Is it unhealthy to wash hands with only water and no soap?

If your hands are really dirty or oily, then I suggest washing your hands with soap. Water alone does not work at all! It cannot cut through dirt and oil like soap can. However, you should try to minimize the times you wash your hands with soap because you do not want to increase your exposure to toxins. Remember, our skin is the largest organ of our body and it absorbs up to 60% of the products we put on it. Considering that the conventional hand soaps available in the market today are packed with chemicals and toxic ingredients, this is not a pretty picture. Just to clarify, these ingredients are considered ';toxic'; not because they instantly hurt you once they come into contact with your skin, but rather because they hurt you over time. For instance, most soaps contain parabens, which are chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer. It is also known that most beauticians have higher rates of cancer than the general population because of their heavy use of cosmetics. So to answer your question, yes-- it is healthy not to wash your hands with soap unless it is completely necessary!Is it unhealthy to wash hands with only water and no soap?
Look soap helps but if the water is warm and you gently rub your hands under the water for at least 30 seconds it should be OK , but of course using soap would be better .





PS- The rubbing motion is what kills the germs , not the soap.


Also there have been studies suggesting that anti-bacterial soap does more harm than good by killing good and bad bacteria.Is it unhealthy to wash hands with only water and no soap?
Soap helps release dirt, including bacteria, from your skin. or hands. So use soap whenever available for washing your hands.
Depends on what you were doing before washing your hands. Touching raw meat, using household cleaners, I would say to use soap...
as long as you don't shake hands with me, i really don't care if you wash them or not
its not unhealthy, but soap helps remove most bacteria, when only water does not remove as much.
well yeah it's the point. The soap gets all the germs out. Trust me. I got an A+ in health at school......
Washing with water is better than not washing at all -- if soap is not handy.
how long do you think soap has been around ?how long do you think man has been around ?i think you would be ok just dirty .
Soap actually helps dissolve away the oils that may carry germs, so it's better to use soap if you can:





http://www.parish-supply.com/how_soap_wo鈥?/a>


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_washin鈥?/a>





To get technical: ';Water alone is not able to penetrate grease or oil because they are of opposite polarity.';





(http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/5鈥?/a>





Hope this is helpful!





--Bill Pardue, Reference Librarian


Arlington Heights Memorial Library http://www.ahml.info


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