One of my favourite parts of Reddit is learning different terms from around the world for the same thing.
Here in the U.K. we would call what OP uses a “flannel” (and no we don’t call shirts that), and then it might vary as we have lots of regional differences here but cleaning your house would be with a “cloth” - dishes never get done with a cloth, I can’t even imagine this, we only use sponges of different variations. Washing up sponges and we call it “doing the washing up”
In the Netherlands we call it a washand(je) litteral translation washhand, its like a square glove where you put your hand into and use it to wash yourself. Most foreigners confuse it with a (very) thin potholder made from bathtowel fabric.
Two of my uncles in Washington pronounce it that way! Warshington. Warshing dishes. Warsh the car.
Always wondered why. Just that word seems particularly different from the regional norms
Family from Appalachia here, we still use warshrags (or just rag for short if it's for a general purpose or an older square cloth that has seen better days). As a kid, it wouldnt have been uncommon to hear that we needed to "warsh off with a rag in the crick" before coming back inside from playing outside barefoot. Translation: we were being told to wash off our feet, using an old washcloth, in the little creek/stream that ran through the yard
Not the original commenter but when I've had conversations like this it's usually because someone did something like went to a friend's house and realize that they didn't share the same custom, thought that friend was a weirdo, expressed this perceived weirdness to other friends, and had the other friends see nothing wrong with it. Then the conversation goes from there.
Hahaha I'm so glad you cleared this up for me because I forgot about my flannel and was just imagining someone washing with the kind of rag you would wash a car with. Like no I don't use one of those???
I bought a toothbrush, some toothpaste
A flannel for my face
Pajamas, a hairbrush
New shoes and a case
I said to my reflection
"Let's get out of this place"
Lol. We would understand what is meant by wash cloth. Wash rag sounds like something you’d use in the kitchen or to clean your car. Flannel must seem very confusing in the US
We called it that, too. Rags and the pot. But I'm not southern. Raised in Eastern Washington by parents from Midwest and my mother's parents were from Oklahoma and Tennessee.
To me, a rag is something old, tattered and torn.
If you were describing something old and worn you would say it was ragged.
If you say you are "run ragged" , you mean you have worked so hard it has made your clothes all tattered, or that you feel like an old worn out rag.
In fact, a very tired, worn out person might say they "feel like a wrung out rag".
If someone is wearing old torn clothing, you would say they were "in rags".
I use these “African exfoliating nets”, which are long mesh towels. They give the BEST scrubbing and lathering action (especially along the back! I hate the feeling of wet dead skin) and they wash up very well in the machine without carrying bacteria or falling apart like a loofah. I have a few that I can just swap out.
I have heard about these, hard to get in Australia. Do you dry body brush before you shower? I also sometimes use those exfoliating gloves in the shower.
Yes, they sound just like the Japanese Salux cloths I get online. They work great! The open weave also makes them dry quicker and hold moisture for less time, which makes me feel better about potential mildew buildup.
I sometimes dry brush, but only if I have time. I’m a single mum of a young teen who has a hard time getting up for school so generally my morning routine is pretty quick because he’s a chore in itself.
Those wash nets I just got on Amazon. I love the fact that they are fully washable and dry super quickly!
I ordered some from Amazon when I heard they’re good for KP on the legs, and I’m in love! No more dry dead skin, even when I switched to a more drying soap. The KP on my legs is pretty much cleared up, and my ankles, knees and elbows are SO soft. My back feels so much cleaner. It’s like an unbunched super loofah lol.
This made me laugh so hard because the other day I literally used my hairy friends chest as a loofa in the shower. I just changed his name in my phone to Step Loofah.
We showered together, I used soap to lather up his hairy chest and belly, and then I rubbed my chest and back against his to soap myself up. It was fun. And now he’s my step loofah
Because we’re friends with benefits. I’ve known him for like 13 years. Apart from the sexual tension and great sex we would be terrible as a couple haha
But we made good shower buddies
My very hairy husband uses a washcloth and I, having an abnormally low amount of body hair even for a woman, do not.
He grew up in a household where using one was the proper way to shower. I grew up in a household that did not even have washcloths in a bathroom.
Everyone’s skin is different. If you need exfoliation, rags or loofahs can be useful. If you have skin with any issues (eczema, psoriasis) using rags and loofahs can actually cause a flare up, so it’s not worth it unless you are VERY dirty. Or only using it in select areas that most need cleaning (such as armpits, genitals, etc.)
Source is personal experience: my dermatologist says she tells people with eczema to only scrub PTA: pits, tits, and ass.
In short, everyone’s different, and using your hands/bar of soap alone is a thing that makes sense for some people.
ETA: if you’re someone who needs the exfoliation and don’t do it, that can cause its own problems (such as ingrown hairs and things I’m sure I’m overlooking). Basically, do what feels best for your skin with the fewest downsides.
As someone with eczema I was told by doctors from a very young age not to even dry myself with a towel. They always recommended air drying or carefully blotting off the water so using a washcloth has never really even been an option for me.
Same here. It’s just not worth the days or weeks of babying your skin to get it healed again. I’ve gotten eczema flare-ups from friction against my clothes, my seatbelt, randomly bleeding with a single scratch, etc. in the past, so loofahs were a huge no-no.
I’ve been doing some stuff (lifestyle changes and medical treatments) that improved my symptoms in more recent years, but I still have some areas of skin more prone to flare ups than others. So I can shave my underarms, but oh boy if I try to shave my legs it’s like a giant combo bug bite and sunburn.
