A friend recently asked me if hibiscrub is good for smelly feet. The short answer; yes it is.
All antibacterial soaps, scrubs, and cleansers are helpful when it comes to curing stinky feet.
How does Hibiscrub help me cure my smelly feet?
Sweat alone isn’t the cause of smelly feet. Sweat is just made up of water and salt.
It’s the bacteria feeding on sweat and dead skin cells that produce the stink. It’s their excrements that produce the unwanted odor.
When you wash your feet with such soaps you will literally kill the bacteria and thus minimize the source of the stink.
What about HibiClens and other antibacterial soaps?
Other antibacterial (or antiseptic soaps) are Betadine scrub, and Defense soap.
Hibiclens is practically the same stuff as HibiScrub although cheaper. HibiScrub costs about $30 for 16 oz while roughly the same amount of Hibicleans will set you back $ 15.
According to some sources Hibiclens is a weaker dilution of HibiScrub. However if you take a look at the labels, both contain the same amount of the active ingredient, 4% w/v chlorhexidine gluconate.
So make sure to check the percentage of chlorhexidine gluconate (the antimicrobial agent it’s all about) on the package, and compare prices before you buy.
Additional, inactive ingredients include; fragrance, isopropyl alcohol 4%, purified water, and Red 40.
Most drug stores carry it HibiScrub. It’s basically a surgical scrub, you know, what hospitals use. Surgeons and other medical personnel wash their hands with it to reduce the spread of bacteria, fungi and viruses.
Aren’t all soaps antibacterial?
Yes, in fact they are. But it’s for a reason surgeons use surgical scrub during their work.
Most soaps, also those not advertised as antibacterial contain two antibacterial substances. Those are triclosan and triclocarbon.
The thing is, they need to be in contact with the surface (your feet) for about two minutes in order to kill the bacteria. Since most of us don’t take the time to wash our feet that thoroughly we can benefit from stronger soaps such as HibiScrub.
What’s special about HibiScrub?
HibiScrub is a powerful antiseptic, antimicrobial skin cleanser that kills smell causing bacteria but also can protect the skin for up to 24 hours after the initial application.
On a sunny day, our feet can produce up to a pint of sweat. Often we just don’t have the possibility to take of our shoes, let alone change shoes and socks.
That’s why a potent bacteria killer such as HibiScrub is a necessary tool in fighting foot odor.
How to use HibiScrub on your smelly feet
Wash your feet daily with it. Make sure to thorougly dry your feet afterwards. Remember, the bacteria thrive on dark, moist environments. The reason our hands don’t smell is because the sweat can leave. (the same bacteria live on your hands too)
Some additional advice…
Don’t forget to change shoes and socks regularly, air out your shoes, wear cotton or wool socks, leather, breathing shoes, make use of insoles, powder or UV sanitize your shoes, and use a product that minimizes sweat producing glands and pores. Walking barefoot or on socks at home is helpful too.