Image via Erno Laszlo

Technically, I'm talking about bar soap. I just got to try out Erno Laszlo's excellent new Special Skin Soap, and as much as I liked it (more in a sec), after reading this article about household germs, I got to wondering: Should washing your face with bar soap be banned?

The Laszlo soap is quite interesting. Billed as a soap for "oily and extremely oily skin," for some of us it's just the thing for summer. The directions for use are freakishly specific:

Fill basin half way with warm water. Dip Special Skin Soap into water and gently rub wet bar over face. Dip bar back into water and make a creamy, rich lather in hands. Massage this lather over face for a few seconds. Rinse 20 times in same water. Rinse 10 times in comfortably hot running water. Blot with a soft towel.

Alrighty then. I'm not sure how I feel about counting how many times I rinse my face but whatever. I like the soap. I really do. However, as I was chucking it into my soap dish, I wondered just how much bacteria will accumulate on the thing before it's teeming with germs? I tried to find some information about this online, but all I got was a bunch of conflicting information: Some scientists say yes, bar soap is disgusting, and some say "pooh." 

Can anyone out there help with this oh so serious dilemma!?