Your doctor will either provide you with a bottle or tell you to buy one if it is necessary to use before your surgery. It is available in most pharmacies, but you should call beforehand to make sure they have it in stock. Your doctor will usually let you know how long you should wait after your surgery before you can start to wear piercings and other jewelry, as well as provide you with all other post-surgery care instructions.

Hibiclens looks and feels like liquid soap. However, it must be used with more care than regular shower gel.

If you accidentally get the soap in or on any of these areas, rinse the area immediately with cold water. If you get it in your eye, continue rinsing out your eye for 15-20 minutes. If any irritation persists after 1 hour, go to an urgent care clinic or emergency room for assistance.

Products like these will make the Hibiclens less effective. It’s important not to put anything else on your skin after showering or bathing with Hibiclens so it can do its job. If you absolutely need to use some kind of lotion, then ask your doctor which kinds are ok to use. If you are in the hospital, they can usually provide you with one that is compatible with Hibiclens.

Have these clean towels and clothes ready next to the shower or bath so you can dry off and put on the clean clothes right away.

This will minimize the risk of any germs getting on your skin as you sleep the night before your surgery.

Even though you won’t wash your hair with Hibiclens, you need to make sure there is no shampoo left that could transfer to other parts of your body that you will wash with Hibiclens.

Remember to never apply Hibiclens to your face or genitals. Clean these areas first with your normal soap before proceeding to wash the rest of your body with Hibiclens.

If you have a very large shower and it is possible to step far enough away from the shower stream to avoid getting wet, then it is OK to do this.

You will be able to add more as you go if needed, so don’t worry too much about the exact amount of soap you squeeze out onto the cloth.

Try to do this whole process relatively quickly, in about 3 minutes or so. Start at the neck and work your way down for maximum efficiency. Don’t scrub your skin too hard or you might cause irritation.

Remember not to use any regular soap after using the Hibiclens. When you are done rinsing it off, your shower or bath is over.

Never use a dirty towel after applying Hibiclens, even if it has only been used once. Towels easily harbor microbes that you can transfer to your skin.

It’s especially important to keep your surgical site covered with clean clothes after showering or bathing with Hibiclens.