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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

do you wash your legs

280 replies

cpl24805254 · 12/05/2019 22:12

so was reading an online news article about a twitter thread,in which people said they did not wash legs in the shower.I am confused why you would leave them out.Is this a thing? one woman said she only washed them when she shaved!Do you wash your legs in the shower?

OP posts:
SerenDippitty · 13/05/2019 09:42

I don’t get the need for constant exfoliation either. I only do it very occasionally like when I’m using gradual fake tan and my skin is healthy and non flaky. Never exfoliate my face.

U2HasTheEdge · 13/05/2019 10:51

All the dirt from your top half runs down and accumulates on your bottom half, so it needs to be washed away

It is washed away with the constant running of the shower water. How much dirt do you get on your body anyway? If I was covered in mud then yes, I would wash them but I never am.

I don't exfoliate my body. My skin is absolutely fine.

Those who think letting the water run on their feet gets them clean confused should perhaps give them a good scrub, I bet you'd see a difference.

There would be no difference. My feet don't smell much at all or get sweaty or get dirty enough to worry about scrubbing them.

If I did smell it would most certainly be pointed out to me by people I work with and my family. But of course on MN, you smell and just don't notice.

I don't care how other people wash but if people do it differently to you it doesn't mean people smell.

motherheroic · 13/05/2019 11:02

Well in my opinion wetting the dirt isn't the same as scrubbing the dirt/sweat/dead skin off.

Honestly the mental gymnastics some of you are doing to not spent 5 seconds per leg. Just say you can't be bothered.

Theoldwoman · 13/05/2019 11:03

Yes, of course!

OwlBeThere · 13/05/2019 11:05

Wtf??? No it doesn't, it runs down your bottom half and down the plughole. My knees don't smell of sweaty armpit cells that decided to cling on rather than face death in the drainage pipe, nor do my toes smell of bum

Grin @MorrisZapp this has made me smile a lot.
I reckon if you put 20 people in a line up and had to guess who washed their legs and who didn’t, you wouldn’t have a clue!!

NunoGoncalves · 13/05/2019 11:09

Honestly the mental gymnastics some of you are doing to not spent 5 seconds per leg. Just say you can't be bothered.

It's not really mental gymnastics. It's just saying "I wash them without rubbing them because that gets them clean enough for me". That's it.

In YOUR opinion, "wetting the dirt isn't the same as scrubbing the dirt/sweat/dead skin off" – wellin MY opinion, letting soap and water run over them is the same as scrubbing them.

NunoGoncalves · 13/05/2019 11:11

I also have to say, I feel like the idea that you have to "scrub off your dead skin" is probably another facet of the modern hyper-sanitary trend that says you must wash your towels after every use, never eat anything past its sell-by date, never touch another person's hand, etc. etc.

ILoveMaxiBondi · 13/05/2019 11:16

For anyone who can’t bend to wash feet or legs those long armed loofahs/body puffs for your back also work pointing downwards Wink

motherheroic · 13/05/2019 11:17

@NunoGoncalves Are you joking? I remove the dead skin otherwise it builds up. I can tell because when I moisturise my skin becomes 'bitsy' when I'm applying my cream.

LakieLady · 13/05/2019 11:18

How do you reach all of your back to wash it?

I do the top part by reaching over when I wash my neck, shoulders and pits, and the lower part by reaching up when I do my belly and nethers.

I always wash my legs down to, and including, my knees, but don't always do my shins/calves because they get dreadfully dry and flaky. Exfoliating seems to make them worse.

CrinolineQueen · 13/05/2019 11:25

All the dirt from your top half runs down and accumulates on your bottom half, so it needs to be washed away

This thread is full of total nutters.

pink412 · 13/05/2019 11:28

Does anyone else wash the soals for there feet... just me?

No I honestly do

Unicornshopkeeper · 13/05/2019 11:30

50%ish of people don't wash their legs, and yet 50% of people don't smell bad?
According to them!

Believe me if I thought I smelt I would wash my legs. Why don't you conduct an experiment and not wash your legs for a week and see if you're aware of an odour?

BeautyQueenFromMars · 13/05/2019 11:34

This thread has considerably brightened my day... Grin

Baloonphobia · 13/05/2019 11:36

I'm 39 weeks pregnant. Nothing below the waist is getting a look in here.

ILoveMaxiBondi · 13/05/2019 11:39

Does anyone else wash the soals for there feet... just me?

Before MN it would never have occurred to me that anyone didnt wash their whole foot. Grin now I know some don’t even get as far as the foot!

theworldistoosmall · 13/05/2019 11:47

Erm yea. Seems odd to wash body, miss legs then go onto feet.
Yea I understand that water etc runs down your legs anyway. But if that's enough why bother washing anything below shoulders?

TheTitOfTheIceberg · 13/05/2019 11:48

God no. My legs and feet do not, on the whole, get smelly or grubby to the extent they need more than soapy water running over them and then clean water rinsing them. But I don't do a very physical/messy job.

Same here.

Nope. And in 33 years of life no one has ever commented on my filthy legs. But MN is batshit for competitive cleanliness and people who remove the top layer of their skin twice a day.

And same here, except I've been around for another decade with no one recoiling in horror at my 'unwashed' calves and ankles.

megletthesecond · 13/05/2019 11:58

pink I always wash the soles of my feet. It never occurred to me this wasn't a basic task for everyone! I go barefoot in the house and outside in the garden a lot.

Is this why some people get dry skin on their feet? They don't give them a gentle scrub every day?

TheFastandCurious · 13/05/2019 12:00

I found out last year people don’t wash their arms, back etc. I can’t understand why you wouldn’t wash the soles of your feet and in between your toes with soapy water and once you’ve gone to the effort of doing that why wouldn’t you do the same for arms and legs?

Apparently this makes me a hyper clean, competitive germaphope though Grin

NunoGoncalves · 13/05/2019 12:34

@NunoGoncalves Are you joking? I remove the dead skin otherwise it builds up. I can tell because when I moisturise my skin becomes 'bitsy' when I'm applying my cream

Not joking no. I've never had a build up of dead skin and I don't use any sort of scrub or exfoliator. Just soap and my hands. Guess it depends on the person.

JaneJeffer · 13/05/2019 12:37

Why don't you conduct an experiment and not wash your legs for a week and see if you're aware of an odour?
There's no way I'm doing this experiment. The back of my knees get really clammy. I couldn't bear it.

ScabbyHorse · 13/05/2019 12:44

I wash everything that sweats which includes legs as I cycle everywhere.

Mia1415 · 13/05/2019 12:49

Why would you have a shower and only wash part of yourself!

Who are these people walking among us that aren't washing their legs?

Sakura7 · 13/05/2019 12:53

In YOUR opinion, "wetting the dirt isn't the same as scrubbing the dirt/sweat/dead skin off" – wellin MY opinion, letting soap and water run over them is the same as scrubbing them.

It really isn't a matter of opinion though. It's a fact that lathering up soap/shower gel on your hands/flannel/shower puff and applying it thoroughly will clean more effectively than just water passing over it. Now if you prefer the water that's your choice, but it's not correct to claim both methods give the same result. If you rinse a dirty plate under running water it won't clean as well as washing up liquid rubbed in with a sponge, same idea.

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