The future of the humble bar of soap may in be hot water as more people are choosing to use liquid hand wash and hand sanitiser. Baths were also on the decline with more people opting for a quick shower over a long soak, according to a new report. Despite falling sales of the traditional bar of soap, people are actually washing more with over a third of adults are washing their hands more often than they were a year ago. The proportion of people buying liquid hand soap at least once a month has risen from 56 per cent in 2013 to 62 per cent in 2014 . Experts believe the nation's changing hygiene habits could be down to the public fear over international health scares such as last year's Ebola outbreak. Charlotte Libby, Senior Beauty Analyst at Mintel, said: 'With health scares making headlines around the world throughout 2014, the spread of disease has raised awareness of how hand hygiene plays a part in preventing infection, causing an increase in the frequency of consumers washing their hands.' Professor Vincent-Wayne Mitchell, a consumer marketing specialist at the Cass Business School in London, added that years of MRSA oubreaks and food hygiene scares had made people 'hygiene hyperconscious.' The proportion of people buying liquid hand soap at least once a month has risen from 56 per cent in 2013 to 62 per cent in 2014. Research by Mintel found that 87 per cent of people are more likely to purchase liquid soap than bar soap, 71 per cent. More than half of us also use hand sanitiser gel, with a third buying it once a month or more. Professor Isabelle Szmigin, a consumer behaviour expert at the University of Birmingham, said the shift to liquid soap was 'purely an improvement' 'The large majority of young Brits purchasing hand sanitiser shows that, despite preconceptions, this group have a particularly cautious attitude towards spreading germs,' added Ms Libby. Humans have been using soap for thousands of years. The earliest bar discovered dates back to around 2800 BC in ancient Babylon. The first mass-market transparent soap was Pears, which was first sold in 1807. Professor Isabelle Szmigin, a consumer behaviour expert at the University of Birmingham, said the shift to liquid soap was 'purely an improvement'. 'This is what we call a continuous innovation, where the basic formula is the same but the product is better,' she said. Shower washes were the most frequently purchased body cleansing product of 2014, as they were the previous year, with one in five taking less baths than they did a year ago. Ms Libby said: 'Consumers have started to realise that being environmentally friendly can translate to money-saving and are making greener choices to benefit their own pockets.' Experts believe the nation's changing hygiene habits could be down to the public fear over health scares such as last year's Ebola outbreak . Young men, aged 16-24, were the most likely to still choose a bath over a shower with a quarter claiming that the bath is their cleaning method of choice, compared to the national average of 19 per cent. One in five men young men said they are taking more baths compared to three years ago with a quarter of describing the bathroom as their 'sanctuary.' Prof Mitchell said the increasing use of baths by young men reflects the rise of male grooming and the metrosexual phenomenon. 'Young men can prove an important target for innovation in the soap, bath and shower sector, and could be encouraged into habits that they maintain as they age,' Ms Libby concluded. The soap, bath and shower category experienced declining sales over the past two years, falling from £660 million in 2012 to an estimated £638 million in 2014.
Study found numbers buying liquid soap rose from 56% to 62% last year . More than half also use sanitiser gel with a third buying it every month . Experts change could be down to fear over health scares such as Ebola .