Testing My Skincare Products for BACTERIA! (Gross)

Time for an admission: I am freaked out by bacteria when it comes to my daily morning and nightly skincare routines. Obsessively wash my hands between each step, and touching anything potentially germ-filled (remotes, my phone, the faucet) is strictly off limits until every product from cleanser, to toner, to moisturizer and more has been applied and set with clean, dry hands.

But I always wondered: what about the bottles of skincare themselves? I definitely don’t wash them. The curiosity got the best of me and I had to know how warranted my fears of germs are. I purchased these agar coated petri dishes so I could take some swabs and see how much bacteria colonized within 48 hours. Here are the results

The Results

Toner

Pretty nasty germ growth on my bottle of toner

Moisturizer

Somehow not as bad as the skincare step before it!

Hand Soap

I was sure the soap pump would have to be crawling, because we touch it with dirty hands!

My Retainer

Pretty much anything that spends the night in our mouth would have to be filthy. (This is BEFORE I brushed- which I do nightly before reusing)

My Hand

After handling all of the above bottles to swab and sample! Looks like a bunch of diverse colonies. Is that how it works?

Up My Nose

I just stuck the swab right up my nose and swung it around, here’s what we came away with.

My Phone

I was sure this would be awful, but it’s actually ok! I clean this one frequently.

Running Shoe

This was sort of a control, because I run through the street of Hollywood. As predicted, the results are disgusting.

In Conclusion

True, I already pretty much knew the whole world was disgusting, but now I’ve proven it to myself. But in all honesty, I will probably be giving my skincare products a quick wipe with disinfectant every so often from now on, but I feel like cultivating bacteria on top of my cable box was strangely helpful!

EZ BioResearch

Buy on Amazon

I feel less afraid and mystified by the invisible world of germs out there, and more in control. If nothing else, my moisturizer has way less germs on it than the bottom of my running shoe!