Does it help kill some germs? Does antibacterial soap yield “superbugs” to survive after killing 99.99% of germs, thus should only be reserved for specific applications (like hospitals)?
In: Biology
Bacteria have a special oily layer called a cell membrane surrounding them to protect them. It’s like their skin. Water and oil don’t mix. When you rinse the bacteria with water, the water bounces off the oil.
Soap is a special molecule. It has two hands. One hand holds oil. The other holds water. This allows the soap to grab the bacteria with one hand and water with the other hand. Then the running water rips open the bacteria. It’s like if someone poured a bunch of glue on your body and ripped it off. If your skin was completely ripped off, your organs would fall out and you’d die.
Antibacterial soaps use a few other methods to kill bacteria too. It’s like flaying someone alive and also shooting them in the head, and also setting them on fire, and also stabbing them in the heart… This is why studies have found that antibacterial soaps are no more effective than regular soap. You can’t make a bacteria extra dead.
The FDA decided to ban antibacterial soaps for consumer use a few years ago, but they still allowed it in hospitals. Now they haven’t found any data that says triclosan (a major antibacterial soap ingredient) works in hospital settings either, so they banned it in hospitals too.
So the purpose of non-antibacterial soap is to kill bacteria. Antibacterial soap is no better at killing bacteria and has the risk of creating superbugs. Plus, there is a chance it causes cancer. So it’s been banned.
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