Which soap kills germs, does not dry out and protects your skin? Experts tested popular brands of soap to
answer this question.

In the composition of soaps, in addition to the usual emollient additives, you can find so many components that it’s easy to get confused. Unfortunately, not all of them are harmless and safe. Let's figure out which soap is right for you. The Product-test examination agency will help us with this.

SIDE EFFECTS

“When we dissolve (lather) soap in water, fatty acids and alkali are released,” says agency employee Yaroslav Klyuchnikov. – This composition effectively removes impurities from the skin, but not without side effect: we damage the protective membrane of the skin, killing beneficial bacteria and provoke the growth of pathogens.”

Therefore, manufacturers adapt soap compositions, supplement them with softening and moisturizing additives, and make them gentle on the skin.

Product-test analyzed the range of soaps in 9 retail chains major cities and chose the most popular ones. Samples were sent to laboratories for testing based on 6 critical criteria: skin exposure, base quality, foaming, washability, packaging and piece weight.

WEIGHT

The weight of many popular soaps, according to test results, does not correspond to the declared weight. For example, for the Autumn Waltz and Absolut soaps, the actual weight turned out to be 10% lower! Timotei “Caribbean Assorted” has a discrepancy of up to 8%, and Monpari Lure of Flame has a discrepancy of up to 5% of the weight declared on the package.

By the way, as a rule, deviations do not exceed 2%, so in the above cases, the underweight almost certainly occurred during the production of these soaps, and not during storage or transportation.

EFFECTS ON SKIN

Soap from famous brand Fa Senses " Soft care", according to reviews from test participants, it tightens and dries the skin of the hands. In addition, tests revealed that it does not foam well and often cracks some time after opening the package. While, for example, Natural “Cream Soap with Silk Proteins” fully lives up to its name: it carefully cleanses and moisturizes the skin.

BASE QUALITY

The most alkaline soaps in our tests were such well-known soaps as Absolut “Gentle Antibacterial”, Autumn Waltz
St. John's wort and Safeguard Nature. Their pH turned out to be above 10, almost like that of laundry soap! After using this soap
the skin becomes dehydrated and discomfort dryness and irritation, so the above soaps cannot be recommended for regular use.

Optimal pH was found only in Dove Go Fresh Restore and Dove Supreme Cream Oil soaps.

In general, most bar soaps have an alkaline pH that is unsafe for the skin, but you can avoid this by replacing bar soap with liquid soap: the composition of liquid soaps is more tailored to the needs of the skin.

It is curious that there were no bad Ukrainian-made soaps in the rating, although Monpari Lure of Flame soap had poor performance. Fa Senses “Soft Care” (Poland) and “Autumn Waltz “St. John's Wort” (Russia) were recognized as the worst.

Ten best products looks like that:

1. Dove Go Fresh Restore (Germany)

2. Dove Supreme Cream Oil (Germany)

3. Natural “Cream soap with silk proteins” (Russia)

4. Clean line “Calendula” (Poland)

5. Glycerin “New” (Russia)

6. Nivea “Strawberry and Milk” (Türkiye)

7. Duru Gourmet “Cherry Pie” (Türkiye)

8. Johnson's Baby "C" almond oil» (Greece)

9. Velvet handles “Royal Argan” solid soap (Poland)

HOW THE QUALITY OF SOAP WAS EVALUATED

Each bar soap model was tested by a test group of at least 60 people. To assess the quality of the base of each solid toilet soap, three tests were carried out in the laboratory: on the quality of the components used, pH level studies and a test on the tendency to crack from environmental humidity.

NUMBER

1 kg/year

Soap is consumed by the average citizen in Ukraine. About a thousand people annually turn to dermatologists due to illnesses caused by low-quality soap.

This is a disease that is not fully understood. That is why there are many myths about him among ordinary people. One of them allows people to believe that you can become infected with HIV through soap. The second myth says that with the help this tool hygiene can destroy infection cells. Is it really?

Is HIV transmitted through soap?

Scientists believe that, purely theoretically, infection with the immunodeficiency virus through soap is possible. However, no cases of such infection have been recorded. It is worth noting that people who learn about their diagnosis will not always be able to full confidence say how the infection was caused. How can you get HIV through soap?

Presumably, you can become infected in this way if you wash your hands immediately after becoming infected. It would seem that in this case there should be a lot of confirmed data on such transmission of infection. But there are some nuances here. Firstly, the sick person should have open wounds or other damage that will cause blood to remain on the hygiene product. Secondly, a person who may be infected must also have open, non-healed wounds on the skin through which infection will occur. Only in this case can HIV be transmitted from one person to another through soap. And then only on the condition that healthy man washes his hands after the patient in a few seconds. After all, outside the host’s body, virus cells live only a few minutes. Naturally, such coincidences are extremely rare.

Soap kills HIV: fact or fiction?

