No washcloth? No problem! My new fave way to take a shower
In the wake of celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard and now the (ironically) smokin' hot and talented Jake Gyllenhaal speaking out on their kids' bath time rituals, and their own, it hit me that last week was the first time in two-plus months that I've taken a shower.
Wait, lemme explain.
For Christmas, my aunt got me a box of much-needed goodies (a few bottles of Dove bodywash, a few bars of Dove soap, an electric Oral-B toothbrush, and a few jars of deodorant). So, about three or so months ago, when my original supply of bar soap was up, I switched to the bodywash.
It just so happened, though, that I was also out of a loofah the moment I needed to hop in. So... I thought, why not just use my hands? I had always heard that a loofah, or other utensil, can harbour bacteria over time (esp if not given the chance to dry properly) and I definitely wasn't gonna waste my first bottle of bodywash on a washcloth that I knew would not have been able to give me as good of a lather as a loofah.
Ergo, the elimination of both (washcloth and loofah)!
But, that night, out of nowhere, I got the strongest urge to grab a washcloth and bar soap and go to town.
So, while it's not like I've discovered gold or established world peace, it has become my new favourite way to take a shower!
Things I found out about using only my hands (And, psst! - they're not half bad!):
1. They get the job done. Similar to washing dishes, you really only need water, soap and your hands to get rid of dirt and grime. Unless you have buildup that needs to be scrubbed away, a gentle cleanse with just the hands does quite the job.
2. I felt more "clean". Not in the sense that my hands cleaned my skin better than a cloth or loofah would've, but clean in terms of feeling "au naturale" and organic. I can liken it to using homemade skin products rather than store bought mass produced brands; or growing veggies in my backyard rather than buying them overpriced from the store. If it makes any sense, it just felt like my hands were purer than any item I could buy and were better for the body/skin.
3. A little goes a long way. For me, not using a loofah meant I could control how much bodywash I used with each squeeze, which meant I used less product. With a loofah, the idea is that because it absorbs, it should maximize product usage because its absorption can store more product in each squeeze, yet the opposite always seemed to occur for me. The loofah wouldn't hold as much product for as long of a time as I would like, leading to more and more squeezes/uses. Whereas, with my hands, I can control the amount that's distributed about my body without necessarily monitoring how much it lathers.
4. My shower time is reduced. Anyone who REALLY knows me, knows I ALWAYS take a half hour in the shower, no matter WHAT. But with this newfound method, lathering isn't a major focal point as much it is just getting the soap on the body. Thus, my showers have been reduced by maybe 5-10 mins (it's still hot outside and in, yall!).
But, of course, for every good thing, there is the bad, although I wouldn't really consider the following "bad":
5. Not enough lather. I've found that unless it's bar soap, my bodywash lathers significantly less than it would with the use of a loofah. But, that doesn't mean I'm not getting clean. Not everything that lathers is gold (or however the saying goes, haha)! Emollients work just as fine and don't lather, especially since their main purpose is to keep the skin moisturized. Still, I'm left feeling cleaner than I was before I got in, so I'm good widdit.
The bottom line
While my washcloth shower that night was amazing, as it was definitely a deep cleanse, I never fully realized how damaging to the skin using a cloth and bar soap every day can be -- even my trusted Dove.
Dermatologists, for years, have cautioned stripping the skin of its natural sebum with excessive showering, which is what I gather that folks like Kutcher & Kunis and Bell & Shepard are adhering to with their young kids, whose skin is much thinner than theirs as adults.
But I mean....... who hasn't gone at least two days, maybe even the entire weekend, at home without a shower? I'm sure we've all woken up ready to go about our day because we "bathed last night and didn't sweat", only to give ourselves a "bird bath" or wash off "all the important areas".
There are those who bathe for hygiene, in terms of smell, but there are also folks around the world who bathe for the health of their skin. And while many may argue that that's what lotion is for, others prefer their body's natural lotion every now and again (esp when the humidity alone is melting the lotion off before we even step outside).
Personally, the all-hands-on-deck approach is working quite fine for me, especially with keeping my eczema-proned skin moisturized longer, as I seal it in with super hydrating body oils afterwards. And, I don't have BO, so, I must be doing something right!
Nonetheless, while some may want to revoke my #BlackCard for no longer using a washcloth every day, I've finally found something that works for my skin.
Keep doing what you think is best for your and your kids' skin, and who knows? You, too, may stumble upon something some day that will change your whole bath and skincare routine!
