I’m not arguing against your experience or knowledge, trublmakr, so please take all this in the purely disinterested spirit in which it’s intended. Lord knows you have more than ample reason real-life reasons to raise the subject in the first place. I’m just mulling over relative risks. Hey, a message board is a great place for it, right?
Most people bathe at least somewhat regularly, and the process inevitably involves some degree of skin abrasion. Some of it probably involves much more, from basic if overly enthusiastic scrubbing to shaving, etc. Anyway, tiny but significant openings in the skin that allow entry to microscopic nasties.
It’s a question of balancing risks, y’know? I’m not saying you’re wrong, just muddling through what you’ve said, placed into broad perspective.
Offhand I’d guess that rinsing off soap bars after touching, tossing out shower poufs in favor of fresh washcloths each shower, etc. might be very good advice. In foggy paranoid morning moments I’ve wondered about my shower razor, for obvious reasons. Even beside the seemingly inevitable nicks around the fragile, tricky ankle bones on particularly fraught, foggy and frantic mornings.
It isn’t so much a case of doing nasty things that could cause problems. It’s more deciding what’s likely, balancing out relative risks. I don’t doubt for a minute what you’ve seen. But maybe it isn’t quite so direly prescriptive.
Ditto, not to mention, my skin is like silk thanks to my dedication to exfoliation… When I forget to wash my poufs and have to resort to a wash cloth my skin gets all rough and corduroy-like.
I realize it was not your intention but what you’re doing here is pretty darn close to giving medical advice without the credentials to do so. No matter how many times you say you’re not a doctor, the advice you’re giving is being presented as fact because you’re employed by a doctor. It’s a fine line. Giving info to your close friends is one thing, taking questions and giving answers on a website is a little different. If your docs are reputable, they’d shit green gumballs if they knew you were passing on your “wisdom” you have obtained there to the masses.
I just like the way my scrubby makes my skin feel, all clean-tingly feeling. I’m not giving up my scrubby.
I use Bath and Body Works body wash on my scrubby when I shower, and I use lotion all over my body when I get out. I always use lotion. Sometimes several times a day. Never gotten anything but compliments on how soft my skin is.
I’ll stick with what works.
I did however, stop using shampoo, for the most part. I have middle-of-my-back curly hair (tight, corkscrew curls) and read Curly Girl.
I started only using shampoo once every week, if that, when I got the book, and I’ve weaned myself to the point I rarely use it, and I am noticing a huge improvement in the softness/shinyness factor of my hair. It’s in the best condition it’s been in in years, and I haven’t used shampoo in my hair for over 6 months now.
I use just conditioner, scrub my scalp with my fingertips to clean it, finger-comb the conditioner through my hair, then put on a bit more conditioner, and comb it through with a wide-tooth comb, then rinse it out.
I’ve also stopped putting it in the “turban” when I get out of the shower. I basically blot it dry with my towel instead.
As a curly girl whose long hair can be a royal pain in the ass, I’ve noticed a huge improvement. Even my sweetie’s noticed, and he’s not known for noticing subtle changes I make to my appearance.
This thread has been brought to you by the useless-hygiene-products-you-never-even-knew-you-needed-before-you-were-warned-of-the-dire-threats-to-your-health-if-you-don’t-buy-them industry. What’s a few goobies in the shower here and there, anyway? We’re just conditioning a society of effete germophobes, and lining some pockets in the process. It’s not like you’re gonna wash your arsehole and then suck whatever you use afterwards, so who cares if you choose to wash with a belt sander or a live swan?.
Any thoughts on kissing? Or blowjobs? Or cunnilingus? There must be millions of evil germs swarming there.
The logistics of having a clean washcloth for every shower are thus: you go to Target and buy a few bundles of their one-dozen-for-five-dollars washcloths. You use a fresh washcloth every time you shower. If you are the only person who uses your shower, then the old cloth will be completely dry and ready to be chucked in the hamper 24 hours later. Otherwise, make a place to hang wet washclothes outside of the shower. Tada.
To keep your soap clean, only handle it with your clean washcloth. At the beginning of your shower, pick it up with the washcloth, lather, put it back with the lathered washcloth.
Regarding bleaching towels: I started doing it three years ago, when I was having problems with chronic yeast infections (ditto the Target washcloths at that time, too). Not only did my towels smell like chlorine, but they FELL APART after a year. Bleach will destroy your towels. Unless you are dealing with a clear-and-present infection that needs to be eliminated, don’t do it.