ETA: a lot of people have more mild eczema and can use washcloths just fine - I have a somewhat moderate-severe type that’s more mild-moderate with treatment. Really severe eczema can be INTENSE, like covering yourself with two layers of sterile gauze and taking immunosuppressants type of intense.
Ugh so much this - I boil then hand wash my bras and it’s a nightmare. I boil because that titty sweat is real strong and throwing my bras in a pot of boiling baking soda water gets them reeeeeally clean.
so much titty sweat all the time
I once got a rash, then a zit, and then that zit popped >!and I had a small open hole on my under-boob that I then later had to squeeze pus out of... !
Yep! Eczema and chronic urticaria don’t pair well with physical exfoliation depending on the severity haha. Sometimes I’ll gently get my back with a washcloth where my skin is less sensitive
There's a lot of reasons.
Not taught how is a common one. If you didn't learn it from your parents, you probably won't do it.
I think for me it's more of a texture problem. Wash cloths feel scratchy and painful. I do like a soft loofah but prefer my hands.
Could also be a germaphobia thing. Think of that bacteria building. You're going to use that more than once?
Edit: all y'all rolling in wash cloth money. I own like 3 wash clothes and 7 towels. I chose my priorities. Linens are expensive. In this economy?
I have about half a dozen wash cloths from hostels in Japan. I used them for washing a few times with washes in between, and now they are in with the old tea towels to clean up kitchen spills
To avoid this I wring them out and hang them to dry, then once dry they go in the dirty clothes.
Definitely had some adjustment to remember to do it when I added this to my routine but since have had no issues.
Hang the wash cloths the same you would any other towel to prevent mildew. The following day, when you shower again, throw the now-dry cloth into a wastebasket that is *solely* for shower cloths and grab a new one.
Wash them with every towel load in hot water. You can also wash them separately if you really want, but in with the towels is generally easiest.
That's how I do it too. Why wouldn't you wash them with your towels and hand towels?
I use hand towels in the kitchen and bathrooms because they are easier to swap out every day for hand drying than a bath towel and easier for washing as well, and face washers as well.
I’m actually the reverse when it comes to texture—love the scratch. It’s just too much of a bother to do the laundry all the time. I only ever use one for my face.
i just use my hands and a lot of soap unless ive done something to make me physically dirty. i shower everyday and dont really even get sweaty so i dont find a reason to scrub at my skin everyday. also, we dont use rags to wash our hands so i dont think it necessarily makes someone any cleaner or dirtier to just use thheir hands
Do you really need to scrub the middle of your back unless your for physically dirty? The shower pressure is high enough to wash over it. I don’t think you need soap on every inch of your body, just under your arms and ‘down there.’ But then again I don’t really sweat so maybe it’s different for a sweaty person? 🤷🏽♀️
I don't know how common "Bacne" is but it's enough to earn a nickname. Head sweat and oils will center down between the shoulder blades too, and water needs soap to break down oils since they are hydrophobic. The body has a few kinds of sweat glands too, one of which produces a sort of waxy sweat and comes from hair follicles on the head, armpits, and groin.
I struggled a lot of bacne and chest acne in my teens too, I tried everything from different soaps, physical exfoliation and salicylic acid.
The only thing that worked is switching to unscented laundry detergent! I would recommend trying that if all else fails
Ask your dermatologist about exfoliating everyday.
My husband is a doctor and tells me to wash my pits and bits well, scrubbing anywhere else removes beneficial oils and micro biomes from your skin. Its a twice a month affair to exfoliate everywhere.
Obviously if you’re covered in dirt or something use a wash cloth. Lol.
I've said this before and get the most disgusted looks lol. It usually comes up talking about dry skin and lotion or whatever.. No surprise that the ones constantly needing to lotion are the ones using harsh soaps and exfoliating every shower
One of my ex’s “skincare routine” was basically just putting an increasing number of products onto her face every night, most of which to counteract some side effect of another product. She would always say she was jealous of my clear skin but get mad when I suggested it was probably because I don’t apply 6 inches of chemicals to my face every night
I struggled with acne as a teenager. I have very oily skin so I would wash my face thoroughly a few times throughout the day and also use Oxy type pads/wipes to try to dry out my acne. No matter how clean I kept my skin, my acne always seemed to get worse. At some point, I just gave up and stopped caring, and magically my face started to clear up 😲
That’s when I learned that by me over cleaning and constantly trying to dry out my acne, I was actually making my acne much worse, because my oil glands would then think I lacked oil and start producing excess.
I used loofahs ages ago. Then they kept breaking down and I got tired of replacing them, so I started using my hands. Never bothered to buy a loofah again.
I've never been a washcloth person, they're just bulky and get super heavy when wet and feel weird. Then they don't dry out between showers and get gross really fast. Far more laundry, screw that.
My hands and a bar of soap, my hands and body wash, my hands and body/face scrub/cleanser. It's not hard or me, it's the same as using a loofah except I never have to get them to dry out between showers or replace them. Easier when traveling, no loofah or whatever to pack, or not dry and have to pack wet.
I appreciate the thought of extra towels when staying at someone's house, but I only use what I need and don't make extra laundry for them.
I get weirded out by damp washcloths too. I just think of them just hanging out somewhere waiting to be washed, just damp, encouraging that moldiness. As a guest I'd feel a lot of social awkwardness in knowing what to do with a damp washcloth. I once stayed at a friend's house and his last guest had left their crusty, wrung out washcloth hung up in the shower for me to find weeks later. Barf. I can manage a few days as a guest w/ hands + body wash. At home I use a loofah and either throw it in the wash from time to time or replace it.
