Germ-fighting has become a literal contact sport since the spread of COVID-19 . Extending beyond household cleaning supplies and hand sanitizers , now the demand for items with antiseptic properties has spread to the world of beauty.

Products that promise to disinfect, sanitize and purify your beauty routine have become all the rage lately especially when you consider our makeup brushes are loaded with potentially deadly bacteria but there are many mysteries about whether disinfecting, sanitizing and purifying will actually fight COVID-19. Science-backed data notwithstanding, there are plenty of products for sale that claim to provide an added barrier of protection against COVID-19, and plenty more that technically dont claim to do any such thing, but are assumed to do so as a result of clever marketing, coupled with consumer fears.

To establish what works and what doesnt, we spoke with experts to clear it all up. But first, lets find out how the science works.

All germs are not created equally, and neither is their treatment

Germs, which exist everywhere, are tiny living beings that can cause illness in humans. Though the term itself is nonspecific and refers to various organisms (such as fungi, bacteria and viruses) that lead to infection and disease, treatment of these respective germs requires specificity in order to be successful.