizzy.
Keep in mind we used to use soap in hair all the time, back in the day. But people bathed a LOT less often back then. They needed the extra cleaning power. Plus, the less frequent use dried out their hair less.
I think a lot of people with short hair don't notice how damaged their hair is, because it's just so short that you can't really see frizz or because they smear it full of hair gel which also hides most of that.
But I guess that's fine if they're not bothered by it.
I have long hair and just use bar soap. I have found that it's the conditioner that makes any difference to how my hair feels when it dries out.
Before anyone goes in with a "buhhh muhh products" just fucking don't. My hair is nice.
Also to add: Even shampoo can dry your hair out because it still strips the oil from your hair/scalp to clean it. Conditioner will help replenish it.
"Oh we're out of shampoo AND body wash? I guess hand soap it is. 🤷"
Don’t do that unless you only do it once. Adding tap water to dilute your soap can cause it to develop bacterial contamination.
Dude this thread just keeps on giving.
you'll own nothing. not even your life. and the algorithm will make you happy.
.. only if you pay extra for a little happy time.
As a treat
"That's out too? Dish soap it is then."
I use bar soap for all of these things. 😅
Honestly, sometimes using just water is fine and good for your skin since soap dries it out.
Yeah I have to moisturise my hands every time after shower because my palms get dried up by soap
Any tips for moisturizers that don’t leave you feeling even greasier than before you showered?
Brand & Store rec enclosed
silence, brand
Top result for “lotion” at Costco is quite normal all around - Cetaphil, widely available at any US retailer
(no affiliation)
I think this person has probably tried the popular ones lol
O right
Sure ain’t greasy for me
I have been using a shampoo bar recently and love it. It feels like it's going to last forever, and no plastic packaging.
You don't get the 6 in one soap, shampoo, conditioner, motor oil, rust remover, and anti-fungal cream?
It's soap... What's the issue?
I honestly cannot fathom why people buy body wash... Shampoo is basically the same thing.
it's a bit more agressive IMO, it dries up my skin.
Yeah it didn't feel quite "right". More filmy, less moisturizing.
If you have conditioner it'll help with that. You can mix it in as you lather.
Anyway, scalp is skin, so if it's fine with your scalp it's fine on your skin. Your body hair will be happy too.
Guess I’ve never double blind tested them (would need to be careful with scents to avoid spoiling the test)
That said my perception has also been a high-quality moisturizing body wash is less drying than shampoo
Shampoo ? What's that?
People wash their hair waaaay too much. I use shampoo in my hair once a month; the rest of the time I just scrub it with water and my fingers, and I very rarely have dandruff. Mind you, my skin is quite oily, but when I was a teenager with super long hair I washed my hair with shampoo every day and my hair was fried as fuck. Also, I think it contributed a lot to my extremely bad acne, which I almost never get anymore.
I stopped using shampoo completely. Much better, got rid of all the skin issues I had.
My shower gel is rated for hair, face and testicles so I don't need to worry about this.
doesn't shower gel/body wash automatically mean it's for face and testicle?
What's the difference?
Actually look at the ingredients of shampoo vs body wash; they contain the same chemicals, with shampoo containing a few dedicated to hair.
So body wash is shampoo minus the hair chemicals.
I just buy these very large squirt bottles of shampoo and wash my whole body with it. No problem, and much cheaper than buying several "specific" smaller bottles of mostly the same stuff.