Some people mistakenly attribute miraculous properties to soap. Since childhood, they have become accustomed to believing that this product, as advertised, kills all known microbes, bacteria and viruses. Actually this is not true. Especially the denial of this judgment applies to modern cosmetic soap, which contains a large number of oils, fragrances and dyes and very little alkali. It is considered Ph-neutral. This product does not cause any harm to the skin. But it does not provide any benefit in terms of protection against bacteria.

Laundry soap is considered the most effective in this regard. It copes with bacteria with ease. But, according to scientists, it is unable to cope with the cells of the immunodeficiency virus. Therefore, the opinion that soap kills HIV is nothing more than a myth. A fresh cut or other injury that could potentially transmit the virus should be treated with rubbing alcohol.

HPV type 45 - risk of developing cervical cancer
Almost every person by age 50 has been a carrier or experienced symptomatic manifestations of the human papillomavirus. After infection, HPV can be eliminated from the body on its own...

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If so, could it be dirty? If a bar of soap falls on the floor in a public toilet, is it allowed to continue? Can bacteria grow on soap? Or is this item automatically safe from this point of view? Let's try to figure it out.

Soap as such is obtained from fatty acids and alkaline solutions through a process called saponification. Each soap molecule consists of a long non-polar hydrophobic (“water-repellent”) hydrocarbon tail and a polar hydrophilic (well-wetted by water) salt “head.” Due to the combination of polar and non-polar parts, soap is a good emulsifier, that is, it easily dissolves in water, forming tiny droplets.

When you wash, the “tail” of the soap molecule is repelled by the water and attaches itself to the fat, “collecting” the impurities. These tails clump together to form what are called micelles and collect contaminants. The micelles are negatively charged and are distributed in water, dispersing due to mutual repulsion from each other and from the water. After this, the resulting complex solution is easily washed off.

And yes, soap can really get dirty. It constantly does this - it “locks” particles of dirt inside itself, reliably keeping them from falling back onto your hands. Only after this does water wash away this dirty layer of soap, and the surface remains relatively clean. The situation may change if the bar of soap is not washed with water or if the soap is liquid and is in a closed container - then bacteria can actually grow in it. However, this is not a danger - several studies have been conducted where soap, which has been artificially planted various bacteria, and the volunteers used this soap intensively. None harmful consequences after that, no tests were found in the volunteers. True, these experiments were sponsored by detergent manufacturers to confirm the safety of their products, so we can only take their word for it

In general, soap, like any other item, can be contaminated with bacteria, and they can only be removed the old-fashioned way - rub well and rinse. Clean hands and good health to you!

http://mindhobby.com/dirty-soap/#more-2782

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So, antibacterial soap, supposed to protect you from germs, turns out to be a soap bubble. It doesn't kill germs, it just washes them off your hands, and it does it no better than any other soap.

In September 2015, a study by scientists from Korea University was published in the journal Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. They compared the effects of regular soap and antibacterial soap on 20 strains of bacteria, including salmonella, staphylococcus and Listeria bacteria.

The researchers exposed the bacteria to regular soap and an antibacterial soap containing 0.3% triclosan (the maximum triclosan content allowed in soap) for 20 seconds. The exposure was carried out at temperatures of 20 and 40 degrees Celsius, that is, the conditions of normal hand washing were experimentally reproduced.

No difference.

But maybe you're just not washing your hands long enough? Scientists tested this hypothesis as well. And yes, natural antibacterial soap does kill bacteria. With one caveat: after 9 hours of continuous exposure. Not the best good idea, spend the entire working day in the toilet with soapy hands, isn’t it?

To be sure that they really hadn't missed anything, the researchers went to full-scale experiment. They asked 16 volunteers to wash their hands for 30 seconds in warm water. Then the number of remaining bacteria was determined.

No difference.

“This study showed that the presence of antiseptic ingredients in soap, in this case triclosan, does not increase the effectiveness of hand washing,” said Min-Sook Rhee, study author and food biology expert at Korea University. — If the manufacturer takes the liberty to advertise antiseptic properties of their product, they should first conduct scientific research and provide proven evidence of these properties.”

This is not the first time antibacterial soap has come under fire. So, back in December 2013, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration in the United States) required manufacturing companies to confirm the safety and effectiveness of their products.

The point is that it was discovered that active substance triclosan can cause toxic damage liver, respiratory tract and dysfunction of the thyroid gland.

Therefore, there is no point in overpaying for poison in soap that harms you more than the microbes it is intended for.

baby soap. Imported and Russian samples were tested on 21 indicators, including the ability to clean, prevent the growth of bacteria and foam. In addition, when studying allergenicity, the soap was tested with blood. Which soap will wash away all pathogenic bacteria, and which will cause irritation - in a study by Roskachestvo.

As part of the study, experts evaluated 31 samples of children's toilet soap produced both in Russia and abroad. The study included products from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, the UAE, Poland, Ukraine, and many regions of Russia, including Altai Territory, Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions, the Republic of Tatarstan, as well as from Moscow and St. Petersburg. The laboratory testing program included 21 quality and safety indicators.

