How often should you replace your loofah?

Think about this, that very same thing that cleans your skin, is a disgusting breeding ground of bacteria.  Basically every time you use a loofah to cleanse and soften your skin, you are essentially rubbing your own dead skin cells back onto your body.  Let that digest for a sec.  Are you ok?

When you use a loofah to scrub, those same dead skin cells that you just scrubbed off are now tangled into the loofah itself with no escape.  Over time those cells just pile up, and while sitting in a warm and moist environment like the shower, they just are an inevitable place for  mold, bacteria and yeast to grow.

It gets even grosser.  When you use a loofah over your freshly shaved skin, you are risking putting all of that bacteria into your body through a knick or scrape from your razor leading to a potential infection. Apparently 9 out of 10 dermatologists actually advise AGAINST using a loofah!

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t use a loofah, you just have to take extra care when you do.  What does that mean?  Replace your natural loofah every three-four weeks and your plastic ones every two months.  They are cheap enough to do this quite frequently.  Be proactive and do it more often if you see mold or dark spots growing obviously.   Try to let your loofah dry outside of the shower, avoiding most locations can help prolong the life of your loofah.

If you just can’t get fathom not using a loofah in the shower, you can always consider using a washcloth.  They are easier to clean by just tossing into the wash, and avoiding this loofah nonsense all together!

 

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