I’m just crazy enough to try this. I’m not a curly girl, but my long straight to wavy hair has been just a damned mess lately, as has my scalp. I’m off work for the next week, so i’m going to try this (starting today- I just showered and conditioned only) . I last shampooed on Thursday (Friday was my usual skip day) so we’ll see!
Indeed. I believe it was George Carlin who said all you need to wash every day was “armpits, asshole, crotch and teeth. You can save a lot of time if you use the same brush for all four.”
I can’t live without my pouf. I build up too many dead skin cells to not use it. I love my moisurizing body wash too, Jergins with shea butter, much faster and easier to use than putting on moisurizer all the time.
I am going to start dipping my pouf in a disinfecting bleach water/ solution often or putting it out in the sun all day. I’ll get a few more so I can rotate their usage.
You know, a little knowlege really is a dangerous thing. You have to learn to back up and look at the big picture. Yes, a multidoctor practice that does absolutely nothing else and is thus far more likely than average to see cases like this has ten such patients a day. But like I said, it’s a multi-doctor practice, and each doc probably sees 20-30 patients a day, and the nature of the practice makes them more likely than average to see pouf-related dermatitis. And we’re talking about an area that’s not exactly known for being kind to skin with a population of nearly 900,000.
Is there a non-zero risk of getting dermatitis from a pouf? You bet your ass. There’s also a non-zero risk that I’ll be run over by a drunk driver on my way home from work tonight, or that someone will rape and kill me in the parking lot. But you know what? None of these things are particularly signigicant risks. They happen, but seldom enough that it would be ridiculous to barricade myself in my home all the time out of fear. Instead I use common-sense precautions like wearing my seatbelt and driving defensively and having someone watch me to my car.
Would I be shocked and horrified by the results of a culture from my shower pouf? Nope. Not a shred. I know it’s teeming with bacteria, because the skin I use it on is teeming with bacteria. Ditto my toothbrush and probably my hairbrush. I’m not going to bleach those things any more than I’m going to bleach my silverware, which has been in contact with my bacteria-laden skin and is all germified. And god knows what that fork has picked up after being in my bacteria-filled mouth.
My god, won’t someone think of the children and start selling silverware disinfectant?
Yeah, a lot of bacteria and viruses are bad for you. And some manage to get past your skin and defeat your cells. But the majority of bacteria and viruses you come in contact with each day are handled by your immune system just fine. And a lot of them can’t even get that far because your skin protects you. Of course those anti-bacterial commercials want you to forget that and want you to believe that since you can’t live in a plastic bubble, buying their product is the next best thing.
I’ve been using a scrubby and liquid body wash almost since they showed up on the market. I don’t like washcloths and I don’t like bar soap. I change the scrubbies periodically, and I buy generic body wash. I shower once a day at least, more if I do grubby work. I use the scrubby on all parts by my face and hair. The last time I saw a dermatologist, it was for a small, pre-cancerous spot on one shoulder. He didn’t shrink back in horror at the sight of my skin, not did he indicate I had any issues.
I’m thinking there’s nothing wrong with my hygiene. Bacteria are everywhere. Some are bad, some are good, some are just there. We live together in harmony. I’m sorry - I see this as a non-problem.
I use vaseline. I just rub a little around my eyes, and wipe with a warm washcloth. It takes all of the makeup off (even waterproof mascara), and isn’t harsh like some of the other eye makeup removers I used to use. It also helps to keep that area moisturized. No wrinkles for me!
See, issues like this are where things get complicated. Yes, bacteria are a normal part of the human body. But some bacteria cause infections. You want to be clean, but not too clean. You want bacteria to help you digest your food and keep your vagina healthy, but you don’t want to be retching your guts out from E. coli in your hamburger from someone wiping their bum then cooking your burger.
My criteria for anti-bacterial stuff - use it around food preparation to prevent food poisoning, and wash things that come in contact with your bum with a weak bleach solution (washcloths, towels, and underwear). Other than that, anti-bacterial precaution is not required. However, do wash your hands with soap many, many times each day to prevent the spread of colds, flus and bacteria. This is just my opinion, of course, but I was trained in microbiology, so I’m not completely talking out of my ass.
I’m guessing those that are getting infections from poufs are probably leaving their poufs hanging up in the shower, and thus mold and shit is growing in the little crevices and folds where it doesn’t dry as well.
Same with sponges. I was always told growing up that sponges are breeding grounds for bacteria, because of all the little nooks and crannies.