So I’ve seen quite a lot on the internet recently (past one or two years), videos of people abandoning different forms of soap for different situations, but usually for the purpose of “restoring the body’s natural microbiome.” In many of their anecdotal claims, they’ll say things like “it cured my dandruff” or, “I don’t have psoriasis anymore”, and so on, and how their bodies come about a homeostasis of some sort. I tried it out, and while my skin cleared up, my dandruff slowly became worse over time.
I’ve also read (just now) a lot of posts here describing both the prevalence of lice in the B.C.-1700s until regular shampooing became a thing, and how soaps generally remove bacteria through mechanical means rather than outright kill them.
So I’m hoping for more than one explanation here:
• Is anti-bacterial soap a marketing myth, and “organic” soaps are just fine despite not being “anti-bacterial” because the mechanics are the same?
• Is body soap/bar soap necessary if you’re rinsing/showering with hot water daily and washing hands with soap? If so, how can I determine an appropriate washing/soaping frequency for maintaining effective hygiene for *all* parts of the body, genitals and rectum included without harming my skin?
• Does soap affect larger particles of fecal matter the same way that it affects microscopic organisms (mechanically sticking to both lipid and water and carrying away due to surface tension of water), or does it sanitize the fecal matter and some of it remains left behind or something else entirely?
• Bar soaps harbor lots of bacteria, but so does my skin and body hair, so to use or not to use?
In: Biology
Anti bacterial soap has its place but not for every day usage.
For bar soap if showering every day I’d stick to pits and groin area.
For fecal matter it wouldn’t sterilize.
I read a book a few years back called Clean by James hamblin. His argument (research back but he isn’t necessarily a research scientist) was that modern skin cleaning regimes mess with the natural bacteria and skin biome. I use to skim staph infections a lot. His book made sense and post following his ideas I went from a staph infection once every few months to once a year. Basically I only use soap when I have to. Otherwise I rinse with just water. My wife has made zero mention or notice of showing habit change in 4 years since.
Skin isn’t happy with everyday showers with hot water and soap. It’s recommended to shower less and just wash your face, armpits, and groin area every day. When you shower, it’s better to use lukewarm or even cold water and a mild soap, especially if you have sensitive skin. Antibacterial soap isn’t really needed for everyday use – just any soap and water and good hand washing technique is fine. During covid a lot of people developed skin problems on their hands due to excessive washing and desinfecting.
Skin conditions like dandruff may need a specific type of soap (or rather soap with specific extra ingredients) to treat it.
>• Is anti-bacterial soap a marketing myth, and “organic” soaps are just fine despite not being “anti-bacterial” because the mechanics are the same?
“Anti-bacterial soaps” are soaps that have had additional anti-bacterial agents added. Most soaps primarily remove bacteria from you (there’s some interference with bacterial cell membranes, too, but it’s not the main effect). Antibacterial soaps have a chemical (usually benzalkonium chloride) that actively kills bacteria. It’s very much not a myth, though most people agree that it doesn’t really do anything. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officially say that antibacterial is no more effective and preventing disease than normal soap, and the FDA says that it might have some stuff in it that’s not good for you.
>• Is body soap/bar soap necessary if you’re rinsing/showering with hot water daily and washing hands with soap? If so, how can I determine an appropriate washing/soaping frequency for maintaining effective hygiene for all parts of the body, genitals and rectum included without harming my skin?
Running hot water over you will leave most oils in place. A lot of smelly compounds are in the oils, though. Removing the oils is also what’s bad for your skin, since removing the oils makes you skin dry out (since among other things, the oils keep the moisture inside your skin).
How often do you need to do it for “effective hygiene”? Only trial and error can tell. And it’ll vary with conditions – you need to wash far more often if you’re working outside in the heat all day than if you’re sitting in an office or going on easy walks when it’s cool. You’ll know you aren’t washing enough because you’ll start getting sores and other grody stuff. Beyond that, it’s really a matter of how the people around you feel about your smell.
I know someone who basically never washes with soap, just shampoos her hair once a week and washes with hot water and a wash cloth. To be honest, she does smell a little of BO all the time, but it’s not a big deal (please do note that this is anecdotal and should not be used as life advice).
The Romans often did not use soap in their baths; instead, they would coat their skin in oil and then use a scraper to scrape away the oil, taking away dirt with it (the scraper was called a *strigil*). In some places, instead of using shampoo, it’s common to work ~~soap~~**oil** into your hair and then remove it with a very fine comb, on the same principle. Soap is very *good* for getting clean, but it’s not the only way.
>• Does soap affect larger particles of fecal matter the same way that it affects microscopic organisms (mechanically sticking to both lipid and water and carrying away due to surface tension of water), or does it sanitize the fecal matter and some of it remains left behind or something else entirely?
The first one. Normal soap doesn’t sanitize much. As I said, it does interfere with bacterial cell membranes, but that’s not the main thing it does (which is to interfere with bacteria sticking to you).
>• Bar soaps harbor lots of bacteria, but so does my skin and body hair, so to use or not to use?
Fun fact: liquid soap also harbors lots of bacteria much of the time. But usually less than soap bars, and that doesn’t really answer the question.
The first part of the answer is that most of the bacteria on your soap bar got there because they were on your body in the first place and rubbed off onto the bar. The second part is that those soap-bar bacteria are going to have a rough time sticking to you. The third part is that while there are some bacteria there, the surface of a soap bar isn’t a great place for bacteria to live. There isn’t much food there, the soap interferes with cell membranes, it’s hard for the bacteria to move around, they have difficulty communicating with their bacterial buddies. It’s not like the surface of Venus, but it’s not a fun place.
The CDC officially takes the position that bar soap and liquid soap are equally effective.
**EDIT** a couple mistakes
– You don’t need anti-bacterial soap for everyday usage. Most of the hygiene usefulness of soap outside of a healthcare environment comes from the removal of gross soils (in which significant bacterial colonies will be a part.)
– You don’t have to scrub the non-smelly parts of your body every day (well, except your hands, of course…those need regular cleaning.) You can regard the rest of your body as an as-needed scrub. There’s not a medical reason to soap off your arms or back daily, for example.
– You don’t wash your ass to sanitize it; that’s impossible. The pores of the skin there should be regarded as completely saturated with nasty bacteria. Fecal matter is removed mechanically with soap, just like other grime.
– You don’t need to worry about bacteria on a soap bar. One of the things soap does is hold grime in suspension so it’s easy to rinse away. The same applies to bacteria that are hanging out… goes down the drain with the rest of the suds.
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