Clean, healthy, cared for: what you should know about washing your hands
Washing your hands is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do for your health every day. And yet, most people do not do it properly – they wash for too little time, too quickly or with too little soap. Thorough hand hygiene is about much more than cleanliness: it can help protect us from colds, gastrointestinal illnesses and other infections. So remember: always wash your hands with soap, lather them thoroughly and rinse them well. By following these simple rules, you can protect yourself from germs and bacteria over the long term.
Why is washing your hands so important?
In everyday life, our hands are real hotspots for germs. Door handles, stair rails, keyboards, shopping trolleys, smartphones — any surface we touch can harbour bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. If we then touch our face — our mouth, nose or eyes — these pathogens can enter our body through the mucous membranes and cause infections.
According to Germany’s Federal Institute of Public Health (Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit, BIÖG), washing your hands regularly with soap and water interrupts precisely this route of transmission.¹ This means that handwashing can also play an important role in containing infectious diseases such as influenza. It is not only whether you wash your hands that matters, but above all how and for how long. Studies show that thoroughly lathering your hands for at least 20 to 30 seconds significantly reduces the number of germs on the skin. Washing your hands is particularly important after using the toilet, before preparing food, after blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing, and after contact with animals or public transport.
Step by step: how to wash your hands properly
Washing your hands properly is not difficult, but it does take a few seconds longer than a quick rinse under the tap. Here’s how to do it:
Step 1 – Wet your hands
Hold your hands under running, lukewarm water. The temperature of the water does not affect germ reduction, by the way — what you do afterwards is more important.
Step 2 – Apply soap
Apply enough soap to the palms of your hands. Soap removes dirt and micro-organisms from the skin much more effectively than water alone.
Step 3 – Lather thoroughly
Rub the soap in thoroughly for at least 20 to 30 seconds — over your palms, the backs of your hands, between your fingers, around your thumbs, across your fingertips and under your fingernails.
A little tip: the ideal handwashing time is roughly equivalent to singing “Happy Birthday” twice.
Step 4 – Rinse thoroughly
Rinse the soap off carefully under running water until you can no longer feel any residue.
Step 5 – Dry carefully
Dry your hands with a clean towel or a single-use towel. This step is often underestimated: wet hands make it easier for germs to spread. Drying also removes any remaining micro-organisms through friction. At home, towels should be changed regularly and washed at a minimum of 60°C.
Care meets effectiveness: our new lavera hand soaps
Anyone who washes their hands frequently knows the problem: the skin becomes dry, rough and sometimes even irritated. This is precisely where our two new hand soaps come in – they cleanse thoroughly while being gentle on the skin barrier.
lavera Lime Care Hand Wash combines the invigorating freshness of organic lemon with the warming note of organic ginger. The formula cleanses gently and leaves the skin feeling pleasantly cared for, without putting strain on its natural protective barrier.
For anyone with more sensitive skin, we recommend our lavera basis sensitive Gentle Care Hand Wash with organic aloe vera and organic camomile. The mild formula cleanses the hands thoroughly without drying them out. Organic aloe vera helps to moisturise and refresh the skin, while organic camomile soothes and gently cares for sensitive skin.
Both soaps are formulated with naturally derived ingredients and are free from synthetic fragrances. That is how we have done things at lavera for almost 40 years.
