If you’re out of hand soap and the store is closed, go ahead and use dish soap. You won’t get super-powers, but you won’t get a skin infection either. Just follow up with a heavy-duty moisturizer—like, the stuff you use on cracked heels. And whatever you do, don’t use dish soap on your face. That’s a one-way ticket to Acne Junction, population: your pores. Your face has about 20% of the oil production of your hands; dish soap will strip it all and leave you looking like a sad, angry raisin.
Is It OK To Wash Dishes With Hand Soap? - Sparkling Penny
And here’s a life hack that will make you feel like a genius: you can turn dish soap into a passable hand soap by diluting it. Fill an old hand soap bottle with about one part dish soap to three parts water. Shake gently (don’t make it foam—that’s your enemy), and you’ve got a budget-friendly hand wash that won’t immediately commit crimes against your skin. But don’t store it for weeks—bacteria love diluted soap water. You’ll be washing your hands with a petri dish. So make it fresh and use it fast.
The bottom line? Dish soap as hand soap is like using a fire hose to water a houseplant—it works, but it’s overkill. Your hands will be clean, possibly germ-free, and definitely dehydrated. So if you’re in a bind, do it. Smile at your soap’s dual life. Then go buy some actual hand soap tomorrow, because your cuticles are texting me, begging for mercy.
And remember: if you ever catch a whiff of lemon while shaking hands with a stranger, you know exactly what they did last night.
