Doctors want you to take up some serious hand washing this cold and flu season. They don’t mean just running your hands briefly under a faucet, either. Your favorite health care provider wants to see hand rubbing for 15 seconds to 20 seconds with soap and warm water. (Sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice while washing to time yourself.) And don’t even think about trying to get away with mere hand sanitizer. Consumer Reports is out with a new study that says researchers find washing hands removes the flu virus from hands faster and more effectively than alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
Since you’re going to be scrubbing up several times every day, why not indulge in a luxurious cleansing bar loaded with natural, skin-pampering ingredients? Solid bar soaps are staging a comeback because they are easy to use and people are waking up to how well they work on the skin. They last longer than liquid soaps, and contain only the necessary ingredients rather than preservatives sometimes used in balms and gels. Plus, they require no plastic packaging.
Joanna Vargas Cloud Bar, $22.00, Neiman Marcus
All this hand washing could leave you feeling parched as a desert. No need to dread the dry when you use this gentle bar. Ingredients include coconut and chamomile to leave skin feeling hydrated and soothed. Use this one-step cleanser on face and body as well as hands.
Diptyque Do Son Perfumed Soap, $30, SpaceNK
This soap will leave skin feeling soft and silky with a trace of light and feminine scent. Diptyque’s Do Son Perfumed Soap delivers the perfect balance of sweet and delicate spice by combining notes of almond oil and tuberose flower.
Estée Lauder Nutritious Micro-Algae, $28.00, Estée Lauder
This gentle cleanser dissolves makeup, pollution and impurities. Especially formulated for oily skin types that could use a little detox, this beauty bar is packed with a rich, nourishing micro-algae blend.
Clinique Acne Solutions™️ Cleansing Bar For Face and Body, $16.50, Clinique
A mild, medicated. non-drying soap that helps clear and prevent acne breakouts. This multi-purpose bar is gentle on face and body so all skin types will love it’s power to reduce redness and spots.
Erno Laszlo Sensitive Cleansing Bar, $38.00, DermStore.
Protect your natural moisture barrier, soothe inflamed skin, and add a little more millennial pink to your beauty routine with this sensitive skin-friendly formula.
Fresh Umbrian Clay Purifying Treatment Bar, $41.00, Sephora.
Umbrian Clay, a proprietary ingredient to Fresh, delivers supreme anti-inflammatory and absorbent properties. Use this versatile essential as a deep cleanser, an instantly detoxifying mask, or a spot treatment to heal blemishes and irritation.
L’Occitane Shea Butter Ultra Gentle Soap, $10.00, L’Occitane
The nourishing property of shea butter calms and moisturizes the skin for a clean, smooth complexion. The gentle formula makes this non-drying soap suitable for all skin-types, especially those with sensitive skin.
Sisley Soapless Facial Cleansing Bar, $67.00, Saks Fifth Avenue.
Sisley’s expensive cleansing bar is designed for combination to oily complexions and it will leave your skin purified without drying it out. Beauty editors say this is the best bar of soap for banishing impurities and minimizing the appearance of pores.