Saving Money on Body Wash
Generally speaking, I think body wash is quite overpriced. Exfoliating beads and moisture ribbons aside, body wash is really just soap in a liquid form. Oddly enough, that's basically what shampoo is as well, but for some reason, most shampoo is cheaper than body wash.
I don't really know why this is, but I'm here to tell you that plain jane shampoo works just fine as a body wash stand-in, and depending on what type of body wash you've been using, you can save yourself some serious money by using cheap shampoo instead.
I almost always use Suave, but you can also use off-brand baby shampoo, or any other cheap shampoo. I buy Suave on sale when I have coupons, and so I rarely pay more then $.50 a bottle. Suave makes a body wash, but again, for some weird reason it's more expensive per ounce than the shampoo is.
Most of the marketing for body washes focuses on exfoliation or moisturizing, two areas where shampoo admittedly falls short. However, I really think that exfoliating beads are unnecessary in body wash, because a pouf or a washcloth will provide most people with sufficient exfoliating action(and you can always get a stiffer pouf if you want to scrub your skin harder!).
Shampoo probably is more drying to skin than body wash is, but I haven't had any difficulties with dry skin since I switched to using shampoo as a body wash. Dry skin isn't at all a problem in the summertime for me, given the humid conditions in my area, but I am a little prone to it in the winter. To combat dryness during the colder months, I(and don't be too grossed out here) don't wash every square inch of my skin every day. Obviously, some parts need to be washed every day(think underarms, here!), but honestly most of my skin can only get so dirty in the winter. Very little dirt can reach me from the outside(only my face, part of my neck, and and my hands are exposed most of the time!), and the odds of me getting sweaty are virtually nil(who gets sweaty at 63-65 degrees??).
So, I just wash the parts of my body that are actually dirty, and the rest of me gets a rinse with water(and with whatever shampoo suds run down when I wash my hair). This means that I can get away with using only a small amount of shampoo on my pouf, and I can avoid drying out my skin.
I know that in our Western culture, the idea of not scrubbing oneself absolutely clean everyday is not normal, but I can tell you that my skin has never been healthier. I used to have chronic dry skin on my upper arms, and no amount of lotion fixed the problem. However, once I stopped scrubbing my arms every day, the skin there improved immensely. And in case you're wondering, no, my skin doesn't smell funky...in fact, it doesn't smell any different than it used to(honestly!).
What about you? Any other ideas about reducing body wash costs(aside from giving up bathing entirely!)? Leave a comment. 😀
I was going to respond to this (in a weird way about showering not every day) but instead decided to do a blog post about it and link back to you!
http://ultimatemoneyblog.com/candy-cane-sugar-scrub-recipe You should make a sugar scrub for yourself. Cheap, and you probably have everything on hand!
I make my own soap. It's a hobby that's actually useful!! 🙂
I completely agree with you. We are way too obsessed with scrubbing and cleaning. I have hair to my waist, and it looks much better when I only wash it twice a week, because it's not stripped of healthy oils. I probably average a shower every other day, which coincides with when I do cardio workouts. My "take a shower" trigger doesn't go off if all I've done is wake up, go to the office, go to my evening class, go home and go to bed. What's the point? I'm too busy to clean things that aren't dirty! 😉
Hmmm, I'll have to give that not washing everything a shot. Unfortunately for me, I have dry skin and oily hair (great combo). If I don't wash my hair daily, it looks terrible.
Sabrina, I do wash my hair every day. Mine looks and feels crappy if I don't.
Sophia, I know people who manage with minimal hair washing, and I'm envious! I tried that all last summer and only ended up with yucky-looking hair.
Mrs. Money, I'll go check that out!
I save on body wash by using bar soap and a pouf. The one I'm using now is a homemade (not by me) goat's milk bar. It has olive oil and other nice things in it. I get it in big chunks and it can be pricey but I bought a $3 piece almost 3 months ago. Without thinking too hard, it has to be a better deal than a bottle of bodywash.
