Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day soap is not antibacterial. The company confirms this directly on its FAQ page, stating that its cleaners “don’t kill bacteria or contain an antibacterial formula.” The liquid hand soaps rely on plant-derived surfactants, essential oils, and other cleaning agents to wash away dirt and germs, but they don’t contain any regulated antibacterial active ingredients like triclosan or benzalkonium chloride.
What’s Actually in Mrs. Meyer’s Soap
Looking at the ingredient list for the popular Lavender Liquid Hand Soap, you’ll find water, plant-based surfactants (the cleaning agents that create lather and lift grime), glycerin, lavender oil, orange peel oil, olive fruit oil, aloe leaf juice, and a few preservatives. None of these are classified as antibacterial drug ingredients by the FDA. The surfactants do the heavy lifting: they break the bond between germs and your skin so that running water can rinse them away. This is a mechanical process, not a chemical killing action.
Why That Doesn’t Actually Matter
The distinction between “antibacterial” and “regular” soap sounds important, but the science says otherwise. In 2016, the FDA banned the over-the-counter sale of antibacterial soaps containing certain active ingredients after manufacturers failed to demonstrate that those products worked any better than plain soap and water at preventing illness. The agency’s conclusion was blunt: the data were “insufficient to demonstrate that there is any additional benefit” from antibacterial ingredients in consumer hand soaps.
The CDC echoes this position. Its handwashing guidance recommends plain soap and water, noting that “studies have not found any added health benefit from using antibacterial soap, other than for professionals in healthcare settings.” The physical act of lathering for 20 seconds and scrubbing your hands is what destroys and removes germs. The soap itself doesn’t need to kill anything on contact to be effective.
There’s also a potential downside to antibacterial formulas. Some research suggests that long-term use of antibacterial soap may contribute to antibiotic resistance, which is one reason the FDA pushed back on these products. Plain soap carries no such risk.
Do the Essential Oils Add Protection?
Mrs. Meyer’s soaps contain small amounts of essential oils like lavender and orange peel, and these oils do have some natural antimicrobial properties in lab settings. Research published in the National Institutes of Health has shown that lavender oil can inhibit the growth of common bacteria at concentrations around 1 to 2.5 percent. However, there’s a significant gap between lab results and real-world performance in a soap formula.
When essential oils are mixed into a product with other ingredients, their antimicrobial activity drops substantially. The oils tend to bind with other components in the formula rather than staying available to act on microbes. On top of that, the concentration of essential oils in a consumer hand soap is kept low to avoid skin irritation and overpowering fragrance. At these levels, the oils contribute scent far more than germ-fighting power. You shouldn’t count on them for any meaningful antibacterial effect beyond what the surfactants already provide through normal washing.
The One Exception in the Product Line
Mrs. Meyer’s does make one product that qualifies as antibacterial: its hand sanitizer. The Basil Scent Hand Sanitizer, for example, contains 62 percent ethyl alcohol as its active ingredient and is labeled to remove 99.9 percent of bacteria on skin. This product is regulated as an over-the-counter drug, not a cosmetic, which is why it carries an antibacterial claim. If you specifically need germ-killing action without access to soap and water, this is the Mrs. Meyer’s product designed for that purpose.
The liquid hand soaps, dish soaps, and multi-surface cleaners in the Mrs. Meyer’s lineup are all non-antibacterial. For everyday handwashing at home, that’s exactly what health authorities recommend.