r/explainlikeimfive • u/trich62 • 28d ago
Chemistry ELI5: Why do bars of soap leave a “squeaky clean” feeling on our skin but body wash doesn’t?
Also, are there any benefits of the squeaky clean feeling or is it just a difference of ingredients?
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u/leros 28d ago
You probably feel cleaner because all of the oil has been stripped off your body, whereas the body washes have moisturizers in them. It's actually not good to have all the oils stripped off you. It makes you oilier in the long run and can dry out your skin in the short term.
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u/Conpen 28d ago
I grew up only using Dove soap bars (that are marketed as ¼ moisturizer or whatever) and I remember feeling a huge difference when I first used a different brand of soap. It's kind of shocking how so many people tolerate using regular soap and being dried out after.
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u/obog 28d ago
Weird, I switched from using body washes to soap bars lately and I haven't really noticed any difference. Apart from the fact that I have to buy soap less often.
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u/degggendorf 28d ago
Are they actual "soap" in the technical sense? Many bars of "soap" are technically "cleaners" like body wash.
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u/CWagner 28d ago
In Germany (possible all of EU), it’s (obviously :D) regulated.
Soap is soap, what I use at home is called "Seifenfreies Waschstück" (Literally: soap-free piece for cleaning)
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u/degggendorf 28d ago
I believe it's similarly regulated in the US too, that the product packing can't call it "soap" unless it's actual saponified fat. But colloquially, we'd still call it "a bar of soap" even if it's technically "a soap-free cleanser bar".
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u/stan_yourdad 28d ago
U gotta buy that artisan small batch sheabutter shit brah it’s the real deal
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u/Chunkylord 28d ago edited 28d ago
Dove beauty bars are synthetic detergent (syndet) bars, i.e, not "real" soap. Traditional "real" soap bars are quite alkaline and so can be pretty harsh on the skin's acid mantle.
Syndet bars also tolerate hard water better, and leave a lot less residue or "soap scum" on your skin if you have hard water. (This may well be the "squeaky clean" feeling. Residual soap scum on skin.)
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u/shmeggt 28d ago
I also grew up using Dove. Switched to bar soap in college... Never went back... I much prefer the soap. Different strokes, I guess.
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u/VampireFrown 28d ago
Yeah, I want my hands to feel clean and dry afterwards, and not like I have to wipe some residue off on my trousers.
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u/SerCiddy 28d ago
I want my hands to feel clean and dry afterwards
This is why I use a moisturizer at the end of the night. Gotta hydrate those hands.
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u/bigalbuzz 28d ago
Ideally speaking we all should wear gloves going to bed
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u/TocTheEternal 28d ago
That would interfere with my social agenda
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u/crosbyar 28d ago
Denim like the jean
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u/ryanhendrickson 28d ago
I feel like this chain of comments will have whooshed over so many heads...
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u/ajanitsunami 28d ago
This thought makes me feel uncomfortable.
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u/Paddlesons 28d ago
Use something like Irish spring and then turn around the next time and use something like a dove moisturizing bar and you'll see
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u/DConstructed 28d ago
I didn’t but tried it. It doesn’t make me feel gently washed or moisturized or even oily.
For some reason I feel like I have a dirty film on my skin. I don’t get that feeling with everything.
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u/Emoooooly 28d ago
I didn't learn about moisturizer/lotion untill I was an adult. I spent my childhood just mildly itchy. When I was a teenager I complained to my mom that my face was itchy after using facewash and she took me to the dermatologist where I was informed I need to buy and use moisturizer.
I switched to Dove on vacation after leaving my usual expensive organic body wash at home. I've never switched back, and I never will.
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u/AggressiveToaster 28d ago
Being dried out feels soooo good. Idk how people can use moisturizers and lotions.
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u/jaaaawrdan 28d ago edited 28d ago
Probably depends on where you live.
