Dr. Katie Lynam<\/a>, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Medical University of South Carolina, agreed that she recommends cleaning yourself with your hands over other methods, but said there isn\u2019t a totally right or totally wrong way to clean your body, either.<\/p>\nWhy is that? Here\u2019s what to know.<\/p>\n
For most people, your hands are the best and safest way to clean your body in the shower.<\/p>\n
Your hands tend to give the best pressure when it comes to washing your body with either a bar or liquid soap, according to Taglia. <\/p>\n
More, \u201cif the [hands have] been cleansed prior to washing the body, we know that it\u2019s less likely to transfer, say, bacteria or other potential infection,\u201d Taglia said.<\/p>\n
For people with sensitive skin, washing your body with your hands can protect the skin barrier, Lynam noted. \u201cWhereas using things like a washcloth or a loofah can disrupt the skin barrier by essentially over exfoliating and starting to disrupt this barrier called the stratum corneum that keeps pathogens and dirt and things out of the inside of our skin, and also holds good things like water in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since loofahs are rarely washed, they can also harbor bacteria. \u201cSo that can be more of a concern for infection, and that\u2019s especially the case in anybody that has a compromised skin barrier,\u201d said Taglia, who identified herself as someone with eczema.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worry about infection risk with loofahs, and same thing for people who are more breakout- or acne-prone or prone to cysts or boils … if you\u2019re not washing [the loofah] between each and every wash, then we recommend that you don\u2019t use it,\u201d Taglia added.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor most of my patients that I treat for eczema, psoriasis, patients with sensitive skin, more mature skin, and then infants as well, I\u2019m recommending just cleansing with the hands,\u201d Lynam said.<\/p>\n
![\"Cleansing](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/6a2c69c91900004b09275c42.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
FG Trade via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Cleansing your skin with your hands \u2014 and not with a washcloth or loofah \u2014 is the best way to get clean in the shower.<\/p>\n
A washcloth can be a good option, but not for everyday use.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some circumstances where I do think that a washcloth can be helpful,\u201d Lynam said. \u201cParticularly if you\u2019re dealing with really stuck-on dirt, grime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Washcloths provide a \u201cmild exfoliation,\u201d added Taglia, which can help get rid of dead skin cells that can build up. Dead skin cells can appear as roughness or small bumps. If you notice your skin feels rough or bumpy, a washcloth could provide the exfoliation you need. <\/p>\n
To protect your skin barrier, you don\u2019t want to use a washcloth every time you shower, though.<\/p>\n
You can also use products such as glycolic, lactic or salicylic acid to exfoliate, according to Lynam. These are chemical exfoliants and should only be used once or twice a week.<\/p>\n
But you might want to avoid those fancy body scrubs. \u201cI usually don\u2019t recommend using physical exfoliants, like a scrub, things with beads or a grit in them. Those disrupt the skin barrier,\u201d Lynam noted.<\/p>\n
And \u201cif you are going to use a washcloth, I do recommend that it be washed at least once a week. Some experts even recommend daily washing,\u201d Lynam said. <\/p>\n
Taglia is one of the experts who recommends that folks wash their washcloths after each use. If you don\u2019t wash it every time, you need to make sure you store it properly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt needs to be hung to dry, not just balled up in the corner of the shower. Otherwise, it can grow bacteria and actually put you at more risk for developing an infection than washing with your hands would,\u201d Lynam added.<\/p>\n
In the end, you don\u2019t need to turn to washcloths or loofahs to get a good clean, even if washing your body with your hands feels like a shortcut or something you only do when you\u2019re in a vacation rental. Just as washing your hands with soap and water can get them totally clean, washing your body with your hands can do the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can usually get an adequate clean from our day-to-day with your hands,\u201d Lynam said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Washcloths or loofahs are commonplace items in bathrooms, hotels and even gyms. They can help you feel like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[97,23597,38253],"class_list":["post-709179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-hygiene","tag-skin-care"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}