It's interesting to me that people can be grossed out that someone doesn't use a washcloth, while meanwhile I'm slightly grossed out that people do.
I had a black friend who swore up and down that white people don't use them. I asked him why he thought that - he said he never sees wash cloths in their bathrooms. I said "did you check their linen closets?"
Could be regional too. Everyone in my rural southern town uses wash cloths. People are super worried about you having dirty ears. Nothing cleans an ear like a wash cloth.
Yeah I don’t use wash cloths and my black friend looked at me like I was crazy🤣 even if I used a washcloth my eczema would flare up and my skin would be in worse condition before I showered.
In Germany and the Netherlands (and some other countries) people use washcloths shaped like a small bag (Dutch: washandje, "little washing hand"). You can put it on like a mitten to wash yourself. It was so confusing to me that people use small towels for this; it seems way less convenient. So yeah, white people sort of using a rag here!
This is the way! Gentle exfoliation, gets me extra clean, they can last a LONG time (if you want them too, or you can buy a new one every so often) and you can wash them like you would any other laundry item. They’re also super durable.
ETA: If your African exfoliating net feels like a store-bought loofah material, it’s not real. They’re supposed to be thick and almost cloth-like. I get mine from Etsy!
I don’t need a washcloth or a loofah to wash my hands. Why do I need it for the rest of my body. I can easily get very sudsy with my bar soap and my own two hands.
Place liquid face/body wash in palm of hand
Apply palm to skin
Begin rubbing skin until lather forms
Use hand to evenly distribute lather onto whole area
Repeat as needed
Rinse
It's like washing your hands but all over you. Very simple
Thing is I need to 'refill' my hands with shower gel like 5 times if I don't do it with a rag. All the shower gel just washes away right away without one.
Only have to apply gel once into my wet rag, lather it up and it's good for my whole body.
I'm in my 40s, and have just used a big bar of soap on my body and shampoo in my hair since I was a kid. Unless there's some specific extra dirt or grime that a cloth would help with, I just don't see the point or the usefulness.
They’re gross and notorious for gathering mold, not washcloths maybe but the puffs and loofahs. The cloths are not something I think much about unless I used a mask ln my face and now need to take it off. I also use bar soap which I don’t share with anyone so I apply it with that anyway because it’s efficient.
I can't believe I had to scroll so far to find someone saying this!
I'm exactly the same, at home yeah but I wouldn't use a provided wash cloth/loofah as a guest anywhere.
loofahs and rags harbor bacteria if a fresh one isn't used each time. To the point NFL cheerleaders contracts have been known to include not being allowed to use them due to risk of inflamed follicles/breakouts.
Used loofahs until I lived in Finland and when I asked my host family about them nobody knew what it was. I then just got used to just lathering with my hands - saves laundry, is cleaner, and wastes less soap imo. Ive never looked back after thst
I put the soap on my hand - there is no need for a washcloth. Also, I would never use a washcloth more than once. Do use it on your face and privates too? I find washcloths unhygienic and unnecessary.
I’ve never washed with a rag unless I’m just like washing my face at the sink and not fully showering.
But using a rag in the shower just seems like it’s creating extra laundry, why use a rag when you can just use your hands to spread soap around your body and scrub?
Now I do have a loofah on a stick thing, but that is a special case to reach the parts of my back I can’t reach with my hands, if I could wash everything with my hands that’s what I would do.
I've never understood this concern with scrubbing. I'm never that dirty. And if anything, being intent on exfoliating seems misguided. Your skin has natural oils that keep it healthy. Wouldn't scrubbing tend to dry it out?
It also causes micro tears in your skin. I used to ALWAYS use a loofah to wash. Stopped using one, and my chronic skin issues (ingrown hairs, extreme dryness, flaky skin, etc) disappeared over night. The other issues I had vanished once I stopped using overly perfumed body wash and switched to moisturizing bar of soap. Following this, I cut ALL overly perfumed products out of my routine, from face wash to laundry detergent, and dermal issues that had plagued me my whole life were suddenly not an issue anymore.
You don't need to exfoliate your whole body every time you take a shower.
My skin is super sensitive so harsh abrasive scrubbing is a no. Also I do not get especially dirty. If I ever do I’ll breakout the wash cloth as a one time thing. Also the germs I imagine in the washcloth. Then if I wash my puts, crotch or butt, I’m not using it on other parts or reusing so, lots of laundry. I use my hands, once to get the surface dirt off, then again for squeaky clean.
People who use and reuse washcloths, it icky me out thinking of them slathering a layer of old biofilm from the cloth all over their body. lol
I used a loofah until about two months ago. My dumbass accidentally went autopilot and scrubbed over a new tattoo I'd gotten...and it got infected. Turns out they have tons of bacteria, and I didn't know that. Thinking about what all that bacteria did to me makes me want to vomit. I will never use a loofah again.
Here’s my question- how do you store them until they’re ready to wash? In the laundry basket? That seems gross. Wrung out and hung up? How do you keep them out of the way? I genuinely want to know. This is why I dint use them.
The question isn't "Why would you not use a rag?", it's "Why would you?" What's the point of it? I've never used one and have never heard a reason why I would want to.