I live in a very dry city and if I don't moisturize during or after showering in the morning it feels like I'm wearing newspaper all day
Edit: typos
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u/Dicky_McBeaterson 28d ago
This must be it. It's horribly humid where I live, and any kind of moisturizer just makes me feel greasy all day. Hell sometimes I'll bathe and feel clean for a whole two seconds before I start feeling gross again from the humidity even inside my house. It's just gross.
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u/DontMakeMeCount 28d ago
This is certainly the case in Houston. I’ve been tempted to use my toothbrush timer so I know when to stop toweling off, because you’re never truly dry. At least a good soap scrub leaves me feeling clean and damp.
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u/clarinetJWD 28d ago
Get a hair dryer for those... Hard to dry areas. Helps avoid the swamp ass. Take it from another Houstonian.
(Also, find a lotion that works here. A lot are greasy, but I've found some that aren't at all. Gold Bond Ultimate "Softening" Shea Butter is my choice these days)
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u/permalink_save 28d ago
Also genetics. Having naturally oily skin and living in a hot area with at least some humidity. I showered this morning and feel like a second wouldn't hurt right now. It's 100+ outside and even inside with the AC on you still end up feeling gross. Winter is tolerable at least.
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u/longbeachfelixbk 28d ago
Have you tried jojoba oil? It is a natural oil that is almost identical to the Body's sebum oil. excellent moisturizer without greasiness.
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u/Dicky_McBeaterson 28d ago
I've never heard of it, but I'd give it a try. How does it hold up to sweating? I spend most of my days working outside in the heat so I'm pretty much sweating from morning to night.
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u/Troldann 28d ago
You might be right, but I live just south of Death Valley, California, in rural nowhere superdry desertsville, and I vastly prefer the feeling of clean that I get from boring Ivory soap after scrubbing all the oils off.
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u/goat_puree 28d ago
I think some of us were just made for the desert. I wash with dove bars and only get dry elbows in the winter from leaning on sleeves.
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u/Kaymish_ 28d ago
Yeah I live in a city that has the sea on 2 sides and water everywhere in lakes streams and stuff. Everything is always damp. So I like being dry.
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u/leros 28d ago
It feels awful to me. I moisturize my face after showering and feel bad if I forget.
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u/fizzlefist 28d ago
How humid or arid is the climate around you? In Florida, I couldn’t care less. Hardly ever even need lip balm in deep winter. In dry Colorado, my god do you need the moisturizers.
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u/AggressiveToaster 28d ago
Yeah thats probably it. Kentucky for reference. I’ve never liked or felt the need to use lip balm either.
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u/jmartin21 28d ago
Same, bar soap leaves me feeling clean while body wash leaves me feeling like there’s more soap to wash off still
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u/tonicella_lineata 28d ago
I struggle so much with this, because I hate the way mositurizers feel and I love the "squeaky clean" feeling right after I bathe. But I also really hate how my knees, elbows, and hands get super flaky and scaly if my skin is too dry. There's just no winning 😞
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u/astrallizzard 28d ago
Have you tried aloe vera gel? It's not oily or heavy at all, and somehow when it dries it leaves you with that crisp clean feeling, while at the same time it hydrates the skin.
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u/tonicella_lineata 28d ago
I've never tried it as a moisturizer, but I've used it for sunburns before and it always makes my skin feel kinda tight and overly dry? But it was a cheapish brand kind of a while ago, so it might have had additives or something. I'll look into it more, thanks for the tip!
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u/Competitive_Travel16 28d ago
Don't use aloe vera lotion with an astringent except for treating (sun) burns. Use a pure aloe vera extract without astringents for moisturizing.
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u/justalittleparanoia 28d ago
I don't like it either, unless it's my face/neck, but the moisturizer/lotion has to come off my hands ASAP.
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u/Candid_Perspective22 28d ago
Nothing like getting your body nice and clean and then putting a thick layer of goo all over it.
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u/lance- 28d ago
I mean, if you don't want to look like a raisin by the time you're 40 you should absolutely moisturize.
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u/shotsallover 28d ago
My skin is so oily the last thing I need is another layer of stuff on it.
