Hygiene products help to prevent infectious diseases
Soap consumption per head doubled between 1861 and 1981. This coincided with an understanding by the medical profession that cleanliness helped to reduce infection.
Attention to personal hygiene, the ability to launder clothes more frequently and convenient products for household cleaning have all contributed to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.
It is necessary to come into contact with a number of micro-organisms to get sick. While soap and water do not sterilise, they can help to reduce the number of micro-organisms to a less than infectious dose.
Our skin
The skin is a living organism. It breathes, sheds waste products such as cells and perspiration and is in contact with external sources of grime and dirt. The skin needs to be cleaned to ensure that the pores do not get clogged. The surfactants in soap, bodywash, shampoo and makeup removers help get the skin wet and loosen the dirt. The grime is held in the foam and washed away in the water.
In past eras hygiene products were hard to get and very expensive, but we can now afford a variety of cleaning products for personal and household use. In addition, we expect these products to perform well, be convenient to use and be safe.
