Please Don’t Use Surgical Antibacterial Cleaners as Skin Care
Several years ago, a chemical called triclosan was one of the most common ingredients in everyday antibacterial cleansers, including liquid hand soaps. That changed in 2017, when the Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule “determining that certain active ingredients in over-the-counter topical antiseptics [including triclosan] used in health care settings are not considered generally recognized as safe and effective due to insufficient data.”
That ruling was due to two main factors, according to New York City–based dermatologist and AAD fellow Dr. Anne Chapas. First, “high-dose triclosan has been associated in some studies with thyroid hormone abnormalities,” Chapas said in an email. And second, when triclosan was used in over-the-counter antiseptic products, the FDA “did not receive any evidence that triclosan provides a benefit to human health.”
Nowadays, triclosan has largely been replaced by another active ingredient, called benzalkonium chloride. Like CHG, benzalkonium chloride is a broad-spectrum antiseptic that can kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Both can also damage your skin’s microbiome (that is, the healthy balance of good and not-so-good bacteria keeping rashes, inflammation, and other skin issues at bay). But CHG is risky in other ways as well.
“CHG binds to the epidermis,” Del Campo explained. “It’s literally stuck on your skin for a while, continuing to exert its antimicrobial effects for up to 6 hours after application.”
Although this makes it a great option for surgical procedures that can take several hours, its high potency also increases the risk of negative side effects, from dry skin to severe (though rare) and possibly fatal allergic reactions.
Prolonged use of either chemical can reduce the amount of good bacteria on your skin and contribute to antibiotic resistance, Chapas said in a phone interview. “If you’re using a strong antibacterial soap for no particular reason,” she added, “it could cause acne, rosacea, folliculitis, and other skin conditions.” In many cases, these are the very same skin problems that influencers claim CHG cleansers can solve.
