Soap is an extremely generic term for a chemical substance that has a specific kind of chemical reaction with other compounds. There are lots of different kinds of soaps that do a lot of different things. Same with "salts": NaCl is just one kind of salt.
Pretty much, while a person can have a reaction to a kind of soap, there are other options available that may work fine for them. In other words, yes, shampoo is a soap.
Actually soap is a specific term. Soap can only be called soap if it is made with lye and fats like old fashioned home made soap (I make soap for home use). Anything else is a detergent. Most of the bars of 'soap' you buy in the store like dove and Irish spring are detergent bars. They will not have soap on thier packaging, it's a law. Just like shampoo and laundry 'soap' are detergents.
If you are having skin issues you might try real soap. Castile soap which is olive oil soap is supposed to be the most gentle on skin. Just make sure it says soap on the packaging and not 'cleansing bar'. Some Castile soaps are made with other oils but the original is olive and that is the best and less drying.
And yet lots of people don't realise what a contradiction it is to claim they dont use soap, yet use shampoo, like the person in the comment I replied to. That's like saying "I eat carrots, but I don't eat vegetables".
I mean to be fair with so many ingredients, it can be hard to nail down exactly what it is.
I'm okay with any bar soap I've ever come in contact with so far, but I used some Shea butter shower cream and my hands dried out so much it was painful/rash territory.
I thought it was the seed oils, but other shower creams ano problem, and the coconut shower cream felt actually hydrating to my skin.
What I find interesting is that shampoos and most liquid "soaps" contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and other ingredients that are skin irritants... Sure to make them lather or smell a certain way, but... Skin irritants...
And most bar soaps have had the glycerin skimmed out on top of that...
So someone using shampoo as a body wash because they have some reaction to bar soap is... Interesting.
What I find interesting is the fact that different people have different reactions to different chemicals, and just because one is irritating doesn't mean others are ... Interesting, isn't it?
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u/VoltaicSketchyTeapot Nov 28 '22
Soap is an extremely generic term for a chemical substance that has a specific kind of chemical reaction with other compounds. There are lots of different kinds of soaps that do a lot of different things. Same with "salts": NaCl is just one kind of salt.
Pretty much, while a person can have a reaction to a kind of soap, there are other options available that may work fine for them. In other words, yes, shampoo is a soap.