Blue Vs Green Dawn Dish Soap: What's The Difference?

You probably don't think much about whether you're using the best dish detergent. When you buy it, you may grab the color you think smells best or choose the bottle that gives you the most value for your dollar. That said, maybe while standing in the grocery store aisle, you've wondered why there are so many colors of Dawn dish detergent and whether they're actually different. Everyone recognizes Dawn's iconic blue soap, but what about the green?

Surprisingly, blue and green Dawn dish detergents differ in more ways than just color and aroma. A majority of Dawn's dish soap products are blue, so you may not know about the green Dawn formula and its additional antibacterial properties and other benefits. But which one should you buy? And are the other colors different, too? Here's what to know.

Dawn is the best-selling dish soap brand in the country, and you've probably seen the blue dish soap in stores. The blue dish detergent is useful for cleaning tableware, cookware, and other things around the home. It contains solvents and surfactants, such as sodium sulfates, that dissolve and remove tough stains on dishes and stubborn greasy residues. However, the same ingredients that make it an effective dish detergent can also remove natural skin oils, causing irritation for some skin types. 

If you like blue Dawn dish soap but find it too harsh on your hands, the green-colored detergent might be a better option. Green Dawn is an antibacterial formula that does double duty as a dish detergent and hand soap. It contains a lower concentration of the degreasing agents, making it gentler on your skin. However, there's a trade-off. "The darker blue Dawn Platinum gives you the best cleaning power," according to Dawn's senior scientist Morgan Eberhard (via Allrecipes).

That means that while the green Dawn soap is gentler on your skin and can be used to wash your hands, it won't tackle greasy food messes as well as the blue detergent. However, you can use the green Dawn dish soap to clean your bathroom since its antibacterial agents kill germs. Dawn has also released other colors over the years: The orange-colored soap is mostly the same as the green antibacterial formula, but with an orange fruit scent. There's also Dawn Ultra Clear, which is the same as the blue Dawn but without dyes or fragrances.