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Men's Health

Husband demonstrates 'Triangle' showering technique to his wife and guys, we need to talk

The horror!

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It's long been known that women, on average, take longer showers than men. The disparity isn't too large, just a minute or two overall, but it indicates there is a difference between how men and women are approaching their bathing hygiene. Now we know why... even if wish we didn't.

Brit Richards recently asked her husband about his shower routine on a whim of curiosity. After he explained it, she whipped out her phone in disbelief and asked him to tell her again while she recorded. Other people were going to need to see this to believe it.

"I'm just so upset," she says jokingly in the intro to the video. "I found out how my husband washes his body in the shower."

A caption overlaying the video reads: "PLEASE HELP. THIS CAN NOT BE HOW MEN SHOWER."

What's got Brit so freaked out? The pantomimed routine starts off well enough, with John scrubbing his beard and scalp with soap. OK, cool. But then we move onto the body, and, well, you'll just want to watch. Or, actually, maybe you don't.

@britforreal

“Mom, I’m scared. Can you come pick me up?” #men #husband #shower #help

Brit reacts in horror as her husband demonstrates that he washes what he calls "The Triangle" (an area that encompasses the groin and lower belly, basically) and then the "AMEX" (don't make me explain it. You watched the video, right?). And then... that's it.

Sure, we've covered the most important bits. But the thoroughness of John's routine definitely leaves a lot to be desired.

"You don't even wash your pits?" she asks him. "Sometimes," he says.

"You don't round the corners of your cheeks and you sit on public toilets? ... You've never washed your legs or feet?" The answer is extremely unfortunate.

Brit ends the video by telling him, tongue-in-cheek, of course, "You can't live here anymore."

Giphy

John takes the criticism in stride and with a laugh, but the viral video's three million viewers are raising important questions.

To put it bluntly, women who saw Brit's video were absolutely horrified:

"Girl you didn't realize his showers were 20 seconds long?" one user asked.

"EVERY INCH NEEDS TO BE WASHED. EVERY INCH."

"You need to take showers together to supervise."

"BRB going to go talk to my teenage boys…I’m not about to raise a man that does this."

The roasts just kept coming, to the point that Brit started to feel a little bad for publicly putting her husband on blast. "POV: You told the Internet that your husband does the triangle wash in the shower and now millions of people are roasting him in your comment section and its actually all your fault," she captioned a follow up video. Woops!

John may be the unwitting face of the 'Triangle Wash' movement, but he's definitely not the only one. Commenters had plenty to say about that, too:

@britforreal

Replying to @Mama I’m sorry babe, but 2025 isn’t gonna be your year. #marriage #shower #help #sos

"You are not alone! I even saved your video to show my husband because apparently washing “parts” is all he does too 🙄🤣.. it’s been an argument for years!"

"My husband takes like THE shortest showers and I’m so nervous to have this conversation with him! My anxiety can not"

"Yup I broke up with a guy after I seen the way he "washed" himself."

My theory on why so many men seem to be lacking in basic hygiene and grooming? It's because they weren't taught anything growing up outside of the bare basics, and then they were conditioned to think anything more than that was 'girly'. There are lot of hygiene and hygiene-related tasks that are considered feminine, like: Washing your face, moisturizing, taming your eyebrows, trimming your nails, exfoliating, wearing chapstick, and more. It stands to reason that putting too much effort into smelling good, being clean, and grooming our most sensitive areas could be interpreted as "unmanly."

A 2022 review of survey data interestingly found that more egalitarian countries, or countries where there was greater social equality between sexes, tended to see a smaller difference between how men and women approached hygiene. Less sex equality was associated with a greater difference in hygiene norms between men and women. So there's plenty of evidence that our gendered hygiene habits are created, at least in part, by our surroundings and not inherently embedded in our DNA.

Guys, I know that our culture has instilled some toxic beliefs in us, but we've just got to do better. We need to wash our pits and feet and, occasionally, wash the grime and oil from our faces properly. It's the least we can do, if not for ourselves, then for our partners. Being a little stinky and rough around the edges might have been cool in the Wild West, but they invented body wash for a reason.

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Health

Debate over using washcloths in the shower goes viral but here's what the experts really say

Are you #TeamWashcloth? Or prefer the hands-on approach?

@causingascenepodcast1/TikTok, Photo credit: Canva

For as long as there have been showers, there have been shower debates.

We’ve debated about how often to shower, what time of day to shower, which direction to stand in the shower and whether or not shower snacks are appropriate.

