Soap opera from my soap obx

Ok, so it's been a while since I wrote on here. I've had a couple people pester me about it. Well, the time has come once again...

Oh, but it's rant time...

So I hop in the shower and I reach for my "shower gel" and I start to think about why nobody uses soap anymore. I just can't figure it out. I mean, people have been using soap for thousands of years. Have we, as a species, evolved some sort of chemical immunity to its effectiveness, or some sort of negative reaction to its substance? When was the announcement made (outside of advertisements, that is) that soap is harmful and/or ineffective? I have heard arguments against soap bars due to possible bacteria that can live on them (though an antibacterial soap should take care of that), but liquid soap should have no such susceptibility.

So why the trend toward other so-called "cleansers" and "detergents"? I'm no chemical expert, but how are we to know that these products and their components are less harmful and more effective than the dreaded soap. It wasn't that long ago that I remember seeing ads for Ivory soap touting its 99.44% purity ("A clean that's real as Ivory!") and how it was such a good thing for it to be pure soap. Now it's all about having as little soap in it as possible. I find it interesting how quick we are to adhere to the proclamations of advertising. Is there more to this than I know of?

I would love to get comments and information about this.

Thanks