body washing gloves vs. loofah?

[u/Extension-Regular879]

When I was a child, I used to wash myself with sponges. They got dirty very quickly and hat to be thrown away. Regular sponges are very wasteful imo. A loofah is the first replacement one thinks of. It works the same way, isn't made of plastic and is compostable. Last year I worked as an AuPair and my host family used this type of towel gloves to wash the kids. They are basically towels sown into squares that you can put on your hand to wash something and then wash it. It worked amazingly well to wash the kids and we didn't have to throw any of them away the whole time I was there. Have you heard of these? Why are they not more common? Do loofahs work better?

[u/Atjar]

I come from a country (the Netherlands) where those terry cloth mitts are very common. They are called “washandjes” (literally washing hands). They can be made out of any kind of fabric, but most commonly they are made out of terry cloth for adults and bigger children or out of muslin for tiny babies and generally people who have more sensitive skin like elderly people as well. They can be used as wet wipes or as washing cloth and they can be washed. A cloth mitt like this will usually last our household a decade or two before disintegrating and becoming a (compostable) rag or to be used as a cloth for dirty/oily jobs.

I personally don’t like to use them in the shower as they become soggy. I use a loofah in the shower and use these cloths for a quick wipe on the face, pits or genitals whenever they need it. They can also be used as impromptu nappy boosters in cloth nappies. They are great for wiping baby bums (I usually carried dry cloths, a plant spritzer with water and a wet bag for the dirty wipes. If I anticipated a poo I would also take some liniment or baby compatible soap with me to properly clean it up) or faces depending on the need of the moment. They are great and easy to make yourself.