I have super-oily skin. Shouldn’t I wash my back, chest and legs to wash away the excess oil?
I’ve been operating on the fast drying, easier-cleaning meshiness theory too, Tikki. I run mine through the laundry every week anyway, just out of habit, but it never occured to me that it might end up yucky anyway.
Sigh. I’m not disputing trublmakr’s experience; pretty hard, that, as it’s based on a parade of people with skin troubles serious enough to seek medical treatment. But I’ll…quibble. Plead? I really, really like my shower pouf. Just about everything in life carries some germs, bacteria and assorted lurking nasties. Where’s the line between reasonable sanitation and active paranoia?
F’rinstance, maybe pouf sharing is a factor. Some people might share toothbrushes. (I’m extrapolating here, and grossing myself out in the process.) If their mouths start to rot out they might be asked, “Do you brush?” but not, “Are you scrubbing somebody else’s bodily castoffs into your carcass?”
Ick. Maybe I’m just blest with skin as delicate as tungsten steel, and therefore take it for granted. It’s fair, clear and I can–and do–bash it with just about anything. And an immune system that can digest a Hummer and spit out the bumpers.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m whining. I love my shower pouf. Ain’t never died of it yet. (Which might be what the folks trublmakr sees say, as they itch, seep and shed body parts on waiting room floor.)
Veb
Uh, yeah, the point is to use a clean, dry washcloth every time. A used washcloth carries bacteria just like a pouf does. At any rate, if you enjoy your pouf you’re welcome to it. Just don’t say you weren’t informed if you experience skin problems in the future. The fact is, if a pouf has been used even once, it’s nasty and germ-filled. Just sayin’.
Scabies on just a forehead? That’s odd. They usually affect the entire body, with the telltale “burrowing” effects seen on the wrists and inner forearms. Did you use the cream on just that area and it went away?
Question:
I don’t understand why they would harbor so much bacteria. The entire pouf gets completely saturated with soap every time I bathe-- moreso than a washcloth in the washing machine would. What gives?
After a shower, it’s rinsed thoughroughly, and then hung up to air dry-- it doesn’t stay damp enough to keep bacteria alive, I’d think.
I’ve been using one for seven years now (not the same one-- using poufs, I mean) and my skin is fine, as is my husband’s.
If you have acne (or backne, or chestne, or legne) then yes, if it’s excess oil you should use soap on those areas. If no acne, your skin needs that oil. Skin doesn’t like to be dry.
Just as a disclaimer, I didn’t start this thread as an “Ask the…”, even though I’m willing to do it, I don’t present myself as a doctor. I can only speak for my experience observing the doctors interact with patients. When women come in with rashes, they must undress, and I must stand there as a chaperone in the room. This gives me alot of opportunity to listen and learn, since I’m just standing there.
Put me down as a member of the “no soap on any part of my body, ever” camp. I use warm water and a clean washcloth. I have fairly sensitive, somewhat oily skin that gets tight and uncomfortable when I use soap. I’ve been off the soap for a long, long time, and my skin is very healthy.
Regarding the negative effects of poufs, I have also heard from an unreliable source that North Americans use poufs more than anyone else, because we’re so reluctant to touch our own bodies. I have no idea how accurate this is.
You recommend washing washcloths in bleach, trubl. I’m thinking this isn’t a bad idea for your towels, too.
Soap does not kill bacteria. Only disinfectants do, such as bleach. Air-drying does not kill bacteria. Just as an experiment, you could take your current pouf down to the local college and ask the biology department to tell you what’s in it. If they’re willing to do that, you would be very surprised and disgusted by what they found.
Also, healthy skin is not automatically suspectible to bacteria. It’s highly possible to go years with daily exposure directly on your skin and never get a bacterial infection. However, dryness (extreme here), small cuts, or tiny abrasions (such as those you get from using the pouf itself) make your skin much more vulnerable. It’s a crap shoot every time you use one, really. If it’s worth it to you, pouf away.
I wash my face with the same soap I use on my body (usually Safeguard), and I’ve noticed that except for when I’m on my period/PMS, I don’t get nearly as many zits as I used to-actually, none really at all.
I also have very oily skin, so is it okay if I wash everything with soap if I use lotion afterwards?
When living in Japan some years back, I picked up the habit of using a small towel-sized scrubbing cloth that’s all anyone there ever uses, along with hot, HOT water. I don’t use it all over, just on my face and areas like elbows that need a bit of scrub. I’ve never had any problems with it, and I certainly never saw better skin in my life than the folks in Japan. Of course, the salt saunas helped, too – doing an all-over salt scrub three times a week gave me skin softer than a baby’s bottom all over. But I also don’t scrub daily; I only do it once or twice a week, and the rest of the time use a very gentle Aveeno soap and my hands.
I don’t doubt that a lot of people end up with nasty skin from poufs. I wonder just how many of them are folks who leave sponges sitting in their sinks to collect heaven knows what germs? Now, that is far, far nastier than anything I have ever seen in a shower.