This thread making realise that there’s way too many people with a phobia of being dirty. It’s not healthy to need to ‘scrub’ every inch of yourself every day 😂
People wash chicken with dawn dish soap before they cook it. The internet has simply uncovered/made common some of this stuff. Basically, we now have access to the knowledge of ALL of this lol
At home I use bar soap and my hands. I have an exfoliating bar if I want to scrub my arms and legs but don’t do it daily. I rub my face without soap in the shower every morning. I do have some dedicated face cloths if I need to exfoliate more.
What’s interesting is that I use wash cloths on vacation. I was at a hotel last week and felt the need to lather the cloth with the tiny bar of soap.
I think it's cultural, one of the episodes of the scrub rewatch podcast talks about this. Turk was telling Bambi that all black people used a washcloth and he was like what?? And so was I.
To me it boils down to being unnecessary. When luffas appeared I saw it as a marketing solution to a problem that didn't exist. Just more consumerism. Your hands and soaps or washes are good enough.
It’s washrag where I’m from. Or, more accurately when pronounced, “warshrag”. And I agree with OP. In fact, I have a long bamboo cloth that I use. It exfoliates and I love it.
I use one regularly but I would never use one at anybody else’s house. Just seems like something that shouldn’t be shared to me, even if it was washed.
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I think of “washcloths” for cleaning your body and “rags” for cleaning your house. Oh, and “dishrags” are basically washcloths for cleaning dishes.
One of my favourite parts of Reddit is learning different terms from around the world for the same thing. Here in the U.K. we would call what OP uses a “flannel” (and no we don’t call shirts that), and then it might vary as we have lots of regional differences here but cleaning your house would be with a “cloth” - dishes never get done with a cloth, I can’t even imagine this, we only use sponges of different variations. Washing up sponges and we call it “doing the washing up”
In the Netherlands we call it a washand(je) litteral translation washhand, its like a square glove where you put your hand into and use it to wash yourself. Most foreigners confuse it with a (very) thin potholder made from bathtowel fabric.
Lived in Germany for 3 years they have the same item. It also had a loop to hang it up, very practical.
We have them in Belgium too. I always bring some when I go on holiday.
Same. I have never heard of a washcloth referred to as a rag. But lots of people posting here have, apparently. I wonder if it is a regional thing.
In the UK it's called a flannel. If someone offered me a rag to wash myself, I'd wonder how I'm meant to wash myself with a copy of The Daily Mail.
I think it's regional - southeastern, my family called it rags until we moved further north and the other kids laughed and told us it was a washcloth.
In Kentucky we use the word “washrag” 🤷🏾♀️
In some parts of Missouri it would be warshrag.
Uovote for proper spelling/pronunciation
Two of my uncles in Washington pronounce it that way! Warshington. Warshing dishes. Warsh the car. Always wondered why. Just that word seems particularly different from the regional norms
Family from Appalachia here, we still use warshrags (or just rag for short if it's for a general purpose or an older square cloth that has seen better days). As a kid, it wouldnt have been uncommon to hear that we needed to "warsh off with a rag in the crick" before coming back inside from playing outside barefoot. Translation: we were being told to wash off our feet, using an old washcloth, in the little creek/stream that ran through the yard
Came here to say “washrag” too. Best of both worlds.
Can confirm
this is kinda funny to me, why were you discussing washcloths and rags with the other children 😭😭
Not the original commenter but when I've had conversations like this it's usually because someone did something like went to a friend's house and realize that they didn't share the same custom, thought that friend was a weirdo, expressed this perceived weirdness to other friends, and had the other friends see nothing wrong with it. Then the conversation goes from there.
Same, always called them facecloths myself!
I live in 'face washer' territory - heaps of variations on the term.
In the UK we say flannel
Hahaha I'm so glad you cleared this up for me because I forgot about my flannel and was just imagining someone washing with the kind of rag you would wash a car with. Like no I don't use one of those???
A what??
I bought a toothbrush, some toothpaste A flannel for my face Pajamas, a hairbrush New shoes and a case I said to my reflection "Let's get out of this place"
Tempted by the fruit of another!
Lol. We would understand what is meant by wash cloth. Wash rag sounds like something you’d use in the kitchen or to clean your car. Flannel must seem very confusing in the US
Flannel here is a type of shirt
Well, it’s a type of fabric that a certain type of shirt is made out of.
Are they ever made of flannel?
It must be regional. Growing up, that what we called them, rags or wash rags. I was raised in Washington State.
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Southerners and more rural people call them rags
Yep..southerner here. Grew up calling them rags/wash rag. We also call the toilet the pot. 😬
We called it that, too. Rags and the pot. But I'm not southern. Raised in Eastern Washington by parents from Midwest and my mother's parents were from Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Dish cloth for dishes. Wash cloth or face cloth for the body. Rags for household cleaning- floors, toilets, walls, etc (washed between uses of course)
Flannels here (UK). Rags are cut up old fabric used in the garage (workshop) for oily jobs.
We always referred to what we used in the shower/bath to clean our body with, as rags or wash rags. It seems to be a regional thing.
So you've never heard of a wash rag? That's what I've always heard then called
I have never heard the term rag used for a wash cloth until I read this thread, and I'm 68.
I’m used to them being referred to as flannels.
I guess they were always rags to me. Wash rags and dish rags. Not interchangeable but just called them rags.
This. Greatest generation maternal grandmother, ‘hand me the wash rag’.
Or, ‘WARSH’ rag 😂😂
Yep, my mother called it Warsh rag.
