Do you bathe with loofah every day? Here's why you must stop. (Photo: Getty/Thinkstock)Loofah is essentially a shower scrub with a sponge like texture that is paired with liquid soaps for a cleaning of the skin, especially surface area stains. Some people are so used to loofahs that they cannot imagine taking a bath without them. But, is using one every single time you shower a good idea? It does not seem so.
According to Dr Aarthi, a consultant dermatologist, dermatosurgeon and aesthetic dermatologist, a loofah can cause bacterial, fungal and pigmentation problems. She took to Instagram to explain that while it “scrubs dirt and dead skin cells off your body”, they can “get trapped in [a loofah’s] delicate weave”.
“Every time the loofah gets wet and does not dry properly, the trapped organisms grow and grow due to the moisture . You spread the bacteria and fungi that you washed off your body the last time,” the expert explained in a long caption.
View this post on Instagram
She added that loofahs can also be “too abrasive for some skin types”, and that if you have “noticed redness or irritation after using a loofah, your skin might be particularly sensitive to dermabrasion and exfoliation”.
“The coarse, somewhat brittle feeling of the loofah fibers may be too much and can damage skin over time, and cause permanent pigmentation, [which] is irreversible and difficult to treat,” she warned.
So, will you be continuing to use a loofah?
Best of Express Premium
📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
