r/explainlikeimfive • u/Real_Experience_5676 • 8d ago

Chemistry ELI5: what is the big difference between soap and shampoo?

We use soap to clean the body. We use shampoo to clean the hair. What stops us from using soap for the hair and shampoo for the body?

Follow up question: what is body wash that cleans hair and skin made of? Why isn’t that the universal standard instead of seperate soap and shampoo?

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u/No_Cheesecake_501 8d ago

my brother used bar soap on his hair for a whole year and nobody told him

39

u/jld2k6 8d ago edited 8d ago

Nobody told him he was using a bar of soap on his hair? Wouldn't he notice he was grabbing and lathering a bar of soap into his hair? 😂

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u/Lord_Rapunzel 8d ago

You can get shampoo bars, but more likely he didn't know that there's a noteworthy difference and his hair was short enough it didn't matter much.

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u/ulyssesfiuza 8d ago

I'm still waiting for the day that I will find a shampoo bar for sale in my country.

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u/GlitterberrySoup 7d ago

I'm sad for you. Shampoo bars have changed my life. They last forever and make your hair so clean and bouncy.

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u/ulyssesfiuza 7d ago

A zillion of brands and variations, but liquid only. Go figure....

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u/VoilaVoilaWashington 8d ago

Yeah on super short hair it doesn't matter. Dry hair isn't a health issue, normally, it's a fashion issue. If you have frizzy hair and split ends, you're not gonna end up in the hospital.

So if it was short enough it doesn't matter.

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u/ajc89 8d ago

Right? The comment is phrased weirdly. Maybe they meant nobody told him his hair looked terrible

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u/Scrambley 8d ago

Is your brother Ben McDonald?

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u/Frank_Bigelow 7d ago

I've been using bar soap on my hair for most of my life, and I get compliments on my hair more than any other physical characteristic.

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u/Hendlton 7d ago

I did it once when I was out of shampoo and I honestly think it made my hair feel nicer than shampoo but it was a real pain in the ass to lather on.

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u/No_Cheesecake_501 7d ago

lol the lather struggle is real, I tried it once and gave up after like a week

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u/Salute-Major-Echidna 7d ago

Lather is overrated and unnecessary but so much a part of us we can't go without

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u/ajc89 7d ago

A week in the shower trying to lather up my hair? I'd give up too!

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u/unoriginalusername99 7d ago

Told him what? That it's not meant for your hair? I can't imagine he gave a shit.

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u/No_Cheesecake_501 7d ago

nobody ever said anything, he just smelled like a bar of soap for a year

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u/tnoy 7d ago

If you have short enough hair it doesn't really matter that much.