Has anyone noticed how all the IT brands are suddenly doing what no one thought would ever happen: making soap? A host of indie, Ayurvedic, organic, herbal, natural bath and body care brands are turning to the trusty old bar instead of making shower gels, which we came to consider fancier.  Celebrities like Kim Kardashian are getting rubdowns with Korean soaps, and hipster brands like Lush and Patisserie De Bain are transforming their boring old image. Now, soaps don’t just...

When you lather up in the shower, do you use bar soap or liquid soap? Your answer could reflect your age. According to a new report from market research firm Mintel, sales of bar soap are slipping because a growing number of consumers — especially women and younger adults — think a dispenser of liquid soap is easier to use, less messy (no slimy soap dish to clean) and more hygienic. As a result, bar soap sales are down 2.2...

NOT VERY LONG AGO, many of us gave up solid soap for the liquid version, happy to bid adieu to the gelatinous mess that inevitably accrued underneath a bar of soap and to the anxiety (fallacious, it turns out) that it could pass along germs. Recently, however, some consumers horrified by the trillions of tons of plastic making its way to the oceans are feeling obliged to return to paper-wrapped milled soap, not least because it’s an excuse to buy...

  By Erin Lukas  I have mixed feelings about bar soap. Using a bar in a hotel room bathroom will always make me feel warm and fuzzy because it reminds me of my grandma, but they're also slimy, slip all over the sink, can dry the hell out of skin, and I think they get covered in germs after you use them once.  As it turns out, my opinion is a pretty popular one. According to a 2016 data by research firm Mintel, bar soap sales were slipping,...

Here, we test out bars of soap and rate them out of five in our Soap Awards SHOWER gels are sliding out of favour in the nation’s bathrooms, with more of us lathering up like granny did – with traditional soap. Sales of soap bars have grown faster than both liquid soap and shower products – up almost three per cent to £68.3million in 2018 from £66.4million the previous year. But which soaper stars give the best squeaky-clean feel? Giulia...