I just don’t want to mix them because I feel like it would make me less clean.
Relatedly, what’s the best way I can follow the Patrick Bateman skincare routine as a simplified version that’s actually practical to follow and contains the most important steps?
No. It’s not normal at all. But you do you. No one is normal.
But I would be more worried about having OCD if you are worried that (not) using separate towels for your hands and face makes you less clean.
I don’t understand the logic behind the idea that it makes you “less clean” to wipe yourself off of excess water literally seconds after cleaning yourself in the shower. Think about it: to legitimately spread germs around with the towel, you’d need either the towel, or the area you’re wiping off, to be unclean in the first place.
My wife likes a separate towel for her hair, but it’s because she has very long and thick hair that’s hard to dry out. Not doing so would mean leaving a trail of water dripping on the ground.
For me that’s just wasteful behavior - if you’re that concerned about cleanliness, those towels need to be washed regularly, therefore 4x the water usage…
Seems a better solution would be a single, large bath/body towel to dry off the whole body after a shower, that itself gets washed after every use (personally, I wash my towels after two uses). Maybe have a towel just for hair, if your hair is long enough to need it.
Then have separate towels for use throughout the day. A hand towel for drying hands after washing them. A face towel for when you wash your face/brush teeth/shave. And wash those towels and they become soiled.
Using different towels as you just come out of the shower does seem a little redundant and wasteful.
How about the “logic” behind the separate hand towel?Unless you’re drying your hands and putting gloves on before drying any other part of your body, you will be cross-contaminating by touching the other towels with your hands.
I’d answer with a non answer: this is way too much thought put into how you use your towels. Just clean yourself properly before drying out your hands, wash your towels regularly, and you’re good lol
Of course. I’m just pointing out that OP’s premise is flawed from the start. They have a lot of work to do to be truly OCD about towels.
When I shower, my hands get dry with the rest of my body using the body towel. My hand towel is a separate smaller towel by my sink that I use after eliminating waste and subsequently washing my hands.
I don’t go as extreme as OP. I have 3 towel types: large body towel that I use to dry my entire face/hair/hands/body after bathing. Smaller hand towel by the sink for drying hands/face after using the sink. And finally a separate medium-sized hair towel to wrap my long hair for further drying after I’ve already got most of the water off with my body towel. I’ll wear that towel for 5-10 minutes after bathing. That towel isn’t necessary for short hair.
What you’re describing is normal adult behavior. Maybe that’s what OP meant when they said hand towel, but that’s not how I read it. Seemed like the implication was they were worried about cleaning their body with a single towel after a shower.
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I’ve heard the separate towels for hands and face, but only in a shared situation. Some people may use a hand towel to wipe messy hands or sloppily rinse their hands instead of wash. You don’t want their germs and mess getting in your eye
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One towel is all that’s needed. Start at the top, work your way from head to feet, floss the crotch last,. When the towel dries, it forgets, and the towel is clean for the next shower. If you have long hair, a second towel may be useful as a turban
I like to use an old t-shirt for the hair. It helps preserve the curls shape.
So… I just love that i basically wrote my post as a shitpost because i think the concept of towels forgetting is funny and you answered with a serious and informative response. It is, and i mean this with all sincerity, quite lovely.
Sadly I don’t need hair care tips anymore, but i bet someone will be like, “Heh, the towel forgets… oh, a T-shirt, that’s brilliant!”
I cannot tell you how many towels the average person uses, or what the distribution is. Though it’s probably less than 4. What I can say is that it doesn’t hurt anybody, so if it feels good for you, just do it. That’s the nice thing about being an adult, you can do what you want.
I would note though that it’s probably much more important how often you change and wash your towels than how many you use.
It depends on what you’re wiping off. If it’s for drying yourself after a shower, then I’d just use my big bath towel to dry every part of my body since they should all be clean by that point. I sometimes use an extra towel for my hair since I have long hair and it needs some extra fabric to help dry out.
I have figured that if I’m not clean enough to use the same towel all over, I haven’t showered well enough. But I don’t see any problem in having multiple towels
Please don’t try to emulate Patrick Bateman unironically
This sounds like it might be an OCD thing, especially given your reasoning. Do you you have other OCD like habits? OCD is relentless once it gets ahold of you, and can have seriously negative effects for both yourself and your loved ones. The earlier you address it, the easier it is to keep it from ruling your life.
This is my worry, also. These are not normal thoughts.
Shouldn’t have to worry about the towel being clean if you cleaned yourself properly. You’re just drying off water from a body with no oils or dirt.
The error is thinking that your own sebum is bad and should be avoided. It’s like hating that you have tears. If you like, dedicate zones of the towel to functions.
Run away from any OCD-like compulsions early, if that could be the case. please
I’m not sure how effective that would be at preventing it lol
That is not normal. You’re just too keen on getting dry very fast
Important question: Is this the only situation where you strictly divide clean and unclean?
I can understand using more than one towel because they’re dry, but to keep yourself clean after a shower sounds obsessive.