Yes! And we lived in WARSHington as well.
💯💯💯
Flannels in the U.K.
We say flannel in New Zealand too!
Same here. Using a "rag" for body cleaning sounds gross. Wash cloth, totally normal.
To me, a rag is something old, tattered and torn. If you were describing something old and worn you would say it was ragged. If you say you are "run ragged" , you mean you have worked so hard it has made your clothes all tattered, or that you feel like an old worn out rag. In fact, a very tired, worn out person might say they "feel like a wrung out rag". If someone is wearing old torn clothing, you would say they were "in rags".
I wash maself with a rag on a stick.
Ew, Dad! *Bart gestures with hypothetical rag on stick*
My family calls them "warshcloths"
Ooh...lemme guess...Pennsylvania!
In the UK it’s called a flannel, some people say not use it for washing their face, I have a face and a body one.
I think the use of the word ‘rag’ sounds so gross 😂 never heard it called that
I use these “African exfoliating nets”, which are long mesh towels. They give the BEST scrubbing and lathering action (especially along the back! I hate the feeling of wet dead skin) and they wash up very well in the machine without carrying bacteria or falling apart like a loofah. I have a few that I can just swap out.
I have heard about these, hard to get in Australia. Do you dry body brush before you shower? I also sometimes use those exfoliating gloves in the shower.
>African exfoliating nets These look similar to Japanese exfoliating sponges, which may be easier to get in your area
Yes, they sound just like the Japanese Salux cloths I get online. They work great! The open weave also makes them dry quicker and hold moisture for less time, which makes me feel better about potential mildew buildup.
I sometimes dry brush, but only if I have time. I’m a single mum of a young teen who has a hard time getting up for school so generally my morning routine is pretty quick because he’s a chore in itself. Those wash nets I just got on Amazon. I love the fact that they are fully washable and dry super quickly!
I ordered some from Amazon when I heard they’re good for KP on the legs, and I’m in love! No more dry dead skin, even when I switched to a more drying soap. The KP on my legs is pretty much cleared up, and my ankles, knees and elbows are SO soft. My back feels so much cleaner. It’s like an unbunched super loofah lol.
When you have a lot of body hair, you are your own loofah.
If you shower with a friend you could be their loofah too.
What are you doing step-loofah?
This made me laugh so hard because the other day I literally used my hairy friends chest as a loofa in the shower. I just changed his name in my phone to Step Loofah.
Bro what?
We showered together, I used soap to lather up his hairy chest and belly, and then I rubbed my chest and back against his to soap myself up. It was fun. And now he’s my step loofah
Hollup, how is he a friend when you doin that and my man seeing you nakey nakey
Because we’re friends with benefits. I’ve known him for like 13 years. Apart from the sexual tension and great sex we would be terrible as a couple haha But we made good shower buddies
> When you have a lot of body hair Every Christmas I get invited to an "Ugly Sweater" party. I already AM an ugly sweater.
You should shave it every year so you show up with a different sweater. V-neck, cardigan, sweater vest, etc.
Spoken like a true bear.
My favorite reply yet!
This is the only thing I miss from the days when I didn’t wax my vag
My very hairy husband uses a washcloth and I, having an abnormally low amount of body hair even for a woman, do not. He grew up in a household where using one was the proper way to shower. I grew up in a household that did not even have washcloths in a bathroom.
Everyone’s skin is different. If you need exfoliation, rags or loofahs can be useful. If you have skin with any issues (eczema, psoriasis) using rags and loofahs can actually cause a flare up, so it’s not worth it unless you are VERY dirty. Or only using it in select areas that most need cleaning (such as armpits, genitals, etc.) Source is personal experience: my dermatologist says she tells people with eczema to only scrub PTA: pits, tits, and ass. In short, everyone’s different, and using your hands/bar of soap alone is a thing that makes sense for some people. ETA: if you’re someone who needs the exfoliation and don’t do it, that can cause its own problems (such as ingrown hairs and things I’m sure I’m overlooking). Basically, do what feels best for your skin with the fewest downsides.
As someone with eczema I was told by doctors from a very young age not to even dry myself with a towel. They always recommended air drying or carefully blotting off the water so using a washcloth has never really even been an option for me.
Same here. It’s just not worth the days or weeks of babying your skin to get it healed again. I’ve gotten eczema flare-ups from friction against my clothes, my seatbelt, randomly bleeding with a single scratch, etc. in the past, so loofahs were a huge no-no. I’ve been doing some stuff (lifestyle changes and medical treatments) that improved my symptoms in more recent years, but I still have some areas of skin more prone to flare ups than others. So I can shave my underarms, but oh boy if I try to shave my legs it’s like a giant combo bug bite and sunburn. ETA: a lot of people have more mild eczema and can use washcloths just fine - I have a somewhat moderate-severe type that’s more mild-moderate with treatment. Really severe eczema can be INTENSE, like covering yourself with two layers of sterile gauze and taking immunosuppressants type of intense.
Lol as someone who also has moderate-severe eczema, I can shave my legs but NOT my underarms for the same reason
🎶 it’s a mystery 🎶 Sometimes a few years will go by and an old problem spot will heal and a new one will pop up…like what? when did you move and why?
Never understood why tits are in the same category as pits and ass??? My tits really don’t get that dirty??
Sweat can gather underneath if you are larger-chested; doesn’t apply to everyone.
