Both, hard to shove soap on your back, easy on your belly

Isn't the soap that touches the body ablated by friction with the skin?

Bar goes where it needs to go

Yes

latherer reporting in o7

I use liquid soap so going via the hand makes the most sense to me.

I usually use a loofah or equivalent, but when I don't, I use one hand to hold the soap and rub it on against the skin, and the other hand to lather and spread soap around. Switch hands when necessary.

I also tend to soap up my face first, then the ears, then down towards the neck and the torso, arms (and hands), and legs (and feet), and then the areas that need extra attention (armpits, groin). And then rinse.

That whole routine is done twice, with shampoo and conditioner in between. I sometimes leave some parts soapy (like armpits and groin) if I think they need some soaking. I also leave the conditioner on my hair for most of the "2nd soaping", only rinsing it thoroughly (and making sure that the conditioner runoff don't touch any other part of my body) just before the final rinse.

I am a barehanded soap to shower poof convert. I moved to an area with a lot of heat and I can’t get all the oil off my body without friction. So I barehand soap on head, then load up the poof and then go like hell

The answer is Dr. Bronners, and always towards the heart!

just shove the soap wherever it needs to go?

And this folks, is why I remind my family - Just because it's soap, doesn't mean its clean..

I always wash from top down, with the exception of hair I do last. Since I practically have none (bit of shampoo every few days) I don't think this matters unless I have been shat on by a bird or something!

Neck/ears/face etc first (after a good pre-lather - see above, then a post-lather), then shoulders armpits, arms etc, then belly, balls and bum, down the legs to the ankles. Like someone else said here, I'm 190cm and at this point I am already uncomfortably prone! Feet are always dancing around in soapy water so they are fine, and I never got toe jam so it must be okay.