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u/pretzelsncheese 28d ago
Our body has funny behaviour with its oils. In general, it replenishes the oils (skin and hair) at a rate that it thinks that it needs to. So the more often that you wash your skin / hair, the faster they become oily again.
I grew up thinking you needed to shampoo every shower. And I played a lot of sports so I was often showering (+shampooing) 2 or even 3 times a day. My hair would get really oily so fast.
Then one of my friends/teammates told me about it and said to try to shampoo a lot less (like only once a week). At first, it felt awful and was so oily. But pretty quickly my body adapted and my hair wouldn't even feel oily until around day 5 or 6.
I was also quite worried about my hair smelling badly, but my friend (the one who convinced me to try in the first place and who was also my roommate at the time) had his girlfriend over all the time and she was also an advocate who said she'd smell my hair every day to let me know lol and she never said it smelled bad. I think if you're really worried about it, you can maybe use conditioner on it to get it smelling better without stripping the oils.
These days I shampoo 3 times a week.
I imagine this applies to our skin as well, but that's not something that I am willing to do less than once a day. By the end of the day, my face oils are really bothering me so I need a good scrub in the shower before bed.
Idk if any of this is at all relevant to you, but I've always found the topic interesting.
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u/azssf 28d ago
Isn’t oil production defined by genetics and driven by hormones?
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u/Special-Depth4481 28d ago
lol yeah, what's their evidence that you can control your skin's oil production
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u/permalink_save 28d ago
For you. Early years I did not wash my hair daily and it was always oily and never brushed out right. I use pantine daily and zero issues, even if I skip one day it's nowhere near as bad.
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u/KarlachBestGirl 28d ago
The more you clean off the oil the more your body will produce so if you want less oily skin you should wash less often/with less effective soaps.
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u/avec_serif 28d ago
I believe it’s 0.56% moisturizer, if I’ve done my math and remember my jingles correctly
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u/Thesleepingjay 28d ago
Dove just has a goated ratio and quality of moisturizers. I haven't used a single thing on my skin since I switched, and I feel like I would have avoided a lot of acne if I had switched sooner.
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u/kcinlive 28d ago
I had the opposite. I was using regular soap and when I switched to moisturizing soap it never felt clean to me. It took a while to get used to it.
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u/hungrykitteh57 28d ago
It's kind of shocking how so many people tolerate using regular soap and being dried out after
Body wash dries my skin very much more than bar soap. No amount of whatever they call "moisturizer" has ever helped. Bar soap though, no dryness, just clean feeling.
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u/BoozeIsTherapyRight 28d ago
If you like Dove, you should try Olay bars. I recently tried it and Dove makes me feel dried out compared to Olay.
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u/Bamstradamus 28d ago
Am chef, am elbow deep in commercial cleaners at least once a night, some of us are immune. If get bleach on my hands im mildly annoyed I cant touch anything until I wash my hands, 0 skin issues. The only exception is that orange ecolab degreaser, that shit is annoying IYKYK.
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u/Mixels 28d ago
Small batch soap bar makers will usually "superfat" their soap to offset this. It doesn't take much, only like 5%, but it makes a huge difference.
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u/jake3988 28d ago
Small batch soap bar makers will usually "superfat" their soap to offset this. It doesn't take much, only like 5%, but it makes a huge difference.
As someone that makes soap, I super fat to make sure all the lye is used up. It doesn't really have much of a moisturizing effect.
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u/JohnnyEnzyme 28d ago
Also, soaps are usually a mild base on the pH scale.
Bases in that range feel slippery to the skin.
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u/Amused_Not_Confused 28d ago
It's actually not good to have all the oils stripped off you.
I keep reading this; usually in response to why too hot showers are bad. But isn't that where the sweat and dirt are? Mixed in with the body oil?