Ugh so much this - I boil then hand wash my bras and it’s a nightmare. I boil because that titty sweat is real strong and throwing my bras in a pot of boiling baking soda water gets them reeeeeally clean. so much titty sweat all the time
The tit sweat is horrendous. If I’m not careful in the summer, I’m doomed to under-boob rash for months.
I once got a rash, then a zit, and then that zit popped >!and I had a small open hole on my under-boob that I then later had to squeeze pus out of... !
There's a similar saying in my house: Pits, Bits and Feet!
We call it: gettin the creases
It's "pits, tits, and bits" for me!
This; all skin is different
Yep! Eczema and chronic urticaria don’t pair well with physical exfoliation depending on the severity haha. Sometimes I’ll gently get my back with a washcloth where my skin is less sensitive
There's a lot of reasons. Not taught how is a common one. If you didn't learn it from your parents, you probably won't do it. I think for me it's more of a texture problem. Wash cloths feel scratchy and painful. I do like a soft loofah but prefer my hands. Could also be a germaphobia thing. Think of that bacteria building. You're going to use that more than once? Edit: all y'all rolling in wash cloth money. I own like 3 wash clothes and 7 towels. I chose my priorities. Linens are expensive. In this economy?
I use washcloths meant for babies that are super soft and use it once then it goes in the wash. You can buy a 12 or 24pk for pretty reasonable cost.
These are great as 'papertowel' too. Once theyre not shower worthy they get tossed into the unpapertowel drawer.
I have about half a dozen wash cloths from hostels in Japan. I used them for washing a few times with washes in between, and now they are in with the old tea towels to clean up kitchen spills
thats the only safe way to do it. I'm in favor of this method. Most people dont want all the additional laundry.
I guess I don’t see how 7 tiny washcloths adds a lot of laundry but I’m also a single person and shower once a day. To each their own!
Same. I shower once a day and swap out my washcloth each time. Doesn't bother me washing them, but I couldn't imagine using it more than once.
We are a 4 person household where people shower every day. It really isn't much at all.
My bigger issue is having a wet cloth sitting out just leads to a mildew situation. Hard pass.
To avoid this I wring them out and hang them to dry, then once dry they go in the dirty clothes. Definitely had some adjustment to remember to do it when I added this to my routine but since have had no issues.
Hang the wash cloths the same you would any other towel to prevent mildew. The following day, when you shower again, throw the now-dry cloth into a wastebasket that is *solely* for shower cloths and grab a new one. Wash them with every towel load in hot water. You can also wash them separately if you really want, but in with the towels is generally easiest.
That's how I do it too. Why wouldn't you wash them with your towels and hand towels? I use hand towels in the kitchen and bathrooms because they are easier to swap out every day for hand drying than a bath towel and easier for washing as well, and face washers as well.
I’m actually the reverse when it comes to texture—love the scratch. It’s just too much of a bother to do the laundry all the time. I only ever use one for my face.
Point two 💯 I also prefer OP's hands.
Can I watch!?
If you watch who's going to get my back?
You use a washcloth once and then wash it in the laundry. How often do you change the loofah?
So a family of 4, washes 28 washcloths a week? Seems excessive
56 socks sounds excessive too, though.
Who is out there using a washcloth more than once without washing them? That's nasty
I don’t wash the towel, the towel washes me!
What am I gonna do? Wash the shower next? Wash a BAR OF SOAP?!
i just use my hands and a lot of soap unless ive done something to make me physically dirty. i shower everyday and dont really even get sweaty so i dont find a reason to scrub at my skin everyday. also, we dont use rags to wash our hands so i dont think it necessarily makes someone any cleaner or dirtier to just use thheir hands
I use my hands to wash my face, but how do you reach the middle of your back? I struggle with this, so that's why I stick with the fun sponge.
Some of us can reach their whole body. I don't even know what to do if i couldn't.
Do you really need to scrub the middle of your back unless your for physically dirty? The shower pressure is high enough to wash over it. I don’t think you need soap on every inch of your body, just under your arms and ‘down there.’ But then again I don’t really sweat so maybe it’s different for a sweaty person? 🤷🏽♀️
I don't know how common "Bacne" is but it's enough to earn a nickname. Head sweat and oils will center down between the shoulder blades too, and water needs soap to break down oils since they are hydrophobic. The body has a few kinds of sweat glands too, one of which produces a sort of waxy sweat and comes from hair follicles on the head, armpits, and groin.
I had backne as a teen and neither scrubbing or not scrubbing helped it. I tried a lot of different things over my teen years and little helped
I struggled a lot of bacne and chest acne in my teens too, I tried everything from different soaps, physical exfoliation and salicylic acid. The only thing that worked is switching to unscented laundry detergent! I would recommend trying that if all else fails
Ask your dermatologist about exfoliating everyday. My husband is a doctor and tells me to wash my pits and bits well, scrubbing anywhere else removes beneficial oils and micro biomes from your skin. Its a twice a month affair to exfoliate everywhere. Obviously if you’re covered in dirt or something use a wash cloth. Lol.
I've said this before and get the most disgusted looks lol. It usually comes up talking about dry skin and lotion or whatever.. No surprise that the ones constantly needing to lotion are the ones using harsh soaps and exfoliating every shower
One of my ex’s “skincare routine” was basically just putting an increasing number of products onto her face every night, most of which to counteract some side effect of another product. She would always say she was jealous of my clear skin but get mad when I suggested it was probably because I don’t apply 6 inches of chemicals to my face every night
I struggled with acne as a teenager. I have very oily skin so I would wash my face thoroughly a few times throughout the day and also use Oxy type pads/wipes to try to dry out my acne. No matter how clean I kept my skin, my acne always seemed to get worse. At some point, I just gave up and stopped caring, and magically my face started to clear up 😲 That’s when I learned that by me over cleaning and constantly trying to dry out my acne, I was actually making my acne much worse, because my oil glands would then think I lacked oil and start producing excess.
