Dial

Dial is an American personal-care brand whose best-known products are bar soaps, liquid hand soaps, body washes, and hand sanitizers. The brand originated within Armour and Company, a major meat-packing business that had also made soap from tallow, a by-product of meat processing, since the late nineteenth century. Dial was developed by a team of Armour chemists, with Emmett Patrick Glynn identified as a key contributor to the creation. The product first appeared in the Chicago market in 1948 and was introduced nationally in 1949. Its original point of difference was the use of hexachlorophene, identified in the company's materials as AT-7, to give the soap antibacterial properties and to address perspiration odor. Dial's early marketing positioned it as a deodorant soap offering protection throughout the day. Advertising used visual depictions of germs and microbes to dramatize the product's claimed effect, helping establish Dial as a distinctive mass-market personal-care brand. Dial became one of the leading deodorant-soap brands in the United States. From 1953 through the mid-1990s, the brand was closely associated with the slogan “Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did?” The line connected personal hygiene with social confidence and became one of the most recognizable elements of Dial's identity. The brand's core proposition combined everyday affordability with odor protection and antibacterial positioning, rather than presenting soap primarily as a luxury or cosmetic product. The product's formulation changed as the regulatory and scientific environment evolved. Reports linking hexachlorophene exposure to neurological harm in infants led to its removal from the consumer market and restriction to hospital use in the early 1970s. After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration prohibited its use in non-medicinal consumer products, Armour-Dial replaced it with triclocarban, another synthetic antibacterial compound. This change preserved the brand's antibacterial positioning while adapting the product to new regulatory requirements. In 2016, the FDA ruled that consumer antibacterial soaps containing triclocarban and triclosan could no longer be marketed under the applicable rule because manufacturers had not established that they were both safe for long-term daily use and more effective than ordinary soap and water. Dial subsequently replaced those ingredients in relevant products with benzalkonium chloride in bar soaps and benzethonium chloride in liquid hand soaps. The FDA deferred final action on certain other active ingredients while additional safety and effectiveness data were developed. Dial is now manufactured by Henkel North American Consumer Goods, the American subsidiary of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA. Its portfolio remains centered on routine personal cleansing, including bar soap, body wash, liquid hand soap, and hand sanitizer. Although its historical identity is strongly tied to antibacterial and deodorant soap, its continued operation depends on adapting formulations, claims, and product formats to changing consumer preferences and regulatory standards.

Dial's history is rooted in Armour and Company, a meat-packing company that also operated a soap business. Armour had produced soap since 1888, using tallow generated through its meat-processing operations as an important raw material for laundry soap. During the 1940s, a group of Armour chemists worked on a new cleansing product with deodorizing and antibacterial positioning. Emmett Patrick Glynn is identified as a key contributor to the product's development. The resulting soap was launched in the Chicago market in 1948 and expanded nationally in 1949. Its name was Dial, and its initial formulation used hexachlorophene, referred to by Armour as AT-7. The ingredient was intended to make the soap antibacterial and to support claims associated with perspiration odor. Dial's advertising described it as a highly effective deodorant soap and used imagery of microbes before and after washing. This gave the brand a clear functional identity at a time when many soaps were marketed mainly around cleansing, fragrance, or skin feel. Dial's national growth made it a leading deodorant-soap brand in the United States. Its long-running slogan, “Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did?”, was used from 1953 into the mid-1990s. The campaign linked product use with freshness, confidence, and social acceptability, and the slogan became central to the brand's public identity. Dial therefore occupied a broad mass-market position: it was presented as a practical household product, but its advertising also gave it a distinctive promise around odor control. The brand's formulation history was shaped by developments in product safety regulation. In the early 1970s, reports of neurological harm in infants associated with hexachlorophene led to the ingredient's removal from consumer products and its restriction to hospital use. After the FDA prohibited hexachlorophene in non-medicinal consumer products, Armour-Dial substituted triclocarban. This preserved an antibacterial orientation, but the change also demonstrated that Dial's product claims and formulation could not be separated from government standards and evolving scientific evidence. Dial later broadened its portfolio beyond its original bar-soap identity. The brand became associated with body washes, liquid hand soaps, and hand sanitizers in addition to traditional bars. These formats allowed it to remain relevant as consumers shifted toward liquid cleansing and specialized personal-care products. A further regulatory transition occurred in 2016, when the FDA ruled that consumer antibacterial soaps containing triclocarban and triclosan could not continue to be marketed under the applicable rule. The agency concluded that manufacturers had not demonstrated the necessary combination of safety and superior effectiveness compared with ordinary soap and water. Dial responded by replacing triclocarban in bar soaps with benzalkonium chloride and using benzethonium chloride in liquid hand soaps. The FDA deferred final action on some other ingredients while additional safety and effectiveness information was collected. Dial is manufactured today by Henkel North American Consumer Goods, Henkel's American consumer-goods subsidiary. Its modern identity combines the heritage of a historically prominent deodorant-soap brand with a wider range of everyday cleansing products. The brand's major turning points have been its 1940s launch, the development of its memorable deodorant-soap advertising, the removal of hexachlorophene, the move into liquid and sanitizer formats, and the reformulation prompted by the FDA's 2016 antibacterial-soap decision.

