The shower pouf is one of the most popular scrubbing tools. People love them because they come in different shapes and sizes, they make your soap or shower gel lather really nice, but most importantly help you exfoliate your skin gently and feel clean, right? Not according to dermatologists who advise to throw these away immediately.
Using a a shower pouf might make you feel like you’re clean, but they are actually a trap for bacteria. After you’re done scrubbing your skin, the dead skin cells get trapped inside the multiple layers of the pouf’s plasticky material. On top of that, when you leave it hanging in the shower, the moisture gets trapped causing bacteria to grow, which then leads to yeast and mold. Which means that the next time you take a shower, you’ll be rubbing that bacteria back onto your skin, which might explain why all of a sudden you’re breaking out on different parts of your body.
Unfortunately, the shower pouf isn’t the only shower tool that harnesses bacteria. The loofah and washcloth can also cause similar problems. Except out of the three, the washcloth is probably the best because it’s machine washable.
If you can’t let go off your shower pouf, get a new one every couple of months. Take a peak inside it once in a while, reach inside your pouf and open the layers and see what you find. More than likely you’ll see that we’re not lying and you’ll find some dirt and bacteria if you’ve had the pouf for a while. So make sure you check often and buy a new one every couple of months, the good thing is that that they’re pretty inexpensive.