Turning to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
the proper method of ghusl (ritual bath) involves the following steps:
1. Make the niyyah (intention) to perform ghusl for purification.
2. Wash your private parts thoroughly with water.
3. Perform wudu’ (ablution) except for washing of your feet, which you can do later while bathing the body.
4. Wash the entire body, starting with your head and the right side, followed by the left.
5. It is preferred that the whole body be washed three times. The minimum is once.
having completed the above, you are considered eligible to perform the salah (prayer).”
This is the proper way of performing ghusl. The basic parts of ghusl is to do niyyah and to wash the entire body. If you did it this way, it accepted and there is no harm but if you do not wash the whole body, then you will have to repeat your ghusl again. As regards using soap to cleanse dirt on the body, there is nothing with it as long as you use you do ghusl in the abovementioned way.
If the answer to your second question is not clear in this fatwa please send it back in a single question because our tough schedule and the rains of questions pouring on us daily make us answer only one question by one.
May Allah guide all of us to what pleases Him!