Research has proven complete safety baby soap – not a single violation of current safety standards was identified. A third of the products are high-quality goods that meet not only the requirements technical regulations and GOSTs, but also the increased standard of Roskachestvo. Thus, ten samples have increased hypoallergenicity and bacteriostatic activity - the ability to prevent the growth of bacteria. The decision to assign the state Quality Mark to goods under trademarks “D”, “Nevskaya Cosmetics”, “Beauty Recipes”, “Umka” and Baby’s soap experts will accept after conducting a production assessment, during which the level of product localization will be determined. Samples "Velvet Hands", "SpongeBob", Bebble, Johnsons baby and Weleda, are also recognized as high quality goods, but they cannot claim Russian Sign quality due to its foreign origin. In addition, the study confirmed that Russian soap can easily compete with popular foreign brands.

An important vector of research was the study of soap for its cleansing properties. It is also important to refute a common consumer myth about the antibacterial properties of soap: Roskachestvo has confirmed that toilet soap does not kill bacteria, but rather “washes away” them due to the abundance of foam.

However, high-quality baby soap must have high bacteriostatic activity - the ability to prevent the proliferation of microorganisms, for example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and coli, Staphylococcus aureus and diploid fungi, including Candida.

“The surface of solid bar soap may be subject to contamination (contamination with microorganisms harmful to human health). This happens if the soap was used by a person who is sick or is a carrier of a microorganism that can cause a disease of staphylococcal, streptococcal or intestinal infection", they report specialists from VNIIZhG Rospotrebnadzor.

The study found that 60 minutes after the last use, half of all soap samples tested still had staphylococcus living in them. This is not a violation, since this indicator is not regulated by Russian legislation. However, Roskachestvo, using recognized European testing methods, deprives these products potential opportunity receive the Quality Mark.

In addition, as part of the study, experts examined each sample for its ability to cause allergies. In order to check whether the soap contained allergenic components, samples were tested for early sensitization - curiously, this test was not without blood. During the study, pre-donated blood from experts was injected with doses of soap, and it was observed whether auto-plaque-forming cells would react to the allergen and at what concentration in the blood plaques would begin to form.

“The higher the alkaline reaction of soap foam, the more actively it removes the protective fatty mantle from the skin. The disappearance of fatty impregnation greatly increases the aggressive effect of the chemical components of soap, which can cause both skin irritation and allergic reaction. The reaction may also be caused by fragrances, essential oils, preservatives, flavors, various surfactants, coloring agents, as well as antibacterial components, for example, triclosan and triclocarban. If parents notice that after washing their hands or bathing, the baby’s skin turns red or itches, then they should change the brand of soap used,” says a pediatrician, allergist-immunologist, gastroenterologist, expert on radio and television, head of the “Smart Mom” school, candidate medical sciences Elena Antsiferova.

It’s nice that the study did not reveal a potentially unsafe allergenic soap, however, in order to protect yourself from potential risks, experts advise carefully studying the composition.

“If it is written that soap contains Vaseline oil and chamomile extract, and the child is allergic to chamomile, you should avoid this soap. Information about the presence of active ingredients such as oils and extracts should always be included in the labeling. It is also desirable that the smell of baby soap not be too strong,” noted Galina Ulantseva, chief specialist of the Association of Manufacturers of Perfumery, Cosmetics, Household Chemicals and Hygiene Products, Candidate of Technical Sciences.

In addition, as part of the study, experts paid attention to the characteristics of the soap stated on the label. In 13 cases out of 31, the difference between the net weight declared on the packaging and the actual weight of the soap was more than 4.5%, however, such deviations in the actual weight cannot be considered a violation, since Russian legislation does not have such requirements for “underweight.” However, these products will not be able to qualify for the Russian Quality Mark.

Nevertheless, the study identified four formal “violators.” During the Roskachestvo study, samples with an underestimated quality number were found. Products under the “Alice” and “Tik Tak” trademarks, which are indicated on the GOST packaging, do not comply state standard in terms of a qualitative number, which is misleading to the consumer. Also, an underestimated quality number was found in two more products, but these samples were not manufactured in accordance with GOST.

“The qualitative number is the mass of fatty acids per mass of a bar of soap. An underestimation of the number may be due to a reduction in the cost of the piece itself. Also, a decrease in quality numbers may be due to insufficient control or due to some kind of failure in the production process. Subjectively, it is believed that the lower the quality number of soap, the worse its cleaning ability,” said Ekaterina Nesterova, executive director of the Association of Producers and Consumers of Oil and Fat Products.

By the way, there is an opinion that the longer the soap is aged, the better it becomes: as the soap dries out, it loses weight without losing the fatty acids it contains. Accordingly, its qualitative number increases. It is not for nothing that for many people of the older generation, soap first served as a fragrance for linen in the closet, and only then, after a year or more, migrated to the bathroom.

In two more cases, under the “Children’s” and “Honey kid” trademarks, an excess amount of salt was found. Since these manufacturers declared on the packaging of the product that it complies with GOST, they are violators of the standard, unlike two more manufacturers who exceeded it, but did not declare it to GOST.

Detailed research results for each specific sample are available at