The best way to use a pouf?

[K.T.]

There are two schools of thought about how to use a pouf, at least between my brother and I.

My method is similar to loading a brush with soap during a wet shave. I take the pouf in one hand, my bar of soap in the other, and scrub the wet pouf on the surface of the soap until it's loaded up. I then scrub with my body with the pouf, facing away from the shower so that the soap doesn't get washed off right away. I find this makes a fine, abundant lather.

My brother soaps up his body with the bar first, and then uses the wet, but unsoaped, pouf to scrub after that. Kinda like using a shave stick.

I told him that doing it my way would get him better lather, but in truth, I never did try his method.

What's your advice? Load up the pouf first, or soap up your body first?

 

[kingfisher]

You're doing it right, IMO.

(I say that because you're doing it the way I do it. It works for me. I get a great lather every morning, and I'm probably not wasting as much soap as your brother is.)

 

[Crisp]

No offense, but your brother is in obvious need of psychotherapy. Does he also eat his breakfast cereal without milk? Never understood that phenomenon either!

 

[closer]

I've never actually used a pouf with a bar soap. With the bar soap, I just rub it over my body, and rinse. I use the pouf with bath gel, or more recently, with a liquid soap like Dr Bronner's - for this, I squirt the liquid soap on the pouf, fluff it up to generate some lather, then scrub away.

 

[Austin]

I use a pouf at least once a week to exfoliate dead cells from my arms, legs and feet. I either load it with shower gel or soap. Wet the pouf again and scrub. It works well and keeps these areas fresh especially during cooler weather. No real wrong way to use it.

 

[kingfisher]

I've never actually used a pouf with a bar soap. With the bar soap, I just rub it over my body, and rinse. I use the pouf with bath gel, or more recently, with a liquid soap like Dr Bronner's - for this, I squirt the liquid soap on the pouf, fluff it up to generate some lather, then scrub away.

You're really missing out on a great shower experience. Try it. Why would you use it only for liquid soaps? Rub the soap on the pouf and then lather yourself up. You'll never go back to just rubbing the soap on your body.

 

[TMH478]

You're doing it right, IMO.

(I say that because you're doing it the way I do it. It works for me. I get a great lather every morning, and I'm probably not wasting as much soap as your brother is.)

That's how I roll!

 

[closer]

You're really missing out on a great shower experience. Try it. Why would you use it only for liquid soaps? Rub the soap on the pouf and then lather yourself up. You'll never go back to just rubbing the soap on your body.

Somehow the thought never occurred to me, because with bar soap, you can simply scrub away with just the soap itself. Also, the liquid stuff probably makes for more even distribution. But, I guess I'll have to give it a try..

 

[Jim]

The old curmudgeon method-

Place pouf in right hand> open shower door with left hand>
Hurl pouf towards waste basket> Remove puef from spell check.

 

[K.T.]

Somehow the thought never occurred to me, because with bar soap, you can simply scrub away with just the soap itself. Also, the liquid stuff probably makes for more even distribution. But, I guess I'll have to give it a try..

Yes, you can soap up with the bar, but you really do need the pouf to make a rich lather. Give it a try. Using a pouf to make a rich, dense lather is leagues more enjoyable than the thin, slick film of bubbles that you get by merely rubbing the soap on your body. And you'll get the scrubbing/exfoliating action of the pouf, too.

I used to use bath gel, and to me there's no comparison: a good French triple-milled vegetable oil soap with shea butter is so much more luxurious and enjoyable than the thin foam you get with drug store bath gels. And it feels a lot cleaner to me, maybe because the ingredients and scents are more natural (?).

I find that achieving even distribution is not a problem with a pouf and bar soap. You just have to introduce enough water to the mix to make a lather of the right consistency. As you scrub with the pouf, the soap spreads and cleans you perfectly well.

I highly recommend that you pick up a bar of Pre de Provence, Whole Foods regular or Organic line French bar soap, or any other French triple milled bar soap in a scent of your liking and try it out with your pouf. I bet you'll like it a lot. Maybe even a lot more that your bath gels.

 

[closer]

I highly recommend that you pick up a bar of Pre de Provence, Whole Foods regular or Organic line French bar soap, or any other French triple milled bar soap in a scent of your liking and try it out with your pouf. I bet you'll like it a lot. Maybe even a lot more that your bath gels.

The bath gel was an example - I don't actually use them anymore. My soap of choice recently has been the French triple-milled stuff carried by Trader Joe's - I'm partial to the lavender. The wife also picks up Mysore sandal soap from the local Indian store, so that's around as well. I usually use the pouf with Dr Bronner's liquid soap, as I had stated earlier.

I actually used this technique with the Mysore sandal today, and it wasn't bad. However, I probably didn't load it enough, since I didn't get huge amounts of lather, so will have to work it a bit more next time.

 

[comat0se]

pouf (pf)
n.
1. A woman's hairstyle popular in the 18th century, characterized by high rolled puffs.
2. A part of a garment, such as a dress, that is gathered into a puff.
3. A rounded ottoman.

Which one? I'm guessing the ottoman.