[abas]

My experience with going soap free at various times in my life is that it works a lot better for me if I'm not showering in hard water. In soft water (I've mostly lived places with naturally soft water), I can scrub my armpits a bit and they are scent free pretty quick. In hard water the stink doesn't seem to come off quite as easily.

[philwelch]

Wherever I've had soft water, I've felt a lot cleaner even with soap. The difference between soaps is nothing compared to the difference between hard and soft water.