What Is Stainless Steel Soap?

Stainless steel soap is a piece of stainless steel, in the form of a soap bar or other hand-held shape. Its purported purpose is to neutralize or reduce strong odors such as those from handling garlic, onion, durian, guava, salami, or fish.

How Does Stainless Steel Soap Work?

Metal soap bars neutralizes odors on skin. This is all due to the chemistry between certain foods and stainless steel.

Both garlic and onions contain chemical compounds known as amino acid sulfoxides. These molecules form sulfenic acids that then become a gas known as propanetrial S-oxide. When exposed to water, sulfuric acid then forms. This not only causes onions, for example, to burn your eyes, but it also leaves a lingering smell on your body.
Stainless steel, however, binds to these sulfur molecules. As these compounds adhere more strongly to metal than to your skin, metal soap is able to absorb the odors on your hands to remove the scent.
Not only does the metal assist in the removal of body odor caused by onions and garlic, but it also works for fish.

How to Use Stainless Steel Soap?

While you don’t necessarily have to use a metal soap bar to neutralize kitchen smells on your skin, this brilliant kitchen gadget is preferable (and likely more sanitary) than rubbing your hands along the inside of your stainless-steel sink.
To use a stainless-steel soap bar, simply hold your hands under COLD running water. (It won’t work without the water.) Then rub the metal soap onto your hands for 10 to 30 seconds. This process will tackle any lingering odors that you aren’t able to wash away with soap and water alone.