A selection of Smelly Men natural cold-process soap bars

Is it unhygienic to share a bar of soap?

By James Allan, founder of Smelly Men.

The short answer

Mostly a myth. When scientists tested shared bars for hand washing, nothing got passed on, even when they loaded the bar with germs on purpose. The one real exception is a skin infection: if anyone at home has an infected cut, boil or rash, they get their own bar until it clears.

Otherwise, share away. Or don't. Plenty of us like a bar each, and that's fine too.

This is about homes, not public toilets

A bar in a public toilet has a short and tragic life: dropped on the floor, forced down the plughole or nicked. A dispenser makes sense there, and nobody's arguing.

This is about the bar in your own bathroom, used by the people you live with.

Why it feels a bit grim

Ever noticed how a bar sitting in a wet dish, used by the whole household, starts to look a bit tired? Bit weird to offer it to a guest, really.

The instinct isn't daft. Germs do live on used bars. A 1984 study of soap in everyday use found bacteria on 92 to 96% of the bar samples, against 8% of the liquid soap samples, and Staph aureus on a few bars. So that's where the idea comes from.

Germs on the bar aren't germs on you

Here's the bit people miss. Bacteria on a bar is one thing. Bacteria getting onto you is another, and scientists have tested exactly that.

1965: scientists covered their hands in billions of bacteria, washed with a bar, then had a second person wash with the same bar. Nothing was passed on.

1988: researchers loaded bars with E. coli and Pseudomonas at around 70 times the level found on bars in real use. Sixteen volunteers washed with them. None had any detectable bacteria on their hands afterwards.

The likely reason is the obvious one. You lather, you rinse, and the lot goes down the plughole. Soap is good at that.

The 1988 study came from a soap maker's scientists, so take it with a pinch of salt. It does match the 1965 result.

What the NHS and NICE say

UK health bodies lean towards liquid soap, and it's worth knowing why. NICE, the body that advises the NHS in England on good practice, specifies liquid soap for hand washing in healthcare settings. An NHS community infection control leaflet says liquid is preferable because bar soap can harbour bacteria.

When NICE explained this in 2017, its deputy chief executive said the evidence it had was about liquid soap, and that a bar collecting dirt simply looks less hygienic. Fair enough in a hospital. It's a precaution, not a finding that a shared bar spreads illness at home.

Across the Atlantic, the CDC (the US government's public health agency) is relaxed about bar soap for hand washing. It just asks that the bar sits on a dish that drains, so it dries between uses.

The one real exception

Skin infections. The NHS says MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant kind of staph, mainly spreads by touch, and only causes trouble if it gets inside the body, for example through a cut. An NHS hospital leaflet tells patients with MRSA not to share towels and face cloths, and US guidance names bars of soap too.

So if anyone has a cut that's painful, swollen, red, warm or leaking pus, the NHS says to get an urgent GP appointment or call 111. Until it's been looked at, they get their own bar.

What nobody has tested

Every study here is about washing hands. We couldn't find one on sharing a bar for the rest of you. So the body question is open, and if the thought bothers you, the answer is easy: a bar each. Nothing wrong with that. We sell bars, so we're hardly going to talk you out of it.

Sharing a bar at home

  • Let it dry between uses. A dish that drains, not a puddle. A dry bar is also a bar that lasts.
  • Infection in the house? Separate bars until it clears.
  • Recent surgery or a weakened immune system? Ask your GP or nurse first. Hospitals prefer liquid soap.
  • Heading out? At the gym or a public toilet, use the dispenser or take your own bar. A travel soap fits a gym bag nicely: Teen Spirit, Early Doors, Day Off or Scrub Up.

Where we fit

We make soap, so weigh that. Our soaps are cold-process bars with the full ingredient list on the box. We're not saying they're cleaner than any other soap. They're soap: they lift the dirt and the rinse takes it away. Share them or have one each. We're easy. Have a look at the range.

Quick answers

Is it unhygienic to share a bar of soap at home?
For hand washing, no. Studies found nothing passed on from shared bars. UK hospitals prefer liquid soap as a precaution. The exception is anyone with a skin infection.

Can you catch something from a shared bar?
We couldn't find a study showing it happening in normal use. Bars do carry bacteria, but you lather and rinse it all away.

Is liquid soap safer than bar soap?
Not shown to be, though NICE and NHS leaflets prefer it in healthcare settings as a precaution. The 1984 study that found more bacteria on bars also found Staph aureus on the outside of liquid soap dispensers.

Should I share soap if someone has a skin infection?
No. Give them their own bar until it clears, and get it looked at. A painful, swollen or leaking cut needs an urgent GP appointment or a call to NHS 111.

Is it okay for everyone to have their own bar?
Of course. Nothing in the evidence says you must share. It only says you needn't worry if you do.

Is it okay to use a bar of soap in a gym or public toilet?
Use the dispenser, or take your own bar. Bars in public places get dropped, jammed down plugholes and nicked.

How should I store a bar of soap?
On a dish that drains, so it dries between uses.

Does antibacterial soap make sharing safer?
There's no evidence it does. The US FDA found manufacturers hadn't shown common antibacterial ingredients worked better than plain soap and water. We went through it in Do you need 'warrior' soap for jiu jitsu?

General information, not medical advice.

Sources

Last reviewed: 11 October 2026. Next review: April 2027.

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