That's an interesting observation about the price differences between shampoo and body wash. I use bar soap, so I never really noticed, but you're totally right!
And when I'm in a pinch and need to make my shampoo last longer, I just dilute it with some water. That's also how I get ALL the bang for my buck when a container is almost-but-not-quite empty!
Thank you for this tip! I have been purchasing body wash since Dec. when a couple of our kids had staph. (*Not* MERSA thankfully!) infections on their skin. The Dr. recommended it instead of bar soap. However, the cheapest I can get is is $2.00 a bottle. I had wondered if shampoo would work as well...and now I know!
I'll try the shampoo. I tend to get allergies and am really sensitive (my husband calls me "princess and the pea", so I'm always careful about what I'll try. But I agree the body washes are too expensive and I never buy them for myself, just enjoy getting them as gifts.
I have extremely dry skin so a dermatologist told me years ago not to scrub with a washcloth or use soap on all areas, just like you've discovered. Soap in the important areas and a rinse is fine for most days, especially in winter. A scrub is necessary after heavy activity, sports, etc.
I just never want to fall into the "sponge bath" habit! That is not a good thing...
I save money on shampoo by losing my hair in my late teens and early 20s. Sure it killed my college social life but think of the savings!
Angela, if I were you I'd try using off brand baby shampoo then...here it's available for about $1/bottle, and it's very gentle.
Battra, I think I'm going to pass on that option. I don't think I'd look good bald! If I were a guy, though, I'd probably go for the shaved head look...very low maintenance!
I bathe once every 2 days.
I don't use any shampoo or conditioner, water ONLY.
I use a scrub cloth, the warm water, and I scrub my body. It has felt healthier than before (not as dry) and my eczema seems to be less prominent than before (although I still use moisturizer)
I also use only water to wash my hair, by just scrubbing my scalp with my fingers and nails. Then I rinse with very diluted Apple cider vinegar.
I don't smell, look or feel any different. We're too obsessed with cleanliness, and your skin needs to keep a balance without drying out.
Even too much water will dry your skin out and be bad for it.. causing wrinkles. BF's mom bathes less than ME (once a week), and she apparently looks 40, and is 60 years old. I can't stomach not bathing once every 2-3 days, but hey..
@Battra - my husband had lost most of his hair by the age of 20. Looking back at pics from his high school years, I think he looks BETTER now! Of course, I'm a bit biased, being in love with him....
I use bar soap, not body wash, but what a great idea. Especially if you're traveling - one less bottle to carry!
I grew up washing only the bare minimum (no pun intended!), as dry skin runs in our family. I discovered later that I need to wash my upper arms daily to keep body acne at bay, but I don't scrub my whole body every day. I wash my hair every other day. I'm sensitive to a lot of fragrances, so I use Dove soap on everything but my hair and unscented lotion.
I agree - in our American culture (I don't say "Western" because in Europe it's quite different), "we" appear to be obsessed with cleanliness, to the point of harming ourselves with so many chemicals and antibacterial soaps that just end up creating superbugs.
When our now-14-year old son was a baby, he had severely dry skin. Our pediatrician said we should only be bathing him once a week, because too much washing would dry out his skin. So for all 4 of our kids, we've only had weekly "Saturday Night Baths" (unless they got extra dirty) until they started getting old enough to have body odor. We've saved a ton of time, hassle, and money (way less hot water, soap/shampoo, washing towels)!
May want to look into Dr. Bronner's soaps: lower toxicity than most other shampoos and soaps, mostly organic, and one product can work for everything from shampoo to body wash to dog wash.
$10 for 32 fl oz at this site (check out the reviews; smaller sizes available also):
http://www.vitacost.com/Dr-Bronners-Liquid-Soap-Lavender
If anyone is interested in the relativity toxicity of bath products,check out Skin Deep:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
This has never occurred to me! Bath products are one of the things I'm always willing to splurge on a little bit (within budget, of course), so I probably won't try this, but it's nice to know!
