What Makes Soap ‘Antibacterial’

Antibacterial soaps (sometimes called antimicrobial or antiseptic soaps) contain certain active ingredients not found in plain soaps. Those ingredients are added to many consumer products with the intent of reducing or preventing bacterial infection.

“There’s no data demonstrating that these drugs provide additional protection from diseases and infections. Using these products might give people a false sense of security,” Michele says.

How do you tell if a product is antibacterial? For nonprescription drugs, antibacterial products generally have the word “antibacterial” on the label and may contain benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride or chloroxylenol. Also, a Drug Facts label on a soap or body wash is a sign a product contains antibacterial ingredients.