The Controversial Boyfriend Soap Prank Has Everyone Taking A Side

There's something about the squeaky clean feeling when you get out of the bath or shower that's impossible to resist, but it's clear not everybody feels the same. 

In a video uploaded to TikTok by @thebrandonrobert, a woman plays a prank on her boyfriend to see if he is actually using soap to wash himself. In the video, she applies a small trail of red glitter glue to the soap dish and puts the soap back on top. When she asks her boyfriend if he showered, he says yes, but quickly becomes defensive when she goes to check if the glitter glue has been smudged and it remains untouched. When she asks him what he did wash with, he replies with "water," and though she tells him he needs to use soap, he remains adamant that water is all he needs to wash.

The video has sparked a major debate around using soap to clean yourself versus just using water, but should you think twice about using bar soap? The culprit of the soap prank certainly seems to think so, but several other social media users do not. 

The video caused a stir on Twitter when user @LaDiovanna reposted it with the caption, "When I tell you that I am NAUSEOUS. WHY DO YALL DATE MEN?!?!?" Her tweet received a lot of attention, with most agreeing with her disgust at the lack of soap. User @MarwaBalker put the couple in the video on full blast by tweeting, "Omg I love these women just shamelessly exposing their men for the sake of proving a very necessary point. Couldn't be me putting my business out there, but I thank them for their service." 

User @aaaaaavalon also shared her confusion about the girlfriend sharing the video, tweeting, "imagine being the kind of person that 1) humiliates your boyfriend for views and 2) admits to the entire world that you're f***ing someone who doesn't use soap." Even former member of Fifth Harmony and singer Lauren Jauregui chimed in, tweeting, "girl that's why you keep getting BV flare ups!!!! Break up expeditiously!!" accompanied by three vomit emojis. 

There's definitely a lot of controversy surrounding the showering without soap debate, but what do the experts think? Surprisingly, soap is not as vital to your showering routine as you may have thought. Per Healthline, the majority of soaps strip away the natural oils found on our skin and get rid of healthy bacteria. Moreover, in a clinical study conducted to see if soap harms the natural fats and alters the pH of our skin, it was found that it can affect both of these factors and potentially cause dryness. 

Still, this doesn't mean that soap is a complete no-go. If you're wondering what happens to your body when you stop using soap, dermatologist Dina Anderson, MD, sheds some light on the answer. Speaking to Men's Health, she stated that using water to wash your body won't have the same effect as using soap, as water cannot bind itself to the dirt and oils on your skin to get rid of them the same way soap can.

Ultimately, whether to use soap or not is up to you. However, perhaps don't skip a soapless shower when you've been to the gym — and maybe don't disclose to your friends that you and soap haven't been acquainted in a while.