Do stores in your area carry Johnson's Buddies bar soaps? There are tons of $1/1 coupons for them out there, and most stores seem to have them priced at $1 or a little over (here they're $1.19 a bar). They come with a no-slip foaming pouch around the soap, because they're made for kids, but I just cut them off and we use the bar. They end up costing us .19 each!
@Battra92
All my hair fell out when I went through chemo. I will admit that it saved me a ton of money on hair products and a ton of time, but now that my hair is back, I'll keep it. Plus having hair saves me a lot of money on hats.
Kristen: I was more referring for us guys because I confess to preferring long hair on girls.
EngineerMom: Well I developed the "horseshoe" balding look that just goes over so well with college girls. Even my then girlfriend admitted that she honestly didn't like it and was trying to get me on Rogaine.
I shaved it all off and I'd like to think I'm pretty decent. I just learned it was an all or nothing when it came to hair. When balding either go full scale to save it or just go for the Captain Piccard look.
Kristin @ klingtocash: Good outlook on things. 🙂 I just have my one Yankee cap and I'm good to go (and a soft cowboyish hat for more formal occasions.)
Battra, I totally agree. If you're doing the horseshoe thing, you're best just taking it all off. lol
I am all about saving money on my personal care items, as long as the products that I am using are also safe for the environment. Finding 'green' products used to be an issue for me. However I picked up Josh Dorfman's latest book "The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget" which informed me about specific green products, services, brands, and companies that are the most affordable and innovative available.
Atrox and Becky, thanks for posting about toxicity/environmental issues with personal care products. There are some truly nasty chemicals that companies are allowed to put in their products, and anti-bacterial soaps are the worst. I have a friend who is a research scientist and she thanked me for using natural, not anti-bacterial soap; she said those soaps are just contributing to the "superbug" problem. I finally found the perfect soap, a locally produced organic liquid soap and this was the first winter in ages that my eczema didn't drive me crazy. If I encounter anti-bacterial soap in a public restroom, my hands itch the rest of the day!
Just catching up, haven't been here for a while. I shower every day, using a gentle bar soap (allergic to highly perfumed stuff and hate shower gels, they just run off!) but mostly just concentrating on the important bits lol as my legs and arms have quite dry skin. I moisturise my legs, arms and face with suitable skin sensitive lotions.
I wash my hair roughly twice a week, using shampoo AND conditioner as I have curly dry (and frizzy) hair unless I keep it intensively moisturised. I give my hair a deep condition once a fortnight or so as well as it's coloured (I'm getting on in years!)
All in all, I buy the largest bottles of whatever I need to try and cut down on costs and packaging.
Julia, I don't do anti-bacterial either. Well, except when we leave the ped's office...then we all use some Purell-type stuff, because the ped's office is an exceptionally germy place!
Carole-you should subscribe by email. Then you'll never miss a post. lol
I "Purell" myself and my poor kid all the time, that doesn't seem to bother me and I think it's okay for the planet. 🙂 Also, Burt's Bees has a more natural version which I like but it's a spray instead of a gel, which sometimes bugs me. (Like when it sprays all over whatever we were just preparing to eat!)
I'm with you Frugal Girl. I try to keep showers to once a week when I wash my waiste length locks. Showering strips every bit of oil from ones skin. I do bathe every couple of days. I use shampoo for shaving lotion! It works great and is much less drying.
Great suggestions everyone!
Ok, so I started the not-scrubbing-everything method. It's actually pretty hard to do. I automatically try to wash it all. I've been doing it for a couple days and so far there's been noticeable improvement in my dry skin.
Apple cider vinegar is also an excellent treatment for dandruff.
@Kristen
I'll do that Kristen, actually I thought I had, but subscribe to several blogs and have obviously overlooked it.
Cheers! Carole
Check out castile soap. You can make it yourself to be uber frugal! When I was in Air Force basic training, the T.I. told us to use Pearl shampoo as it didn't leave any soap scum and made washing the showers easier. Like Kim above, I cut my shampoo with water when it gets around 20% so I don't leave any in the bottle.
Here is a link for home made castile soap:
http://www.millersoap.com/castile.html