Hand Washing Question: Glycerin Soap

[lisab]

I've read that when washing one's hands, the primary mechanism by which the hands become clean is mechanical. That is, organisms are removed from your hands by rubbing and rinsing. But I believe that soap itself does have some antimicrobial action.

I assume that glycerin soap and regular hand soap are equal with respect to the mechanical mechanism of hand washing. Under that assumption, is glycerin soap any better than regular soap for washing one's hands? Is it a better antimicrobial than regular soap?

(Regular soap = soap without added antimicrobial agents.)

 

[Yanick]

I always assumed the same regarding the mechanism of regular soap. Amphipathic surfactant type molecules which exist in soap are able to 'emulsify' the hydrophobic components like cell walls/membranes etc and create what I guess may be called micelles which can then be washed off by the water that you run over your hands to rinse.

I've always read/heard that the glycerin aids in keeping your skin moist and smooth (though I don't know by what mechanism this may occur), whereas regular soaps tend to dry your skin. I remember having terribly dry hands during my clinical rotations in nursing school, they would get all red and dry and start peeling all the time. I also refuse to use lotions because they make my hands all greasy which makes me want to just wash them again which brings me back to the beginning.

 

[Monique]

Yes, it is a mechanical cleaning. The molecules in soap have a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail, these molecules have the tendency to form bubbles (micelles) where all the heads are pointed outward towards the watery exterior and all the hydrophobic tails are pointed inward. By rubbing soap in your hands the soap molecules will emulsify the oils and other hydrophobic substances in your skin, which will become trapped in the micelles. The hydrophilic substances will just dissolve in the water that you use for cleaning your hands. By loosening all the debris on your skin, the surface microbes will be washed away as well.

What I understand is that glycerin is a byproduct of soap production, which is usually removed from the soap to be used in more expensive products because of its beneficial moister-retaining properties. Glycerin soap is soap from which the glycerin has not been removed. I don't think it has better cleaning properties, but it does prevent the drying out of your skin.

http://homepages.ius.edu/DSPURLOC/c122/images/soapmic.gif