Unfortunately, as a BJJ practitioner, you can be prone to multiple disgusting skin diseases. A variety of fungal and viral skin infections can be found on mats because of a lack of hygiene. It could be your lack of hygiene, your training partners, or the club owner, who doesn’t care about the cleanliness of the mat. Or all at once. Of course, you can change the academy to one where more attention is paid to cleanliness, etc. But it’s best to start with yourself first of all. That’s why you need antifungal and antimicrobial soaps. Below you will find what it is exactly and why you should use them. Also, we have gathered for you a list of the best BJJ antifungal and antimicrobial soaps available on the market.
What are BJJ antifungal and antimicrobial soaps?
BJJ antimicrobial and antifungal soap is a type of soap that is created to meet the harsh demands of athletes of contact sports. Soap formulations of this type have applications in BJJ, as well as Wrestling, MMA, Football, Hockey, or even your everyday gym routine. The most common BJJ soaps have a bunch of different essential oils, like tea tree oil and eucalyptus oil, that have antifungal or antibacterial properties. BJJ antimicrobial and antifungal soaps have many roles. These soaps not only protect your skin by thoroughly cleansing it of anything you pick up during training, but it also has properties that bolster your skin’s natural protection and go in cooperation with your body to block bacterial or fungal infections.
Why use Antifungal and Antimicrobial soaps for BJJ?
Most of the time, BJJ gyms take extra care to prevent skin diseases by ensuring a clean environment for BJJ practitioners or trainees. However, this may not always be the case, and you cannot always be risk-free even if the equipment is cleaned every day. Mats, locker rooms, showers, etc. can all carry dangerous bacteria and viruses since most types of fungus dwell and multiply in moist areas. And as a BJJ practitioner, you simply cannot afford to have a skin infection. It will significantly affect your performance or even completely prevent you from training since some infections are contagious and can easily be caught by other people.
BJJ Skin Diseases
Unfortunately, you can catch a lot of nasty stuff while training BJJ. The most common skin infections that jiu jitsu practitioners are likely to catch involve Herpes, Ringworm, Impetigo, or Staph. These diseases most of the time can attack multiple parts of your body and look like swollen, painful bumps or itchy rash. Being affected by them is generally unpleasant.
Most common BJJ skin diseases
Ringworm
Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin. The name of the disease can be confusing because it has nothing to do with worms. It’s a fungus that causes the infection. The name comes from the skin lesion shape, which looks like a rolled-up worm. Most of the time ringworm looks like a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash, which can also cause hair loss on the affected area. Moreover, it can attack multiple places on your body at the same time.
Impetigo
Impetigo is a bacterial contagious skin infection. Its name comes from the Latin word impetere, meaning “to attack.” Typically it attacks the face, arms, or legs and looks like yellowish crusts. Impetigo can occur on healthy skin, but mostly it begins in minor cuts, insect bites, or a rash such as eczema. Generally, any place where the skin is broken.
Herpes Gladiatorum
Although there are several types of herpes you can catch while practicing BJJ, herpes gladiatorum, also known as mat herpes, is the most typical one for contact sports. Unfortunately, it is a highly contagious disease and once you are infected, the virus stays with you forever. Sometimes the virus is just in an inactive and not contagious phase, but you can also have flare-ups at any time. And if that was not enough, it can affect any part of your body.
MRSA (Staph) Infection
MRSA is another infection caused by bacteria. It typically occurs when there’s a cut or crack in the skin. The disease usually creates a swelled, unpleasant bump. It may look like a spider bite or pimple. Usually, it has a yellowish or white center and a center head. It is very contagious.
The role of antifungal soap in avoiding skin infections
The best way of avoiding catching skin infections is by keeping the skin dry, not walking barefoot in public, and not sharing personal items. Prevention also includes hand washing and covering wounds. High hygiene is simply recommended as a preventive measure. In other words, just wash yourself. Personal hygiene is critical here. Remember to wash your hands, especially after using a bathroom, take showers frequently, and change clothes regularly. Keep cuts and abrasions covered during practice. Avoid contact with other people’s wounds. Don’t share towels, clothing, or equipment with others.
Prevention is the key. In any case, avoiding getting a skin infection is much easier than treating one. And if you want to avoid the above-mentioned nasty diseases you should also simply invest in a good antimicrobial or antifungal soap. Thanks to such soaps, infections can be prevented easily and you will not be stopped from practicing your favorite sport. Better be safe than sorry.
BEST BJJ ANTIFUNGAL AND ANTIMICROBIAL SOAPS
Good BJJ soap must be effective, chemical-free, consistent and have good rinsability. Below you will find a list of the best antifungal and antimicrobial soaps for BJJ currently available on the market.
Battleskin Bar Soap Tea Tree Soap
This soap in the form of a bar is proper for all skin types and gives you a fresh tingling sensation. You can use it in your daily life for your face, body, and hand. It consists of tea and eucalyptus leaves and lavenders. All of that gently cleanses the skin, leaving it clean and not sticky. Essential oils contained in the soap have natural therapeutic effects. Tea Tree oil and eucalyptus oil has been shown to have therapeutic effects on all kinds of skin infections caused by bacteria and fungus. And lavender will decrease stress, anxiety, and depression. The lavender essential oil also gives out a fresh and elegant fragrance, which will give you a good smell after use and make your mood peaceful.
