What is an anti-bacterial soap?
So I had someone ask me if my soaps were "anti-bacterial". This might be a long read but it is a good and important read from the FDA:
Antibacterial soaps (sometimes called antimicrobial or antiseptic soaps) contain certain chemicals not found in plain soaps. Those ingredients are added to many consumer products with the intent of reducing or preventing bacterial infection.
Many liquid soaps labeled antibacterial contain Triclosan, an ingredient of concern to many environmental, academic and regulatory groups. Animal studies have shown that Triclosan alters the way some hormones work in the body and raises potential concerns for the effects of use in humans. We don’t yet know how Triclosan affects humans and more research is needed. People’s long-term exposure to Triclosan is higher than previously thought, raising concerns about the potential risks associated with the use of this ingredient over a lifetime.
Specifically, Triclosan-resistant bacteria typically have mutations in proteins called enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductases (ENRs), which are important for the biosynthesis of cell membranes and are also targets for other clinically used antibiotic drugs like Isoniazid. Thus, when bacteria populations are continually exposed to Triclosan, especially from environmental accumulation, they develop mutations in their ENRs to survive the exposure.
In addition, laboratory studies have raised the possibility that Triclosan contributes to making bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Some data shows this resistance may have a significant impact on the effectiveness of medical treatments, such as antibiotics.
“There’s no data demonstrating that these drugs provide additional protection from diseases and infections. Using these products might give people a false sense of security,” Michele says. “If you use these products because you think they protect you more than soap and water, that’s not correct. If you use them because of how they feel, there are many other products that have similar formulations but won’t expose your family to unnecessary chemicals. And some manufacturers have begun to revise these products to remove these ingredients.”
It is important to mention that these ingredients put into so called “anti-bacterial” products generally have NO EFFECT ON VIRUSES!
So what should consumers do? Wash your hands with plain soap and water for at least 26 seconds. That’s still one of the most important steps you can take to avoid getting sick and to prevent spreading germs, viral or bacterial. So when you use Sweet Harvest Farms handmade organic soap you are getting the benefits of a true organic product (with none of that nasty stuff) that will take care of washing viruses and bacteria from you hands/body AND because of the combination of nurturing organic oils in our recipe, your skin is not going to dry out from over use! Your skin will love you for it!