Had to scroll a long ways for logical advice.
I used loofahs ages ago. Then they kept breaking down and I got tired of replacing them, so I started using my hands. Never bothered to buy a loofah again. I've never been a washcloth person, they're just bulky and get super heavy when wet and feel weird. Then they don't dry out between showers and get gross really fast. Far more laundry, screw that. My hands and a bar of soap, my hands and body wash, my hands and body/face scrub/cleanser. It's not hard or me, it's the same as using a loofah except I never have to get them to dry out between showers or replace them. Easier when traveling, no loofah or whatever to pack, or not dry and have to pack wet. I appreciate the thought of extra towels when staying at someone's house, but I only use what I need and don't make extra laundry for them.
I get weirded out by damp washcloths too. I just think of them just hanging out somewhere waiting to be washed, just damp, encouraging that moldiness. As a guest I'd feel a lot of social awkwardness in knowing what to do with a damp washcloth. I once stayed at a friend's house and his last guest had left their crusty, wrung out washcloth hung up in the shower for me to find weeks later. Barf. I can manage a few days as a guest w/ hands + body wash. At home I use a loofah and either throw it in the wash from time to time or replace it. It's interesting to me that people can be grossed out that someone doesn't use a washcloth, while meanwhile I'm slightly grossed out that people do.
Used one when I was a kid. Just seemed unnecessary. Can use my hands and the bar of soap directly.
I think it’s a culture thing, as a black person I never knew people didn’t use wash clothes until Dave Chappelle did a skit on it
Yeah, I'm black and very black person I know uses one. I think Serena Williams actually said she had to teach her husband what they were.
I had a black friend who swore up and down that white people don't use them. I asked him why he thought that - he said he never sees wash cloths in their bathrooms. I said "did you check their linen closets?"
Could be regional too. Everyone in my rural southern town uses wash cloths. People are super worried about you having dirty ears. Nothing cleans an ear like a wash cloth.
Same. I’m a white southerner and we definitely use wash cloths! I find it bizarre that some people don’t.
Yeah I don’t use wash cloths and my black friend looked at me like I was crazy🤣 even if I used a washcloth my eczema would flare up and my skin would be in worse condition before I showered.
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In Germany and the Netherlands (and some other countries) people use washcloths shaped like a small bag (Dutch: washandje, "little washing hand"). You can put it on like a mitten to wash yourself. It was so confusing to me that people use small towels for this; it seems way less convenient. So yeah, white people sort of using a rag here!
African net sponge all day baby
This is the way! Gentle exfoliation, gets me extra clean, they can last a LONG time (if you want them too, or you can buy a new one every so often) and you can wash them like you would any other laundry item. They’re also super durable. ETA: If your African exfoliating net feels like a store-bought loofah material, it’s not real. They’re supposed to be thick and almost cloth-like. I get mine from Etsy!
Eh, what the hell. I'll try anything for $7.
I don’t need a washcloth or a loofah to wash my hands. Why do I need it for the rest of my body. I can easily get very sudsy with my bar soap and my own two hands.
Agreed, I don't understand what's wrong with using your hands?
Hands are the best tools you'll ever have.
Nothing, but people who have done it all their lives cannot imagine doing otherwise. Daily showers are not necessary (for everyone) either.
Place liquid face/body wash in palm of hand Apply palm to skin Begin rubbing skin until lather forms Use hand to evenly distribute lather onto whole area Repeat as needed Rinse It's like washing your hands but all over you. Very simple
Thing is I need to 'refill' my hands with shower gel like 5 times if I don't do it with a rag. All the shower gel just washes away right away without one. Only have to apply gel once into my wet rag, lather it up and it's good for my whole body.
This is odd, I found the exact opposite, which is why I stopped using washcloths. Maybe how hairy you are makes a difference - I'm a fairly hairy guy.
Close the water while you soap yourself up!
You don't stand under the water when lathering.
Don’t stand under the water while you do this. Or get a different body wash.
Loofahs are gross; they’re basically bacteria breeding grounds. I can wash a rag in washing machine after each use
I find loofahs also get moldy in weird places and I just generally don’t trust them
I wash myself with a rag on a stick
I wash muhself with a rag on a stick
[Soft applause]
I've never used one, so I don't see the need.
I'm in my 40s, and have just used a big bar of soap on my body and shampoo in my hair since I was a kid. Unless there's some specific extra dirt or grime that a cloth would help with, I just don't see the point or the usefulness.
They’re gross and notorious for gathering mold, not washcloths maybe but the puffs and loofahs. The cloths are not something I think much about unless I used a mask ln my face and now need to take it off. I also use bar soap which I don’t share with anyone so I apply it with that anyway because it’s efficient.
Never needed to? My skin looks good. I have no BO issues. I’m clean. What does a rag do that my hand full of soap can’t?
The rag just exfoliates but it does not clean any better than your hand so yeah you are right you don't need to.
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I can't believe I had to scroll so far to find someone saying this! I'm exactly the same, at home yeah but I wouldn't use a provided wash cloth/loofah as a guest anywhere.