Moreover, this bar soap has no Chemical Harmful Preservatives, Petroleum, fragrances, dyes, or other harsh ingredients. After using it, the skin feels clean, and you feel very fresh without being dried out. It just smells great and works wonders.
BLUE STEEL SPORTS SOAP WITH EUCALYPTUS AND TEA TREE OIL
This soap is enriched with eucalyptus and tea tree oil. Eucalyptus oil is famous for its amazing antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties that can heal wounds, cuts, and bruises while tea tree oil is popularly used to cure infections like tinea pedis (athlete’s foot), onychomycosis, ringworm, and scabies. They gently exfoliate the skin while gradually eradicating skin infections and wounds. The soap can also reduce ingrown hairs. Furthermore, you will not have to worry about the soap crumbling or falling apart early or easily like you would with other soaps of this sort because it is triple milled.
POWER CLEAN SOAP (ORGANIC SOAP BAR)
You can buy this soap infused with peppermint, lavender, blood orange, lemongrass and even coffee. A lot of soaps can be hard on your skin and irritate it while causing dryness due to the chemicals in them, but you will not have to worry about that if you are using Power Clean Soap. The soap comprises completely organic ingredients and has zero parabens or surfactants. The antibacterial properties in this soap can treat a variety of infections and leave your skin fresh with a cool fragrance.
ATHLETE’S SOAP ANTIFUNGAL SOAP
This product treats dryness and certain types of rashes leaving your skin feeling smooth and refreshed. The properties in this soap prevent infections and cure them as well. There are absolutely no harmful chemicals in Athlete’s soap. So for anyone whose skin type is dry or sensitive, this soap is a perfect choice.
DEFENSE SOAP ANTIFUNGAL 4 OUNCE SOAP
THE YELLOW BIRD SOAP BARS[/easyazon_link]
The yellow bird soap bar is a handmade soap bar, made up of several essential oils including peppermint oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, olive oil, coconut oil and tea tree oil. It also treats various fungal infections and is completely organic. It fights bacteria and prevents it from attacking you.
GOLDS BJJ SUBMISSION SOAP
We have discussed the incredible benefits of tree tea oil and eucalyptus previously. This soap is also packed with a powerful combination of tree tea oil and eucalyptus and carries amazing benefits against fungal infections like ringworm etc.
Remedy Soap Tea Tree Oil Body Wash
And if bar soaps are not for you, there are also options in a bottle. Bathing with this body wash is really refreshing, and the scent is delicate but very pleasant. And moreover, it just works. It is a strong odor eliminator, that also helps with acne as well as other skin infections. All this is thanks to a well-chosen mixture of different oils. Tea tree, eucalyptus, and peppermint oil for helping skin irritations. And jojoba, coconut, and olive oil to moisturize, refresh and deodorize. This bottle soap will work great for all skin types and for multiple purposes. It has a strong enough effect to be used as a soap after training, but at the same time it is not irritating at all, so it can also be used simply for everyday use.
Other hygiene tips
Using such soaps is generally really important while practicing contact sports. Probably if everyone in your gym used antifungal and antimicrobial BJJ soaps, the risk of, for example, ringworm outbreak, would be almost non-existent. However, even if this perfect scenario would come true, it’s still worth keeping other hygiene rules.
Personal hygiene
Firstly, wash yourself with antifungal and antimicrobial BJJ soaps preferably before and after training. Also, remember to wash your hands frequently. Washing your hands after using the toilet is an absolute must. Don’t forget to change clothes regularly. Moreover, keep cuts and abrasions covered during practice. If you want to prevent all skin diseases, avoid contact with other people’s wounds. Don’t share towels, clothing, or equipment with others.
Use an extra layer of protection
BJJ rashguards and spats are a great defense against skin infections. Thanks to them your skin isn’t touching the mat directly. You still have to wash yourself but by wearing such gear you just got an additional layer of protection.
Wash your stuff
Even if you wash yourself frequently with BJJ antifungal soap, it won’t help if you don’t wash your training gear. All your stuff, gi, rashguard, spats, anything you wear on that mats need proper washing. If you don’t do this, you are risking getting one of the BJJ skin diseases.
Remember about flip-flops
Walking barefoot everywhere is practically asking for some skin infection. If you step into a bathroom without flip-flops and after it, you step on the mat, you are bringing a ton of bacteria with you on your feet. It will affect not only you but also your training partners. So if you want to take care of your and others’ health just remember about flip-flops.
In conclusion
Having a good antibacterial and antifungal BJJ soap is a must if you want to train contact sports. It will protect you from catching some nasty infection. And it is important because even if your gym has good sanitary practices, sometimes bacteria, viruses, etc. still find their way in. That’s why it is probably best to take the matter into your own hands and practice some good hygiene. So, don’t hesitate and just buy one of the BJJ antifungal soaps and remember about the other recommendations mentioned above.
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