But today, the hot topic of shower conversation is this: is using a washcloth the superior way to get clean, or just completely gross? You better believe people have strong opinions.

Though of course people have had this debate before, it recently went mainstream again thanks to a viral soundbite from “Causing a Scene with Sarah and Natalie.” Though hosts Sara Gretzky and Natalie Buck typically discuss pop culture topics, personal hygiene got thrown into the mix when Gretzky asked Buck if she was for or against washcloths.

“Do you use a washcloth?” Gretzky asked. Buck replied with a passionately whispered “no,” to which Gretzky agreed, “Me either... That is disgusting.”

Buck went on to joke that using a washcloth to clean her body was a “UTI waiting to happen,” before Gretzky informed her that they were likely “in the minority” with this opinion.

She then asked her co host the all important question “what are you washing your butt with?” Unapologetically, Buck answered, “My hands” and declared she’d “burn” her washcloth after using it.

From there, the comments section was all a flutter. Many could not understand why Gretzky and Buck were pro-hands and anti-washcloth.

@causingascenepodcast1 Do you use a wash cloth? #causingascene #podcast #shower ♬ original sound - Causing A Scene

“Hands? That’s like using your finger to brush your teeth,” one person wrote.

Another retorted, “NOT using a washcloth is a UTI waiting to happen.”

But, as adamant as viewers seemed to be that washcloths are superior to hands, experts seem to think differently.

Both washcloths and loofahs are breeding grounds for bacteria since they are likely to never fully dry out in between washings, nor is someone likely to sterilize them often enough in between showers. If you are this diligent, kudos to you.

Of course, washcloths do beat out loofahs since you can more easily throw them into the washing machine after each use, but simply using your own hands (once they are washed, that is) will not only get the dirt off, but do it in a way that’s gentle for sensitive skin. So…sorry washcloth folks, but hands are technically the superior hygiene tool.

But what about exfoliation? you might ask. There are ways to get a good scrubbing without a washcloth, including cleansers with chemical exfoliants like salicylic or glycolic acid and dry brushing. Exfoliating mitts, which obviously still need to be dried and cleaned in between washes, are also a good option because they have a low carbon footprint,” according to Dr. Elizabeth Trattner in an interview with Oprah Daily.

The overall verdict seems to be that washcloths aren’t so detrimental to skin health that you should stop using one immediately. So if you’ve grown attached to your shower accoutrement, just be sure to dry it out, wash it regularly and maybe avoid using it for your face or private parts.

And still, even if expert opinion doesn’t change anyone’s mind, it’s funny to see the hills people are willing to die on when it comes to their shower routine.

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Pop Culture

The secret but definitive reason dark towels might be 'superior' to white towels

White towels might give spa vibes, but dark towels could be a better buy. Here's why.

Representative Image from Canva

Something to think about next time you're perusing the bathroom aisle.

Those soft, fluffy white hotel towels might seem irresistible—so irresistible that we slip a couple into our suitcase from time to time. But when it comes to getting the most bang for your buck, darker hues might be the way to go.

At this point, you might be expecting the more obvious reason: stains. White towels certainly show signs of dirt easier than their colorful counterparts. Everyone knows that.

But actually, according to a quick and informative video posted by product researcher “The Shopping Expert,” dark towels are also “technically superior” for another reason.

As the Shopping Expert explains, towels are manufactured with softeners and a silicone finish before hitting the shelves at stores to make them “feel fluffier and lusher.”


This coating might make you more compelled to make a purchase, but it also affects the towel’s only job—drying you off—since it reduces the towel’s absorbency. This is also why it is recommended to avoid using fabric softeners on towels or any fabric meant to absorb liquid.

Darker and bolder colored towels, however, are less affected by these softeners due to their dye, and therefore what you feel in the store is much closer to what you're going to feel after a few washes.

However, that might not be enough to make dark towels truly superior, at least according to other sources.

Some argue that white towels are neutral enough to withstand any changes in bathroom color scheme, and aren’t going to lose their luster due to fading.

Others point out that white might be the more hygienic choice if bleach is used to wash them, plus it’s hard to go too long without washing white towels, because, again, the dirt is easy to spot.

Others still swear that textured towels are the way to go, noting that they instantly add some pizazz and show less wear over time.

In the end, we might not be able to unanimously get on board with team dark towels. Seems to be more of a personal preference situation. But we can all agree that when it comes to actually getting dry when you hop out of the shower, rough beats soft, hands down.

