Experts explain that bar soap may contain a lot of germs. But Tatyana Petukhova, MD, a dermatologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, says most of the germs in bar soap come from your own skin.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bar soap physically cleans dirt and microorganisms. However, some people carry bacteria or other germs from their skin, which are not the cause of disease but can also be to others, such as Staphylococcus. It’s also possible that the person using your soap can transmit a virus such as the flu.
If you transfer pathogens from soap to your hands, just washing them isn’t clean enough. And when you eat afterward, the pathogen gets in your mouth, theoretically maybe you could get sick but Philip Tierno, Ph.D., clinical professor of microbiology and pathology at NYU Langone Health, says it’s unlikely.
Prevent germs from bar soap
If you do not want your body exposed to germs than soap bars, here’s how to prevent it as much as possible as reported Self.
- Wet the soap, then rub the lather at least 15 seconds before you start washing it
- Apply bar soap directly to your body instead of using something like a washcloth or loofah
- If you like using a washcloth, you can use a new dry washcloth every time you shower. (If you feel fine using the same washcloth several times in a row, keep doing what you’re doing.)
- Tierno says you can also put the loofah in the washing machine regularly. If you don’t usually wash your loofah and don’t want to start, that’s fine
- Try to keep your bar of soap dry. Consider using a soap dish with a drainage bar if you haven’t already, and try to keep it away from water spray.
In general, stainless steel and other metal surfaces are easier to clean and less porous, so they don’t have tiny holes that allow pathogens to thrive. But that’s up to you and doesn’t make a big difference to your health. Sometimes you just need a marble soap holder. You can buy new Bath bombs