Mozi posted:

Michele Paiva, a psychodermatologist at PĀIVÄ Skincare, adds that a "loofah can drive old cells and debris into pores." And that especially applies to your face.

"I prefer clients to use their fingertips to cleanse the face, as they can feel the skin and connect mind to body," Paiva says. "It allows the skin to be cleansed thoroughly and gently. Case in point: estheticians use hands, not loofahs, for facials."

Wait, hands?
That's right! Scrubbing up with your hands is recommended.

"It’s best to just wash with our hands," suggests Erum Ilyas, MD, MBE, FAAD. "Loofahs have been well-documented reservoirs of bacteria. They have been shown to grow Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, and more. If you couple the fact that the bacteria are trapped in the fibers of the loofah and that these sponges are used to exfoliate the skin, the risk of infection is much higher. Meanwhile, our hands can be easily cleaned."