Fellow Dirt Bags: Turns Out It's Okay If You Don't Wash Your Legs

By Madeleine Davies  |  March 31, 2017 | 5:45pm
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Last September, I wrote a very stupid blog post based around a plot line on FXX’s You’re the Worst, in which Jimmy is horrified to learn that his live-in girlfriend Gretchen doesn’t wash her legs while in the shower. As I confessed then, neither do I. The reaction to this news was…stronger than anticipated.

Here’s a small collection of reader responses:

This sounds like laziness. If you’re going to be in the shower why wouldn’t you also wash your legs? It takes like 20 seconds.
Your skin is constantly expelling impurities in small amounts everywhere … this would include the skin on your legs.
I’m a little astounded that people wouldn’t, honestly. This is shaking me as much as discovering just how many people are fine with peeing in the shower.
Who ARE you people?
Do you wear shorts or a dress that exposes your legs and live in a region of the country that has dirt or dust?
Wash your dang legs!
:/ Uh, isn’t soap everywhere, like even behind the ears, just basic hygiene?
Question for you disgusting freaks who aren’t washing your legs and possibly feet, copied from another comment I made:
Would you be comfortable eating a meal off a plate that previous had raw chicken on it that was only “washed” by letting another dish’s soapy water run down it?

Please note that this last comparison only makes sense if you’re wading in raw meat all day, which most—though not all—of us are not.

Then there was one reasonable commenter who gave this piece of priceless hygiene advice. When it comes to washing, you need to hit:

tits, bits, and pits.

Easy enough! If it stinks, wash it. Otherwise, let the lukewarm water and soapy run-off do the job for you. (The exception, of course, is areas of breakouts, which probably require special attention.)

This leg washing talk is no longer the ranting of a crazed (though clean!) Jezebel writer. NBC News recently spoke to dermatologists about the best, most effective way to shower and soaping up your legs never even got mentioned:

“Focus on washing the dirtiest areas of your body: Under your arms, groin, and feet,” the video advises. “How often you wash the rest of your body depends upon your skin type and level of activity.”

In other words, you probably don’t need to thoroughly wash your legs unless they’re prone to acne breakouts or some other unique circumstances. If anything, as I mentioned originally, you shouldn’t thoroughly wash your legs because soap tends to dry out your skin, ultimately making your legs feel worse.

In conclusion, eat it, haters. Preferably off my legs because they’re both very clean.

 
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