Growing up in the Middle East, we had no access to hand sanitizer and we relied on the old fashioned soap and water. In countries like Syria and Egypt with dense populations and widespread communicable diseases, people relied on good old fashion hand washing, soap and common sense hygiene principles. While the public panic about the lack of availability of hand sanitizer is real, here are a few old world tips I grew up on and we can all benefit from:

Mint + Laurel Aleppo Soap Bars. Made in Syria, Packaged in Los Angeles.

Wash your hands with soap for a good 20 seconds. Make it lather, clean the front and back of your hands thoroughly like a surgeon would.
Teach your kids how to wash their hands thoroughly before a meal, after a meal, after play, after using the bathroom, and when returning home from school, or afters chool activities.
Avoid shaking hands. Our Arab ancestors often put hand to heart, in other asian countries they put hands together or simply bow to each other.
When at the gym, avoid putting your hands on your face. As soon as the workout is done, wash your hands before leaving the gym. Rinse your reusable water bottle with water and soap.
Speak with your children about cleanliness and the need to wash while they are in public places. Door handles, shared books, Uber car handles, or grocery carts are all touch points that require a follow up hand wash.

In the old cities of Damascus and Aleppo, every few houses you’ll come across an outdoor faucet and sometimes a soap. Families donated running water and soap for the general public and passers by. It is impractical for us to do that on our website. The closest we could do is offer a 15% discount to make our soaps accessible for all! Buy our soap, enjoy its lather, and cleansing benefits!

Back to basics - the ABC's of hand washing