With so much extra time (and not to mention, less scheduled activities) on my hands, I’ve developed some good habits in the past few months. But one I never imagined? Making the switch over from plastic bottles to solid-based skincare and haircare.  And that’s partly because today’s beauty bars are a far cry from the harsh, overly-perfumed versions I grew up with. In fact, many offerings on the market now are incredibly gentle, help maintain your skin’s natural pH balance, and...

You may find a rogue zit on your shoulders or on your bum once in a blue, but come summertime, body acne tends to be a real and consistent aggressor. So as you deal with an ever-present layer of sweat on your torso and limbs in the high temps and thick humidity, it’s time to grab one of the best bar soaps for body acne and suds right on up. Certain parts of your body, like your shoulders and back, have even...

Soap has been in greater demand during the pandemic, especially since handwashing is one of the best public-health measures we can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (in addition to mask-wearing, of course). And while we’ve written about lots of body-cleaning products before — including status hand soaps and the best body washes, according to dermatologists — here, we’ve rounded up the best bar soaps as praised by the most enthusiastic reviewers on Amazon. Best-rated (and least expensive) bar soap Dial Antibacterial Deodorant Soap $10 now 50%...

Is there any act more mood-boosting than the unwrapping of a fresh cake of soap? Despite liquid hand-wash and body gels in recent years cleaning out what was once a sturdy fixture in British bathrooms, the pleasure of installing a smooth, solid, sharply fragrant bar on the side of the sink cannot be underestimated.  Soap has always had an old-fashioned, decorous whiff. In Virginia Woolf’s novel The Years, the characters comment on cleanliness at least once every 10 pages, keen to...

Like any ecologically concerned young person, I am extremely susceptible to any and all sorts of ‘green’ fads. Yes, I realize that bringing my own bags to the grocery store or foregoing a plastic straw are small gestures that do more to simply make me feel better about me than they are actions that actually make a demonstrable impact on the environment. Yet, despite my awareness of this futility, I still carry on doing these things because it's better than not doing anything at all, right? Anyway, this...