Your Loofah Might Be a Bacteria Hotel

The thing you clean with may be the dirtiest thing in your shower.

That fluffy loofah feels hygienic. Its design is actually ideal for growing germs.

Warm, wet, and fed

A loofah is a maze of nooks that stays damp in a warm bathroom and collects dead skin cells you just scrubbed off — a perfect buffet for bacteria and mold. Studies have found loofahs harboring plenty of both, especially the plastic-mesh kind left in the shower.

Re-depositing the problem

Scrub with a germy loofah, especially over freshly shaved or broken skin, and you can spread bacteria around rather than wash it away.

The move

If you love the exfoliation, rinse it well, let it fully dry outside the shower, and replace it often (natural ones every 3–4 weeks). Or skip it — your hands and a washcloth you launder regularly do the job cleaner.

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