And one viewer quipped, "the closer to sandpaper the better!"

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life
Health

People share 'underrated hygiene tips' you're most likely not doing

We're probably all guilty of not doing at least one of these on a regular basis.

Representative Image From Canva

Cleanliness can do wonders for our physical and mental health. And these tips can help us get there.

We all know that proper hygiene is important, but when it comes to which hygiene habits take priority, we can’t always agree. Heck, we can’t even agree on some of the basic things when it comes to cleanliness, like how often to shower.

A lot of this we can chalk up to no one rule being able to apply to all humans. But some helpful habits might go undone simply because we aren’t aware of how much they can benefit our wellbeing. Or we’ve gotten so busy that we’ve forgotten them.

Luckily, the internet is a mecca of crowdsourced hacks.

Reddit user u/Away_Needleworker655 recently asked “What are some underrated hygiene tips?” and answers ranged from items (and body parts) that often go ignored to helpful products and everywhere in between.

Check out what folks are saying below. You never know what ideas you might be able to glean to make life just a little more squeaky clean.

”Baking soda works better than any other gimmicky product for stinky shoes.”

”I work for a sock design company. Sooooo many people think they have bad foot odor, and some do, but most people are just wearing really low quality all polyester socks. Switch to a cotton blend or wool blend!!!! You will see a huge difference.”

cotton socks

Cotton socks can help prevent foot odors better than polyester blends.

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“I honestly thought 'don't forget to wash behind your ears' was just a folksy way of my parents telling me to be thorough with washing. Then at some point I ran my finger behind my ear and smelled it, and got religion about washing behind my ears.”

“Washing your reusable water bottle daily to prevent bacterial growth.Changing your pillowcase frequently to prevent oil and bacteria buildup. Regularly cleaning and disinfecting your kitchen sink, as it can harbor harmful bacteria.”

“Hot water and dish soap will get rid of just as much bacteria as disinfectants so don't worry too much about a special product. A good scrub down with dish soap and rinse with the hottest water will work just fine!”

“When cleansing your face, spend 60 seconds rubbing the cleanser in.”

face washing

We've all be guilty of the 15 second face wash routine.

Representative Image From Canva

“Maybe not so much hygiene per se but in order to keep your house tidy it really helps to never walk empty handed. If you’re sitting at the dinner table for example and getting up for a drink/toilet visit/whatever, put your plate and cutlery on the counter. Goes for everything that needs to be moved anyway, snack wrappers, glasses, cups etc. Takes almost no extra effort and it is a habit that’s very easy to gain. This way you’ll prevent a buildup of a seemingly manageable amount of clutter/trash. House is easier to clean and it is better for your peace of mind. So incredibly simple but turned out to be a life changer for me and some of my ADHD friends. Try it for a couple of days/weeks and it becomes so habitual that it doesn’t take any discipline to keep it up. Because I know that lack of discipline can become a (very) serious problem if you have nothing to fall back on.”

“If you are disabled, chronically ill, dealing with mental illness, etc, and struggle to shower, use baby wipes or a wet rag to wash yourself. It will help you feel refreshed, and something is better than nothing!”

“Use body cream straight after you shower and then apply your cologne or perfume whatever. It absorbs everything and you smell good for hours.”

“Floss guys. It's not that hard and makes a huge difference.”

waterpik, floss

Waterpiks can be a great alternative to flossing.

Representative Image From Canva

“Cleaning/ disinfecting your phone.”

“Your computer keyboard, too! Especially if you eat or smoke while using the computer.On a high-quality keyboard you can remove the keycaps and wash them, then take a swab and some rubbing alcohol to the spaces between the keyswitches. Laptops and cheap desktop keyboards are difficult, though. You can at least wipe off the key surfaces.”

“Take your shoes off at the door.”

“Your steering wheel is probably filthy. I use baby wipes to clean it when I’m sitting in traffic.”

“Getting a pedicure. It's amazing! You don't even need the color. It feels tremendous and your feet feel great!”

pedicure, pedicure near me, diy pedicure

There's nothing like the satisfaction of a freshly pedicured foot.

Representative Image From Canva

“Replace your toothbrush regularly! the bristles become worn and ineffective after a 3/4 months.”

…and last, but possibly most important…

“Work to figure out what makes keeping up with your hygiene difficult and keep an open mind while looking for solutions, no matter how atypical.”

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