Product Review Friday: Method Hand Wash

I started using Method products a few years ago. Specifically, I liked using the all purpose spray in grapefruit. It didn’t contain a lot of crazy chemical ingredients, and it had a light, pleasant aroma. I was also very taken by the Method story: the company’s commitment to being a different kind of company, to designing low-impact products with cradle-to-grave in mind, to making “green” cleaning products sexy and fashionable.

I was happy, therefore, when I moved into a new apartment and found that the previous occupant had left half a bottle of Method hand wash next to the kitchen sink. From a usage perspective, I have to admit that I am not nearly as enamored with the hand wash as I am with the all purpose spray. My three main quibbles are:

1. The smell. The hand wash I have is cucumber scented. If anything is innocuous smelling, it is a cucumber. Method cucumber hand wash, however, is so strongly scented that the inside of my nose burns and the back of my throat swells up every time I use it. And to top it off, I really don’t think it smells like cucumbers. Cucumbers smell light and fresh, while this soap just smells perfume-y. The bottle lists the catch-all “Fragrance” as an ingredient, so I don’t know what they are using for scent, but I would be willing to bet that this “fragrance” was never derived from the delightful cucumber. The smell also lingers on my hands well after I’ve rinsed and dried them. By the way, here’s what the Environmental Working Group has to say about “fragrance:”

2. The color. The cucumber hand wash looks like something out of Dexter’s Lab: it is bright green in the manner of Gatorade, or nuclear waste. (Not that I know what color nuclear waste is.) The bottle lists Yellow 10 and Green 5 as ingredients. From what I’ve read, these ingredients aren’t terribly harmful other than causing irritation to the skin and eyes. It just seems unnecessary to me to add color, if you are a company that markets itself on naturally derived ingredients. On the other hand, it is a dramatic color to behold in the clear bottle, so perhaps it is good for sales. People like funky-looking products.
3. How my hands feel after using it. My skin feels dry and tight after washing my hands with this hand wash, so more often than not I follow up with some hand cream.

In addition, the Environmental Working Group gives Method hand wash a moderate hazard rating due to its ingredients, fragrance being the most questionable. The full report can be seen here. (Note that the EWG does not have info on cucumber, so I’m linking to pink grapefruit. However, they give all Method hand washes a moderate rating, so I have no reason to believe cucumber is different.)

On the positive side, Method claims that the product is biodegradable, though it doesn’t specify the timeline for biodegradability. The product was also not tested on animals, another plus in my book. Finally, the bottle uses #1 plastic, the most easily recycled plastic there is. Method is also moving its entire product line to using 100% recycled plastics this year, another great thing.

Overall, as much as I would like to use my dollar votes to support a company like Method, I won’t be buying this soap again. There are other similar products on the market with lighter scents and better ingredients, though admittedly I haven’t found one as low in price as Method.

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