We're all now hyper aware of hand hygiene due to the coronavirus pandemic, but confusion remains about exactly what works best and why.

Dr Freestone says this ingredient 'causes disruption of intermolecular interactions and dissociation of lipid bilayers, and might act on an enveloped virus such as COVID-19. However, it hasn't been tested against this virus specifically. Coronavirus latest: get the latest specialist news and advice from our money, travel and health experts

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The pitfalls of hand sanitiser are that it doesn't work as well on sweaty, greasy or visibly dirty hands, and you need to use a lot to completely cover the entire surface of your hands. You can theoretically make your own, by mixing 3/4 cup of rubbing alcohol with 1/4 cup of aloe vera, but it's not really advisable. Anything homemade is obviously not laboratory validated to the standard of commercial hand sanitisers. Soap is able to dissolve this lipid layer, causing the virus to fall apart and stopping it from binding to our cells. You should also exercise caution when using online marketplaces - previous Which? investigations have uncovered a high number of products that don't pass safety standards It's important to remember that hand sanitiser isn't the be all and end all of hygiene (if you're one of the millions of Brits now mostly staying at home anyway, hand washing is the best option).

These types of wipes, along with antiseptic creams such as Savlon or Germolene, tend to be more antibacterial than antiviral, as they're designed to work on the skin where bacteria are (usually) the main skin pathogens. We spoke to a microbiologist about the science of hand sanitiser and soap, the key ingredients to look for and whether alternatives such as hand wipes work. You've probably seen that you need at least 60% alcohol content for hand sanitiser to work properly. If you have a Cuticura product, you might notice that on the label it says it contains 57.6% ethanol. Cuticura told us that this is the value by weight and it converts to 66% ethanol by volume (the important measure), which is above the 60% minimum requirement. As with hand sanitiser, you may be happy to go with whatever soap you can find on the shelf. And it turns out, there's no need to be too discriminating. If it foams, it will do the job.

Hospitals and medical environments understandably need protection that has been certified for high-risk environments, so it's best to leave this for those who really need it.