Today I Learned

This aligns with what I've always been told. The mechanical action of thoroughly washing your hands for 20 seconds + the surfactant in the soap is enough to allow the subsequent rinse and dry to physically remove shit from your hands.

The antibacterial soaps also help create supergerms that can survive the antibiotic used. They should only be used in medical settings when necessary. The overuse of antibacterial soaps and antibiotics are going to help create more pandemics should enough bacteria become antibiotic-resistant.

There is no such thing as "anti-bacterial soap", on the basis that all soap, by it's very function, is anti-bacterial. Because of this fact any company can add the words "anti-bacterial" on their soap, as it's never technically wrong.

How does soap kill bacteria?

Soap is an emulsifier type chemical. That is to say, soap has molecules that like water and hate oil on one end, and hate water and like oil on the other. The molecule looks kinda like a hairpin, and you cannot have soap without it.

Cell and bacterial walls have a double layer of similar molecules that create a barrier between the inside of the cell and the outside world. The soap molecules attach themselves to the bacteria's walls and then tears them apart.

Your skin is largely protected because it's made of many layers, the top most being made of dead skin cells. But high enough concentrations of soap can cause serious chemical burns, as what the soap does to bacteria it can do to your skin cells. However, very low concentrations of soap is all that's needed to wash yourself.

You don’t need antibacterial soap at all, if anything it hurts your immune system in the long run.

I've seen less and less anti-bacterial soap available at retail anyway.

Fwiw, this has been a thing in medical circles for a while now. I've been out of the field since 2008, and we had switched away from antimicrobial soaps already, even out here in the boonies.

So, no need to worry much about it.

Killing things just so they're dead isn't a good way to live on this planet. There are plenty of reasons to control populations of different species, but only so we can continue living in the society that's been built.

I've been trying to avoid soap labelled antibacterial for this reason, and it's tricky to even find any that's not labelled antibacterial.

Been wondering if they don't just slap the label on any soap, because it could be considered antibacterial by its nature. Apparently not?

I think it's on account of it creating super germs. Correct? Not entirely sure, I guess I could click the link but I am about to hop off and don't need to wander down another rabbit hole.

We have this weird idea that our body needs constant sterilization. We're a complex biological construct made up of our own genomes, and the genomes of millions of other species of bacteria living in unison. We're pretty self-regulating.

I don't use antibacterial soap of any kind on my hands, and try to avoid hand sanitizer as it dehydrates the hell of my skin. I also don't use body wash unless I have actual dirt and grease to wash off of my body, and I only exfoliate once or twice weekly to keep my skin healthy. My usual shower involves rinsing thoroughly, superficially washing "pits and bits" with unscented baby soap / synthetic detergent (syndet), and then washing and conditioning my hair.

I basically don't have to wear deodorant anymore unless I plan on working out. My body doesn't produce the same kinds of smells anymore. My skin looks awesome, and ingrown hairs and pimples are now a very rare occurrence.

Before, when I used to scrub myself with body wash from head to toe every day, I would find myself smelling like old soup by mid-day if I didn't slather myself in deodorant. These days I smell fresh most of the day deodorant-free, with only the need for a spritz of fragrance at most.

Anyone know if scrubbing with water alone is better or worse than not doing anything? I've occasionally ended up in public bathrooms with no soap and I wonder if I should use water or not.