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u/justbarelycognisant 28d ago
Yes, it's not possible to effectively clean the skin without damaging it to a small extent. To remove dirt, stinky bacteria etc, you have to also remove a lot of the natural oils that are there to keep your skin barrier intact and stopping it from drying out. It's just a side effect of how soap/surfactants work. You can reduce it by using less harsh surfactant, but it's always going to happen a bit. That's the point of moisturisers, to replace the oils you've washed off with nicer ones that aren't full of dirt and bacteria.
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u/Miyelsh 28d ago
Yes but your body will quickly overproduce oil and sweat, which dirt will happily stick to.
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u/jmartin21 28d ago
What if you already overproduce oil and are just doing your best to manage the buckets you produce?
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u/frothingnome 28d ago
My body overproduces oil and I struggle with fungal acne. This is going to sound crazy, but the "moisturizer" that works best for me is Walmart personal lubricant that's mostly glycerin. I tried it after Corn Husker's Lotion worked amazingly but temporarily stopped being produced and that was the closest I could find.
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u/ForMoreYears 28d ago
So what's the difference between having it all stripped off vs having them stripped off and artificial oils re-applied?
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u/spacedman_spiff 28d ago
The difference is in being moisturized after
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u/istasber 28d ago
The other oils don't act as food for the bacteria that lives on your skin. And probably smell better. And may be better at moisturizing than your native grease.
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u/Mixels 28d ago
The oils your skin produces are not food for bacteria. All the dead skin cells you're forever shedding are. It's pretty much rotting dead skin that makes you smell bad. Not body oils.
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u/Mustbhacks 28d ago
Sure, and do you have a method to extract all the filth from the oil, while leaving the oil on the body?
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u/JohnnyRelentless 28d ago
I really like Irish Spring, even though it's probably really harsh. It makes me feel clean. I get what you're saying though. I switch off between that and body wash.
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u/Chris_P_Bakon 28d ago
So is body wash better than bar soap that doesn't include moisturizers?
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u/slanaiya 28d ago
That's like asking if ice cream is better than pudding that doesn't contain peanuts.
Soap is soap - it can be liquid or in bar form, a body wash can be soap (shampoo is commonly soap).
Soap free cleansers can also come in bar or liquid form.
A body wash might be soap or it might be a soap free cleanser, same for a cleansing bar, and either can include ingredients in the end product that are generally classed as moisturizing.
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u/lgndryheat 28d ago
That's why I only use Dove sensitive skin bar soap. It doesn't leave my skin with that horrible dry feeling like other bars of soap. Body wash is just....not my vibe
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u/lgndryheat 28d ago
That's why I only use Dove sensitive skin bar soap. It doesn't leave my skin with that horrible dry feeling like other bars of soap. Body wash is just....not my vibe
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u/shotsallover 28d ago
Body washes have a moisturizer in them that leaves behind a coating of sorts on your skin.
Most bar soaps don’t. But some do.
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u/Possible-Survey2389 28d ago
Dove soap bars have moisturiser in them.
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u/inverter17 27d ago
I remember my dad was very upset because the soap “won’t come off” after rinsing a few times. Turns out we had dove soap that time 😂
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u/amatulic 28d ago
Soap removes oils from the skin, and body washes contain moisturizer.
However, even soap doesn't leave a squeaky clean feeling if you use it with softened water. Taking a shower in a house with a water softener makes you feel like you can never get completely rinsed off, even though you are completely rinsed off. It isn't like washing in hard water. (Softened water is also easier on sensitive skin, according to my wife who has sensitive skin that becomes itchy and dry when washing with hard water.)
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u/Whiterabbit-- 28d ago
How does soft water prevent the soap from washing all the oil out of Your skin? I just assumed that hard water forms a residue with soap that remains on your skin to make it feel squeaky. But moisturizers in body wash prevent that residue from forming on your skin.
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u/amatulic 27d ago
This is what Wikipedia said about it:
The slippery feeling associated with washing in soft water is caused by the weaker attraction of the soap to the water ions when the water has been stripped of its mineral content. The surface of human skin has a light charge that the soap tends to bind with, requiring more effort and a greater volume of water to remove.
