Over a decade ago, antibacterial soap became all the rage and suddenly every public bathroom and every home seemed to be stocked with it.
This rapid switch away from plain soap and water occurred despite the fact that there was and still is absolutely no evidence that antibacterial soap works any better than the traditional suds it up approach.
Fast forward to today and fully 75% of liquid soaps on the market still use antibacterial ingredients despite increasingly loud warnings about their safety and efficacy.
Antibacterial Soap = Disrupted Hormones
The reason for much of the concern is the use of triclosan, the active ingredient in many antibacterial products. This chlorinated phenolic compound has been linked to disrupted hormonal activity in animals.
Estrogen dominance is a big contributor to the irritating and sometimes debilitating symptoms of perimenopause. Avoiding any chemicals that produce the tendency toward estrogen dominance is vital for every woman over 40 if she desires a symptom free transition to menopause. It is also very possible that widespread use of this chemical (along with others like BPA) is a factor in the early puberty experienced by so many young girls today. In boys, estrogen mimickers produce the opposite effect.
Obese boys, in particular, are at risk for delayed puberty, likely due to the estrogenic effects of the extra fat they are carrying combined with environmental exposure to estrogen mimickers like triclosan. Exposure to this chemical clearly has risks for anyone no matter what his/her age. Another disturbing finding is that triclosan has been shown to reduce circulating thyroxine (T4 – thyroid hormone) in rats.
Lack of sufficient circulating thyroid hormone produces the symptoms of hypothyroidism, currently at epidemic proportions in the Western world. You know the symptoms of hypothyroidism well – fatigue, thinning hair, depression, cold hands and feet, and difficulty losing weight.
Chances are you or someone in your household already suffers from it even if not yet diagnosed by a physician. Watch out, as triclosan is used not only in soap, but also detergents, cosmetics, deoderant, toothpaste, children’s clothing, and even toys. I remember the tray of the Playskool highchair I used when my children were very young was stamped as “antibacterial”. Probably triclosan was used in this item as well!
I am very careful never to buy any products that are marketed as “antibacterial”.
Antibacterial Soap Contributes to Antibiotic Resistance and Superbugs
As if this wasn’t enough, use of antibacterial soaps is now being linked with antibiotic resistance and the spread of superbugs. When you use bleach, soap, peroxide or alcohol to clean and disinfect, germs are destroyed or dislodged and washed away. Germs have no power against this approach and cannot ever develop resistance to it. Antibacterials like triclosan work very differently by interfering with a bacterial enzyme through penetration of the bacterial wall. Through their ability to evolve very quickly, microbes have the potential to develop enzyme systems that are resistant to triclosan over time. One popular tuberculosis antibiotic targets the exact same bacterial enzyme system as triclosan.
There are now two strains of TB that are resistant to two or three of the four first-line antibiotics! Coincidence? Possibly, but the likelihood that there is a link is clearly there. This is a scary scenario indeed.
Plain Soap and Water is Still the Best!
As mentioned earlier, there is absolutely no evidence that use of antibacterial soap works any better than plain old soap and water. In fact, there is plenty of reason to believe that soap and water is a far superior method for hand washing and cleaning in general given the resistance that germs are suspected to be developing to antibacterial compounds like triclosan. Factor in the risk of hormone disruption from using these antibacterial products around your home and the wise move seems to be to throw them out altogether!
If you are looking for an excellent quality, nontoxic concentrated soap to dilute with water to economically fill all the hand soap dispensers around your home or office, I would highly recommend this brand.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sources and More Information
Doctor’s Group Questions Antibacterial Soaps
Triclosan Exposure Reduces Circulating Thyroxine in Rat Fetuses
Triclosan Exposure Reduce Thyroxine Levels in Pregnant and Lactating Rats
Can someone recommend a natural soap/bodywash that would not dry out your skin? I’ve read good things about Grandma’s Lye Soap, a brand that Liz Wolfe (Cave Girl Eats) recommends, but I can’t get past the word “LYE.”
Lye is not a problem. Search for “soap making” on line to learn more about it. I use Kirk’s Original Coco Castile bar soap. It does not list lye as an ingredient, if you are still concerned about it. I use Seventh Generation dishwashing detergent for washing dishes. And I either make my own cleaning solution from vinegar, baking soda, and castile soap or I just use the dishwashing liquid.
Awesome post, thanks! Very controversial issue with our extended family: I don’t wash our dishes with anything except very hot water unless someone is sick or has been exposed to virulent sickness. Our family of 5 has avoided all the flus and colds that have gone around for over a year now! I’m sure this can be attributed to other healthy practices as well, but I think “sharing germs” is actually a good thing within a family. We’re all immune to each other’s “cooties” now. 🙂
Hi Sarah,
I have recently found your blog and am hooked! Thanks! I have always wanted to make my own soap but am extremely intimated working with lye. Would your sister ever do a guest spot to teach us how to make soap step by step. I know there are many how to’s. But your tutorials are easy to understand and follow. It makes it so easy. Thanks!
I think making your own soap is a fantastic idea! I have never done this myself, but my sister does and I just LOVE it when she passes some of her homemade creations along to me.
do you make your own soap? or do you use ivory or something along those lines? i am interested in making my own soap – healthier, more natural, and better for the environment… what are your thoughts?
thanks!
I have successfully brought up two very healthy children without using any antibacterial soaps. I also feel virtuous because I haven't added any extra unnecessary chemicals to our already overloaded environment.
If the active ingredient in the hand sanitizer is just alcohol, then these products are fine. Just check the ingredients to make sure there are no antibacterial chemicals in there along with the alcohol.
Would the same hold true for the soapless hand sanitizers?
That is a great point, Rebecca. Germaphobe behavior on the part of caregivers has been linked to allegies in children. There's nothing wrong with a little dirt to get the child's immune system going. The immune system must be frequently challenged to grow strong. Overcleanliness does not protect children from germs but rather puts them in a bubble where they are oversensitive to everything.
I see that horrible stuff all over the place! Young mothers are carrying it in their purses, their cars, stuffing it into their kids back packs, it's everywhere and its ridiculous! My Mom grew up on a farm in Nebraska. They took a bath once a week and all seven kids shared the same bath water. Thanks for the informative article, Sarah. It is my pray that people will take heed to this information and continue to pass it on.