According to recent reports, that thing is nasty!
I have to admit, I love scrubs and everything that exfoliates my skin. That’s just me. Sometimes I will make my own sugar body scrub, but when I don’t have the time I use my good old loofah. Did I say good, old… yeah… That’s a part of the problem. According to Phd. Esther Angert loofahs are not problematic to start with, it is how we maintain them that makes them dangerous to our health in time. What’s the purpose of the loofah on first place? To scrub and remove dead cells. But where do these dead cells go? They get stuck in the fibres, nooks and cannies of the loofah. As a result they become magnets for bacteria which feeds on any organic matter including those discarded cells.
The bathroom is usually dark, humid and warm environment which makes it a perfect breeding spot. Bacteria like pseudomonas aeruginosa cultivates on your loofah till your next shower. What you are really doing next time you take a shower is spreading shower gel-scented bacteria on your body. Going too hard with the loofah against your skin, or on open wounds and you are basically forcing the bacteria inside your body.
Contaminated loofahs can cause staph infections, rashes, conjunctivitis and all sorts of other diseases, warn dermatologists, who releaved the gross truth about this everyday item we all love so much.
1. Let your bathroom air dry completely between uses. Open windows, shower doors and bathroom doors. Everything needs to be able to breathe. Allowing natural air flow will minimize the moist bacteria needs so much.
2. Soap the loofah after each use and let it dry outside;
3. Replace it often;
4. Microwave it. Like you do with sythetic sponges. Make sure the loofah is damp (no plastic ones) and it has no particles that can catch fire in the microwave. Read more on the type of loofah you have and whether you can microwave it. Rinsing, or washing in hot water is also a good idea.
As you can see some of these maintenance methods are tedious and it seems much easier to dump it on the first place and to start making your own scrubs, which of course shouldn’t be used on a daily basis. Here is my favourite recipe.