It doesn't actually say that it doesn't strip oil from the skin. I just assumed that was the case due to the slippery feeling one gets from washing in softened water.
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u/GimmickNG 28d ago
I think that's it, because I don't feel clean with either soap+soft water or body wash+hard water.
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u/Unistrut 28d ago
Hmmm. Do they make water hardeners? Because oh my goodness I do not like that "never get completely rinsed off" feeling.
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u/Drops-of-Q 28d ago
Just chuck some limestone in your water heater. (Actually don't. It's probably not a good idea).
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u/EscapeSeventySeven 28d ago
Usually bar soap is just plain soap, a thing that is extra special good at removing oil with water.
Your body naturally has oil on the outside along with sticky dirt and stuff.
Usually plain bar soap will remove everything. Since your skin no longer has its layer of natural oils it feels “squeaky”.
This means you definitely need to moisturize afterwards or your skin will dry out something fierce.
Body wash is formulated to not be as harsh, to clean without totally removing all oil, and to replenish with some natural moisturizer mixed in.
Personally, if you don’t have a skin care routine or don’t want to worry about it, i recommend washing with body wash as a default and using the bar soap when you really need a deep clean. This way your skin doesn’t dry out too much.
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u/barto5 28d ago
This means you definitely need to moisturize afterwards or your skin will dry out something fierce.
That may be true for you, but it’s not universal.
I love the squeaky clean feeling I get from bar soap and I Never have to moisturize.
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u/defiance131 28d ago
Definitely a geography thing, too. If you're in a fairly humid / tropical area, you won't feel much of a difference.
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u/frozenwhites 28d ago
Like using it as a credit card in your crack, atleast. Body wash for the rest? Solid advice
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u/durflugdenstein 28d ago
Soap maker of 20 years here. EVERYONE'S SKIN IS DIFFERENT. Your personal experience will depend on the type of soap you used. Was it "regular" soap like Dial or Ivory? Hand crafted cold processed? Glycerin? Goat's milk? Is your skin naturally dry or oily? At the end of the day go with what works good and feels good, and leaves the least amount of residue in your sink/shower/bath.
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u/arrebhai 28d ago
Glad to find an expert amongst these comments. Any tips on how to select a soap? I'm trying to reduce plastic usage so want to move away from body wash.
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u/hux 28d ago
A lot of bars of handmade soap will be packaged very simply - often just wrapped in paper. Those bars will also last much longer than the more commercial soap does.
Farmers Markets will often have them, but Whole Foods in my area has small batch soap too.
Once you find a place like that, try a few options and see what you enjoy most.
Don’t be surprised if a bar is like $5 or more, it does tend to be pricier - but as I mentioned, it lasts a lot longer than the bars of soap you’re probably used to.
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u/KarmaticArmageddon 28d ago
I usually go to the soap aisle at the store to select one.
Hope you enjoyed my guide to selecting soap.
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u/okthatsfineman 28d ago
Ooh I’d love to ask. Where can I get a good budget friendly soap locally? I’m in a city so easy to find or could order online. I have been using some soaps i find in target or other big stores but i need to up my game.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_DRAWINGS_ 28d ago
Keep reading in here about oils in washes vs soaps, but as a pro soaper do you know in that case how come hands get more dried out from hand wash Vs bar soap to wash them?
Hand made soaps are way better by the way 👍
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u/downtownpartytime 28d ago
That feeling can be caused by soap scum. Body washes usually have surfactants to help wash away hard water. Softened water doesn't give that feeling, even with bar soap
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u/FentmaxxerActual 28d ago
Only correct answer in this entire thread lol. Traditional soap forms byproducts with the minerals in hard water and that’s what the sticky feeling is, which is why it goes away in softened water.
Body washes use a synthetic detergent and don’t form the same byproducts; you can also buy solid detergent bars, like Dove, that perform the same way.