• 2016

  Antibacterial soap reformulation

  [1]Dial (soap)en.wikipedia.org

  The FDA restricts marketing of consumer antibacterial soaps containing triclocarban and triclosan. Dial changes active ingredients in affected bar and liquid hand-soap products.

• 1970

  Hexachlorophene removed from consumer formulation

  [1]Dial (soap)en.wikipedia.org

  Following reports of neurological harm in infants and resulting regulatory action, hexachlorophene is removed from consumer products and Dial shifts to triclocarban.

• 1953

  Long-running advertising slogan begins

  [1]Dial (soap)en.wikipedia.org

  Dial begins using the slogan associated with its deodorant-soap advertising: “Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did?”

• 1949

  National introduction

  [1]Dial (soap)en.wikipedia.org

  Dial expands from its initial Chicago launch to national distribution in the United States.

• 1948

  Dial launches in Chicago

  [1]Dial (soap)en.wikipedia.org

  Armour and Company introduces Dial in the Chicago market as an antibacterial deodorant soap using hexachlorophene.

Mass-market personal care focused on everyday cleansing, odor protection, and antibacterial hygiene claims where permitted by applicable regulations.

• Bar soap · 1948

  Dial deodorant bar soap

  Dial's original category and historical signature. The bar soap was introduced as a cleansing product with a deodorant and antibacterial proposition, distinguishing it from conventional soaps through its focus on perspiration odor and skin bacteria. Its formulation changed over time as active ingredients became subject to safety and regulatory restrictions.

• Antibacterial soap

  Dial antibacterial bar soap

  A bar-soap line built around Dial's historic antibacterial positioning. Early versions used hexachlorophene, later versions used triclocarban, and products were subsequently reformulated after the FDA's 2016 action concerning certain antibacterial soap ingredients. The line represents the brand's strongest connection to its original product promise.

• Body wash

  Dial body wash

  A liquid format that extends the Dial brand from traditional bar soap into routine shower cleansing. Body wash products broaden the brand's shelf presence and respond to consumer preference for pump or pourable formats, while retaining Dial's accessible, everyday personal-care positioning.

• Liquid hand soap

  Dial liquid hand soap

  Liquid hand-cleansing products designed for use at household and public sinks. Dial's liquid hand soaps form part of the brand's expansion beyond bar soap and include formulations affected by changes to antibacterial active ingredients, including the use of benzethonium chloride in products described in the brand's regulatory history.

• Hand sanitizer

  Dial hand sanitizer

  Hand-sanitizing products within Dial's broader personal-cleansing portfolio. They extend the brand's hygiene orientation beyond soap and water and sit alongside bar soaps, body washes, and liquid hand soaps in the modern range.

• 1953Aren't you glad you use Dial?

  United States

  Dial used the slogan “Aren't you glad you use Dial? Don't you wish everybody did?” to promote its deodorant-soap benefit. The campaign framed odor protection as both a personal benefit and a socially desirable quality.

  Outcome. The slogan remained associated with Dial advertising into the mid-1990s and became a defining part of the brand's identity.

  Source

• 2016

  Reformulate products after FDA antibacterial-soap ruleOther

  Background

  The FDA ruled that consumer antibacterial soaps containing triclocarban and triclosan could no longer be marketed under the applicable rule because manufacturers had not shown the required safety and added effectiveness over ordinary soap and water.

  Action taken

  Dial replaced triclocarban with benzalkonium chloride in bar soaps and used benzethonium chloride in liquid hand soaps.

  Aftermath

  The brand continued selling cleansing products while adapting antibacterial formulations to the regulatory environment. The FDA deferred final action on certain other active ingredients while additional data were developed.

  Source

• 1970

  Replace hexachlorophene in consumer soapOther

  Background

  Reports associated hexachlorophene exposure with neurological harm in infants, followed by its removal from consumer products and restriction to hospital use.

  Action taken

  Armour-Dial replaced hexachlorophene with triclocarban in its consumer antibacterial soap formulation.

  Aftermath

  Dial retained an antibacterial product position while changing the active ingredient used to support it.

  Source

• 2020-10-15

  Dial launches #DialItForward TikTok campaign[2]Dial推出#DialItForward TikTok活动prnewswire.com

  Reported: 2020-10-15

  Dial launched its #DialItForward challenge on TikTok for Global Handwashing Day. The campaign was scheduled to run from October 15 to October 17, 2020.

1. 1Dial (soap)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Dial推出#DialItForward TikTok活动prnewswire.com