Method Home products are cleaning products designed to fight dirt and grime without toxic chemicals. Their website states that all of their products are made from only bio-degradable ingredients (such as soy, coconut and palm oils) and are presented in packaging designed to be readily recyclable. I have been using Method’s pump hand soap in my bathroom and kitchen for several years because it was one of the only hand soaps I could find without anti-bacterial ingredients (which promote the growth of “super germs” and cause resistance to anti-biotics). Recently, I had the opportunity to try Method’s foaming hand soap and to compare it with the more traditional gel hand soap.
Gel
Method’s traditional gel hand soap comes in a teardrop shaped pump container and is available in six scents (cucumber, eucalyptus mint, green tea, lavender, pink grapefruit and sweet water) and all contain vitamin E and aloe.
The soap lathers up well under warm water, but doesn’t fair quite as well at cooler temperatures. It cleans the skin relatively thoroughly, although it takes more scrubbing to remove oils from the skin than mere dirt.
The hand soap is billed as being extremely gentle, but like most soaps, it can be a little drying, especially in the winter and especially when used with very hot water. Most of the scents are relatively subtle, without being overwhelmingly perfumey or chemically. The cucumber scent is fresh and wet smelling, the lavender is gentle and herbal, the pink grapefruit is a sweet, tangy citrus, and the sweet water is a delightful, light, and airy scent that is halfway between floral and sweet.
The green tea and lavender scents have a tendency to leave slight traces of color in the sink if I don’t make an effort to wash all the soap down the drain. The color doesn’t stain the sink, but the soap does need to be thoroughly rinsed or wiped from the porcelain or the color will linger. The sweet water scent is a clear gel and so leaves no color behind even if all the soap is not completely rinsed down the drain.
Foam
Method foaming hand soap comes in a slightly elongated teardrop shaped pump container which is taller than the traditional hand soap gel’s container. The product is designed to self-lather so that a rich foam is dispensed from the pump into the hand. It is currently available in three scents: cucumber, green tea and sweet water. The scents are exactly the same as their counter-parts in the traditional gel.
Like the traditional gel, the foam contains aloe and vitamin E and is billed as being gentle on the skin. Although far less drying than many anti-bacterial products, the foam can still be a bit drying in the winter and when used with hot water. It cleans hands sufficiently, although it may take two washings to remove olive oil, ground beef, or other fatty substances from the skin.
The one advantage of the foam, besides being different and looking fun, is that it rinses clean more easily than the gel. With the gel hand soap, if all of the soap is not thoroughly lathered it can be a bit hard to rinse off hands or out of the sink. This problem is avoided with the foam. However, because the soap is already lathered upon application, small children may need to be reminded to rub their hands for several seconds to get them thoroughly clean. A good rule of thumb is to lather your soap for as long as it takes for you to recite the alphabet to yourself.
Both Method hand soap and Method foaming hand soap are available for about $4 for Target or online at http://www.drugtstore.com.