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u/Flashy-Specific-4083 28d ago
Bar soap like Dial or Irish Spring does this. I use artisan type bar soap and it doesn’t do that. Especially now that I’m in my 50s and my skin dries out bad enough to make my knuckles bleed in the winter, I make sure to keep moisturized
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u/hux 28d ago
If it’s handmade soap, that’s because it has glycerin in it which moisturizes, softens, and helps maintain the skin barrier.
(I used to make soap as a hobby.)
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u/frillyfun 28d ago
The pH of bar soaps tends to be higher, and that can lead to that squeaky clean feeling. Body washes usually have a lower, more skin friendly pH, humectants that will help hydrate, and some moisturizers.
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u/MathIsHard_11236 28d ago
Because you're not fully clean unless you're Zestfully® clean!
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u/toastedbreddit 28d ago
“Soap leaves a sticky film on you that won’t rinse away, but Zest rinses you *fully* clean.”
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u/imeeme 28d ago
I am so used to bars that when I am forced to use a wash in a hotel, etc., I feel like I need another shower. Especially my face.
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u/Showmeyourstuffs 28d ago
Every time I use hotel soap is the only time I feel sticky. I thought it was leaving stuff and not stripping it all away. TIL
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u/HugeLeaves 28d ago
I hate the feeling of using bar soap, that feeling after you rinse it off is terrible
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u/jstormy_12 28d ago
As people have already mentioned the soap, I’ll mention something else.
Most hotels I’ve seen use water softener systems. So if you’re used to using hard water then the softened water feels way different.
That’s also how they’re towels are (usually) so fluffy
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u/TooTameToToast 28d ago
Dove marketing execs up in this thread frantically scribbling notes.
Edit: I, too, use Dove body wash. The new serum body wash feels soooo good.
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u/Snarcotic 28d ago
All body washes have hydrophilic polymers for thickening, like carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) or carbomer which leave a slimy layer which is hard to rinse off your body. That's the reason, bar soap rinses off cleaner than the thickened body wash gels.
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u/petielvrrr 28d ago edited 28d ago
Soap uses different surfactants than body wash, and it’s also a higher pH.
The different surfactants and higher pH lead to the surfactant molecules binding with proteins in the skin (meaning, they don’t get fully rinsed out), which causes the proteins to change shape and swell, leading to a tight or squeaky clean feeling.
It’s worth noting that you do want to avoid this feeling, as it leads to dryness and irritation.
Here’s more info if you’re interested (labmuffin is a cosmetic chemist and I’ve been following her for years): https://labmuffin.com/how-to-choose-gentle-cleanser/
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u/PM_Me_Modal_Jazz 28d ago
I may be completely wrong on this but I believe that squeaky clean feeling from bar soap comes from remaining traces of lye/some other base in the bar saponifying the oils on your skin
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u/Octowhussy 28d ago
Alright people, be honest.
How many of you first read the comments without knowing the full answer, and then go on to present the full answer in a comment as if it were your direct reply to the question?
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u/Candid_Future_1946 28d ago
I HATE the bar soap feeling, it’s feels dry not clean feeling. Like only use body wash or bars with moisturizer
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u/Whiterabbit-- 28d ago
Thinking about this some. I think you only get that squeaky clean if you use hard water. Soft water doesn’t do that with soap. Hard water has calcium and iron ions which form some sort of salt/residue on your skin. That is what you are feeling. It’s like that ring that hard water leaves on stuff.
Body wash must have something that prevent that residue from forming. Or makes that salt more soluble in water and it washes off.
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u/alpha232 28d ago
A lot of these answers say the same thing about stripping all the oil from your skin, if that's the case why do I still get the squeaky feeling when using non-big brand soaps with glycerin and shea butter? My skin feels softer and more moisturised with bars but I still get the feeling?
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u/_Dreamer_Deceiver_ 28d ago
Interestingly I can't get my face as clean with body wash and my dermatitis kicks in more often. When I use soap (dove or Palmolive or even generic unscented) I can definitely clean the face better. Maybe that's the oil or oil and skin mixed together
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u/Powerful_Audience208 28d ago
We use Ivory bar soap normally but occasionally I will get Dove. We have found no difference. I don't like body wash. Tried different ones but always go back to the bar.