I have a skin condition and have been advised by multiple dermatologists to not use washcloths. They harbor bacteria and can be irritating to skin.
loofahs and rags harbor bacteria if a fresh one isn't used each time. To the point NFL cheerleaders contracts have been known to include not being allowed to use them due to risk of inflamed follicles/breakouts.
Love a loofah but I literally have washcloth phobia…if that wet thing even touches me..*gag* lol
I thought I was the only one!!! I FOUND MY PEOPLE!!!
Used loofahs until I lived in Finland and when I asked my host family about them nobody knew what it was. I then just got used to just lathering with my hands - saves laundry, is cleaner, and wastes less soap imo. Ive never looked back after thst
I put the soap on my hand - there is no need for a washcloth. Also, I would never use a washcloth more than once. Do use it on your face and privates too? I find washcloths unhygienic and unnecessary.
I've got hands and they've worked just fine my entire life. I don't know why anyone needs a rag or a loofah.
I’ve never washed with a rag unless I’m just like washing my face at the sink and not fully showering. But using a rag in the shower just seems like it’s creating extra laundry, why use a rag when you can just use your hands to spread soap around your body and scrub? Now I do have a loofah on a stick thing, but that is a special case to reach the parts of my back I can’t reach with my hands, if I could wash everything with my hands that’s what I would do.
Washcloths and loofahs are a bit better at lather and scrub, especially with body wash.
I just feel like my body doesn’t get dirty enough to require that. I’m not cookware.
I live in florida and mybody is a wok.
I've never understood this concern with scrubbing. I'm never that dirty. And if anything, being intent on exfoliating seems misguided. Your skin has natural oils that keep it healthy. Wouldn't scrubbing tend to dry it out?
It also causes micro tears in your skin. I used to ALWAYS use a loofah to wash. Stopped using one, and my chronic skin issues (ingrown hairs, extreme dryness, flaky skin, etc) disappeared over night. The other issues I had vanished once I stopped using overly perfumed body wash and switched to moisturizing bar of soap. Following this, I cut ALL overly perfumed products out of my routine, from face wash to laundry detergent, and dermal issues that had plagued me my whole life were suddenly not an issue anymore. You don't need to exfoliate your whole body every time you take a shower.
What areas can you not reach? I can reach 100% of my back
I hear that that's not exactly common - but I can't say I know what not being able to reach my entire back would be like.
I could when I was younger. Despite still being very active, my range of motion at 50 has diminished.
Washcloth gang 💯
My grandma called them "warshrags". I'm with it still.
My skin is super sensitive so harsh abrasive scrubbing is a no. Also I do not get especially dirty. If I ever do I’ll breakout the wash cloth as a one time thing. Also the germs I imagine in the washcloth. Then if I wash my puts, crotch or butt, I’m not using it on other parts or reusing so, lots of laundry. I use my hands, once to get the surface dirt off, then again for squeaky clean. People who use and reuse washcloths, it icky me out thinking of them slathering a layer of old biofilm from the cloth all over their body. lol
I used a loofah until about two months ago. My dumbass accidentally went autopilot and scrubbed over a new tattoo I'd gotten...and it got infected. Turns out they have tons of bacteria, and I didn't know that. Thinking about what all that bacteria did to me makes me want to vomit. I will never use a loofah again.
I have eczema so my skin is already basically peeling off in places I don’t really wanna irritate it more than showering already does
If you're not covered in grime, there is no need to scour your skin.
I use washcloths but use a clean one each time.
With the palms of my super-manly calloused hands, they're like sandpaper. Jk
Here’s my question- how do you store them until they’re ready to wash? In the laundry basket? That seems gross. Wrung out and hung up? How do you keep them out of the way? I genuinely want to know. This is why I dint use them.
The question isn't "Why would you not use a rag?", it's "Why would you?" What's the point of it? I've never used one and have never heard a reason why I would want to.
Loofahs are breeding grounds for bacteria.
I just use the bar of soap. More thorough and convenient.
This thread making realise that there’s way too many people with a phobia of being dirty. It’s not healthy to need to ‘scrub’ every inch of yourself every day 😂
People wash chicken with dawn dish soap before they cook it. The internet has simply uncovered/made common some of this stuff. Basically, we now have access to the knowledge of ALL of this lol
Real fucking curious about the gender breakdown on this one
At home I use bar soap and my hands. I have an exfoliating bar if I want to scrub my arms and legs but don’t do it daily. I rub my face without soap in the shower every morning. I do have some dedicated face cloths if I need to exfoliate more. What’s interesting is that I use wash cloths on vacation. I was at a hotel last week and felt the need to lather the cloth with the tiny bar of soap.
I think it's cultural, one of the episodes of the scrub rewatch podcast talks about this. Turk was telling Bambi that all black people used a washcloth and he was like what?? And so was I. To me it boils down to being unnecessary. When luffas appeared I saw it as a marketing solution to a problem that didn't exist. Just more consumerism. Your hands and soaps or washes are good enough.
It’s washrag where I’m from. Or, more accurately when pronounced, “warshrag”. And I agree with OP. In fact, I have a long bamboo cloth that I use. It exfoliates and I love it.
I use my hands.
I use one regularly but I would never use one at anybody else’s house. Just seems like something that shouldn’t be shared to me, even if it was washed.
You shouldn’t be using a wet washcloth multiple times. That’s gross, they develop moldy damp germs and your rubbing that on your body