Is it safe to use antibacterial hand soap every day?
Avoid routine antibacterial hand soap. Plain soap and water clean hands well without extra biocides.
What is in it
Antibacterial hand soap is regular soap with an added germ-killing drug. Older soaps often used triclosan or triclocarban. Some newer labels use benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, or chloroxylenol.
For normal home handwashing, you do not need those extra biocides. Plain soap lifts oil, dirt, and microbes so water can rinse them away.
What the science says
The FDA says over-the-counter antibacterial soaps have not shown they prevent illness better than plain soap and water. In 2016, the FDA barred 19 active ingredients, including triclosan and triclocarban, from consumer antiseptic wash products because companies did not show they were safe for long-term daily use and more effective than plain soap.
The CDC says washing with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds is one of the best ways to stay healthy.
A 2025 Environmental Health Perspectives study measured triclosan in pregnant people and children in the HOME Study and tracked allergic symptoms. It does not prove antibacterial hand soap causes allergies, but it supports avoiding extra triclosan-style exposure when plain soap does the job.
What to do
Use plain bar soap or simple liquid soap for daily handwashing. Scrub for 20 seconds, rinse well, and dry hands. Choose an antibacterial soap only when a clinician or a setting rule asks for it.
The research at a glance
| Study | Journal | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Skip the Antibacterial Soap; Use Plain Soap and Water | FDA Consumer Updates | 2024 |
| About Handwashing | CDC Clean Hands | 2024 |
| Associations of gestational and childhood urinary triclosan concentrations with atopic and allergic symptoms in Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study participants ages 1-12 years. | Environ Health Perspect | 2025 |