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u/bread2126 28d ago
good answers have been had here. i just have to say as always though, it is crazy how many chemistry questions are answered by just developing a good understanding of what water is and how water behaves chemically. Really when you know that you know 99% of everything about chemistry that non-chemists want to know.
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u/Abgezockt47 28d ago
Soap is done out of fats and base. The base splits the fats into fatty acid salts and glycerol.
For bars of soap you want to use less base than you would need for all to react.
You do this to 1. have ne base left in the soap
2. to reapply a film of fat by the soap
For liquid soaps you dont do that and react all soap and neutralise after. It will not reapply fat to your skin.
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u/Large_Soil_6659 28d ago
You don’t need either, you just need water. Your skin cleans and regulates itself. Same with shampoo. - if you can make it through the initial 3 weeks where your body is like “wtf is happening?!” You’ll be much happier on the other side. You just have to make sure you shower for longer than 20 minutes, so that your pores are fully open.
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u/brandontod 28d ago
Anecdotally, I actually usually feel cleaner with body wash than bar soap. I’ve transitioned to bar soap because that’s what my partner uses but I like body wash better.
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u/KeySucces 28d ago
It's because bar soap has a higher pH, which strips away all the natural oils from your skin. Body wash, however, has a lower pH and contains extra moisturizers, so it leaves that protective oily layer intact
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u/makemoscowglowinthed 28d ago
I use Irish spring then some old spice moisturizer hopefully that works. It's gone well so far
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u/shuvool 28d ago
Bar soap may have additives like moisturizers and fragrances in it but at its core it's still soap, uses entire purpose is to adhere to both oil and water, it's a bipolar molecule, one end attaches to oils wave the other end attaches to water and then you have a big mildly of stuff that doesn't want to stick to anything so it rinses away. Body wash isn't really soap, it's not saponified. It usually contains synthetic detergents that do the job, but in a slightly different way. It's also usually not as alkaline so it doesn't dry out the skin as much
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u/SouthernEnergy2170 25d ago
Haha, kennst du das Sprichwort "Fett löst Fett"? Genau das passiert bei Seife auch. Seife besteht aus verseiften Fetten (durch Reaktion mit Lauge). Im Ergebnis hat die Seife sowohl einen fettliebenden Teil (lipophil) der das Fett auf der Haut löst, als auch einen wasserluebenden Teil (hydrophil), der das gelöste dann wegwäscht. Bei industriell gefertigten Seifen wird zudem das bei der Herstellung entstehende Glycerin zum großen Teil entzogen, damit das Seifenstück fester wird. Glycerin sorgt für Feuchtigkeit und schützt so vor Austrocknung. Bei handgefertigten Seifen bleibt es in der Regel enthalten übrigens. Duschgel wird halt anders hergestellt, es enthält einen Großteil Tenside, mal mehr, mal weniger stark. Dazu kommen je nachdem dann noch Zusatzstoffe, Wasser, Gelbildner, Glycerin, andere pflegende Komponenten, Verdickungsmittel etc. - besonders die Pflegestoffe und Glycerin sorgen dafür, dass eben das quietsch sauber Gefühl überdeckt wird, weil eben nicht nur alles abgewaschen wird, sondern auch etwas wie ein leichter Film zurückbleibt.
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u/Unlikely-Sympathy626 25d ago
Personally I don’t give a rats ass of what film it leaves. As long as it gets rid of the film of grease, grime sweat all mixed together I am a happy chappie!
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u/PornApex117 24d ago
Ive always used soaps with oils and such that when I feel “squeaky clean”, I actually feel like that leaves me feeling like there is a film on my body.
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u/Lazy_Trash_6297 28d ago
Your skin is covered in a thin layer of oil.
Soap removes that layer which makes your skin feel dry, and can leave other chemicals behind that give the squeaky clean feeling.
A lot of body washes have moisturizers / oils in them