Since the beginning of time, cultural debates have left our country polarized – Republican or Democrat, Coke or Pepsi, iPhone or Android and Biggie or Tupac are just a few of the topics that can kick off a major beef between people on opposite sides.
Another one of these divisive debates is the decision whether or not to use washcloths while bathing. The argument is clearly one that exists across racial lines, with most Black people being team washcloth, while white people are using – wait for it – their hands.
If you’re reading this and wondering why it’s even a question, this hilarious clip from “The Neighborhood” sums it up best:
Whether you were taught to call it a “washcloth” or a “rag,” if you grew up in a Black household, you were most likely taught to use some kind of cloth to bathe yourself clean. But as much as we hate to break it you, not everyone is convinced that way is best. In a May episode of the “Causing a Scene” podcast, white hosts Sara Gretzky and Natalie Buck seemed genuinely disgusted at the idea of using anything other than your hand to wash your body.
“Am I scrubbing my body with a washcloth? Absolutely not! That is a UTI waiting to happen,” said Buck.
The video, which has received nearly four million views, was flooded with comments from people on both sides.
“I don’t use a washcloth either. So much more hygienic,” wrote someone who agreed with the idea that the hand is a much cleaner way to wash.
But there were others who were completely baffled Sara and Natalie’s decision not to use a cloth.
“That’s why I don’t eat every body cooking, you prepared food with your wash cloth hands,” wrote someone.
“Not using a wash cloth is like saying you might as well not brush your teeth with a toothbrush use your finger instead 😳,” wrote another commenter.
Some online having even tried to bring class into the debate, like married comedians Christina Pazsitzky and Tom Segura on a 2023 episode of their “Your Mom’s House” podcast. The couple agreed that no one with money would dare wash with a cloth.
“Washcloths are for poor people,” Tom said.
We don’t even have to tell you that Black people completely destroyed them in the comments.
“Ah yes, buying a washcloth, something that’s entire purpose is to clean is what broke people do. Makes total sense,” wrote someone.
“Well, I guess I’m poor. CLEAN but poor. I’m good with that. LOL!” wrote another.
Now that we know what the internet is saying, what do the experts think? You may be surprised to learn that the medical community is as divided as the rest of social media.
Colorado-based dermatologist Dr. Reagan Anderson says using a washcloth can almost be as bad as not washing at all, calling the cloth a “petri dish for bacteria” holding all of the oil and dead skin cells you scrub away each day. Anderson adds that even if you change your cloth every day, you’re essentially using a “mild form of sandpaper” to scratch your skin off. Ouch!
But we also found Black doctors who say there’s nothing wrong with getting a little help from a rag.
Dr. Rosemare Ingleton says that while your hand and good soap are enough to get you clean, she’s still a woman of the cloth – as long as you let it dry completely between uses and change it often for the ultimately hygienic experience.
“Obviously, I’m team washcloth,” she said in a TikTok video. “There’s a cultural aspect to this. I’m Jamaican and that’s how we were raised.”
Black dermatologist Dr. Renée A. Beach says you do not need to wash with a cloth, adding that they make eczema worse and make hyperpigmentation more prominent.
“Trust in your finger pads, trust in gravity and water pressure and the fact that our cleansers nowadays are better,” she said in a video on TikTok. “Unless you’re dealing with paint, unless you’re caked in mud, you really don’t have that much to cleanse that a wash rag would need.”
White dermatologist Dr. Dray believes there’s nothing wrong with using a washcloth, as long as you keep it clean and don’t scrub your skin too hard.
“Fun fact about a washcloth – you can wash them,” she said on TikTok.
Board certified dermatologist @drjeaneenchappell agrees, saying a washcloth will not give you a yeast infection.
And there’s Dr. Jen Caudle, who says washcloths (rather than your hands or a loofah) are necessary to get those often neglected cracks and crevices like inside the ear and inside of the belly button.
“I need you to be lifting up stuff. Lift up the folds. Lift up the boobs. Lift up the belly flap. Any folds you got need to be washed,” she said in a YouTube video. “I am team washcloth all day, everyday.”
While the world may never be able to agree on whether or not you can really get clean without a washcloth, can we at least agree that it’s iPhone over Android all day?