While adult acne is somewhat common, it’s way more common for acne to settle down a lot and even go completely away as you get older. I’m glad yours is better, as I’ve seen some devastating acne. I’ve never had it, but I can really sympathize with those who do, even a little bit.
It’s definitely okay to wash with soap all over if that works for you. I guess my advice about this was more for people with very dry skin since that’s what most people that live in my area have. Right now we have about 5% humidity and that’s rough.
So what am I doing to myself …
I mean.
What are people doing to themselves if they eschew anything resembling cloths or poufs and apply soap directly to their skin?
The thing about applying the soap directly onto your skin is, that now you’ve covered the soap with bacteria from your skin and the next time you use the soap you’ll be spreading it all over your body again. The longer the soap sits there between uses, the more the bacteria multiplies. By the time you use it again, even if it’s just the next day, there are millions! Apply soap to clean, wet washcloth, hold the soap in the running water to rinse off the bacteria from your hands, and store it in a dry place. No bacteria.
I just don’t see it as causing a problem. I don’t have skin problems, why should I change?
Why would you want to wait until you had problems? I’d want to stop doing something that I found out was nasty, but if you don’t mind, then I surely don’t. Pouf your heart out!
Aaaack. IMO, not using soap/not washing your entire body is just as gross as the people who use the dorm shower without shower shoes on. It’s so…not clean. (Not in reference to bacteria, but just dirt and such).
How do you manage to be abrasive what what amounts to a couple folds of nylon mesh? And I guess, if you spend your entire existance wearing long pants and long sleeves, you’re not going to get dirty (perhaps a bit sweaty and gross), but what about if you’re wearing short sleeves? Just hope that the dirt and grime rinses off with water?
Also, where would you say that ‘body wash’ falls on your scale? Is there any discernible difference between it and soap?
Liquid soap is frowned upon. It’s more drying and no more effective. Any moisturing effect the added ingredients give you could be achieved with lotion and you wouldn’t have the drying effect of the liquid. It’s also a lot more expensive.
My office is very simple and basic. We don’t do cosmetic work, we don’t do Botox or collagen or peels or anything like that. We don’t cater to the socialites of Tucson, and we don’t sell our own line in the waiting room. We don’t recommend fancy department store makeup, we don’t get paid to promote the high-end crap. We don’t even remove moles for cosmetic purposes, we refer to a plastic surgeon.
We are strictly clinical dermatology, and my doctors are tops in terms of their knowledge about skin. It’s a complicated field. Every day I talk to new patients who’ve come in with incorrect diagnoses from PCPs, and it’s understandable. Dermatology is extremely challenging.
I don’t profess to know .0001 percent about it as my doctors do, but I have gained more knowledge from them than the average lay person has about it. It’s my job, after all.
I remember a column by Cecil in which he discusses the importance of soap, and he stated that it’s absolutely essential to use soap. It’s too late for me to dig up a link and way past my bedtime.
That should be “.0001 percent as MUCH as they do.”
Uh - since I’m not bleaching my body (only washing it with soap and warm water) then I’m covered with bacteria all the time anyway. What difference does it make if I move the bacteria around with a washcloth or a shower pouf?
The best part about the pouf is the air dry factor - I have a hard time imagining the logistics of a clean dry washcloth every time - where do the wet washcloths go until laundry day? Sitting around in a nasty, wet, mildewy pile. Blech. Between me and John that would be a lot of washclothes a week!
I just can’t get on the germ phobia bus - I’m a healthy person who hasn’t been sick a day in over a year. If I started worrying about every germ (on the shower pouf! on the door handle! the computer keyboard at work!) I wouldn’t have time to do anything BUT worry.
As an FYI, the natural Ph of the skin is somewhat acidic. Most soaps are alkaline - such as Ivory. When you wash with them, they temporarily mess with the Ph of your skin, causing that tight, pulling feeling. Many people associate that feeling with being “clean.” In fact, the skin is no cleaner than if you had used a acidic cleanser - the Ph is just somewhat out of wack.
So, if you can find an acidic cleanser, such as Neostrata (or Vichy), the tightness, and pulling sensation will basically be eliminated. However, it takes some getting used to (that is, knowing that your skin is clean without the ‘scrubbed’ feeling).
As and FYI, Neostrata is only available from dermatologists in the US, according to the last school I was at; however, here in Canada, you can buy it in drugstores.
Furthermore, I just phoned and asked my dermatologist, and he confirmed my suspicions - as long as you regularly wash your shower pouff, it’s no more dangerous than your bath towel.
While I have no doubt that boat loads of people are trecking into trublmakr’s derms’ office with skin problems, I’d be willing to bet as much as $2 that they had never actually washed the shower pouff that was giving them trouble.
YMMV.
Of course, take all of this with a grain of salt - I’m not a dermatologist, just a cosmetician, and while I do get trained on skin and skin-care, it’s only about 60 hours a year. (As opposed to derms who go for EVAR!!!) 