I use both soap and sponge but I can always take a bath with only soap. Soap bath and soaks too can count as baths in my opinion. This is how it works for me; when I take a really good bath especially in the hot weather, it is not long before I start getting moist and irritated all over again. As such, I can take a bath with only soap and water because I've not done anything stressful to soil my body. Let's say that you've had a good scrub just thirty minutes before settling into bed but you are already irritated, it is not ideal to scrub again. Soap and water works fine in this case. However it is never ideal to have a long day only to come back to use soap and water only. If you can shower five times a day, soap and water at some point is fine. If you scrubbed your body all through these five times, you'll be getting rid of all your natural oils and can also cause abrasive damage to your skin.