How Long Should You Keep Exfoliating Gloves?

Can You Use Exfoliating Gloves On Your Face?

We need to take good care of our skin and one of the best ways to do so is by monitoring what we allow to make continuous contact with our skin. Good skin might be a genetic advantage for some persons, but for others, it is a luxury to have and to maintain because it was not in their genetic makeup.

To avoid losing the hard-earned results yielded from taking proper care of your skin, you have to be careful what you allow to make contact with your skin.

Exfoliating gloves may sweep you off your feet after the results of one use, but after a while, you would need to change them to make sure that you are not introducing new bacteria to your skin by using them for longer than necessary.

But the question that must be ringing in your head is how long exactly can we use exfoliating gloves before they need to be changed?

How Long Should You Keep Exfoliating Gloves?

If using exfoliating gloves has become part of your skincare routine, you need to know that you can not keep a pair of exfoliating gloves for as long as you would keep your favorite dress or pajama pants. Exfoliating gloves unlike any of these treasured items need to be replaced after a certain amount of time because of your health and the need for proper hygiene. 

Exfoliating gloves are easy to get completely hooked on and comfortable with, but all good things must be kept in check to make sure they stay that way. Skincare experts advise that exfoliating gloves should be changed every three or four weeks after continuous usage.

So a month is the longest you should go without replacing your pair of exfoliating gloves.

Anything past a month and you are setting your skin up for a possible break out, or slipping back to being dry, flaky, or uncomfortably oily.

The Case For Using Exfoliating Gloves

It’s undisputed that once you get really great skin from using exfoliating gloves often, you do not want to go back and you will not be swayed otherwise. One of the easiest ways for your skin to become unhealthy and lose the refreshing feel and appearance it got from exfoliating, is to keep using your exfoliating gloves way past a month.

Using exfoliating gloves
Image: Envato Elements

You’re probably wondering again, why should we only use exfoliating gloves for no longer than a month? Well, the texture of exfoliating gloves is somewhat tricky. Exfoliating gloves have an interwoven pattern that allows them to trap and remove dead skin cells, dirt, and excess oil from the skin pores.

You might be cleaning your exfoliating gloves properly afterward but as weeks go by, some of the dirt might get stuck in corners you would be unable to reach while washing your exfoliating gloves and when you use them on your skin the next time, they will be less efficient and also introduce bacteria to the skin. 

While using exfoliating gloves that you have had for a long time, you might notice that you have begun to experience frequent breakouts like before, this is because your exfoliating gloves are bacteria carriers instead of deep cleansing your skin pores.

You can confess to noticing that exfoliating gloves begin to appear dull and their spongy texture gradually goes away when you have had them for a long time, this means that they are long overdue for a change.

When going for a new pair of exfoliating gloves, you should make sure you get a pair with a texture that will not be too rough on your skin, pick the perfect size that will fit your hands, grab an extra pair if you want to avoid going to the store for another pair when three or four weeks go by again and make sure you get a pair that is not laced with chemicals to avoid an unexpected allergic reaction especially if you have sensitive skin.

How to properly clean exfoliating gloves? 

Of course, it’s important to know when to get rid of your current pair of exfoliating gloves and grab a new one, but it’s also very important that you wash your current pair properly while they are still in use.

Below are simple steps that guide you on how best to wash your exfoliating gloves after every use ; 

  1. When you are done exfoliating, without taking off your exfoliating gloves, rinse the soap or lather off them with some water.
  2. Take the exfoliating gloves off and add a little soap or shower gel and rub it together till it foams.
  3. Next, run some warm or hot water generously on it. Make sure you rinse every spot while rubbing both gloves together to get the dirt out.
  4. Now that you’re done, hang your exfoliating gloves somewhere clean in your bathroom to dry before you use them again.
  5. If you feel the need to, you can also throw them in your washing machine once a week for them to be thoroughly washed. 

However, If you use your exfoliating gloves on your face, I would advise against this as the detergents that it (the exfoliating gloves) will make contact with may cause skin irritation or breakouts. It is best you stick to washing them with your shower gel or bathing soap to avoid any negative effects.

Summary

As amazing as exfoliating gloves are, we have to make a healthy and beneficial choice to cultivate a habit of replacing them when the need arises.

Exfoliating gloves may have a rough texture that leads you to assume that they can be used for a long while, but constant use weakens them and causes bacteria to stay lodged in their knots. When you have had your exfoliating gloves for three or for weeks, you need to take a trip to the drugstore or add a new pair to your online shopping cart.

As long as you keep them clean while you use them and you change them when they have served their purpose, you will love how great they will keep your skin looking.

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