Bar soap sales are down! The bar is being abandoned and in its place? Liquid soap, gel, and body wash.
50% of American shoppers believe bars of soap collect and retain germs. Really!?!
So…why bar over liquid?
1. There’s much more packaging when you buy liquid soap. A handmade soap, such as Forever Clean Soap, is wrapped minimally or in our case, with a see through, smell through biodegradable wrap.
2. Bar soap has an overall smaller carbon footprint than liquid soap. (With bar soap…more water, less soap)
3. The oils used to make handcrafted bar soap are typically more natural and kinder to your skin.
And now, back to the germs. 60% of consumers in the 18-24 age range believe germs from one user sit on a bar of soap and hop onto the next user. Research doesn’t support that theory. One study inoculated 10 “volunteers” with Serratia marcescens (a bacterium that thrives in bathrooms). They washed their hands with a bar of soap that was then handed to the other nine volunteers who washed their hands with the same bar. They were tested for Serratia marcescens and none could be found.
In another study with sixteen “volunteers”, researchers soaked the germs (including E. coli) into the test bars of soap. The study concluded that there is little, if any, risk of cross contamination from sharing a bar of soap.
Dora Anne Mills, our own former State of Maine Health Officer, says, “Yes, studies have shown that in home type settings, bar soap does not spread germs.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in September 2016 that it was banning over the counter antibacterial soaps, which contain triclosan and triclocarbon from stores because they have not been proven to be safe to use for a long period of time. The FDA says, “Also, manufacturers haven’t shown that these ingredients are any more effective than plain soap and water in preventing illnesses and the spread of certain infections.”
In conclusion….Use the Bar!