Having a behemoth beard is cool until you realize just how much debris it collects: According to a recent-ish report, beards amass more germs than dog fur, which is astonishing when you consider their penchant for rolling around in all kinds of gunk. This bacteria comes from...
We’re guessing you don’t take too many baths, but that’s cool — most Americans don’t. Maybe it’s the thought of wading in one’s own lukewarm filth for half an hour that’s a turnoff. Or for the earth-minded, filling up the average tub with 50 gallons of water...
Returning to the gym locker room can be even more intimidating than returning to the actual gym after spending nine months making excuses (my arm muscle was busted, I swear). For good reason, too: There are a bunch of new faces, with the same idea as you,...
We were descending into Los Angeles from Chicago, which meant the seatbelt lights were on. Had I not woken up with an insufferably full bladder, this would’ve been fine. But I swear I had near-emergency levels of pee pushing to get out, setting off alarms in my...
Both braids and dreads have a reputation for being relatively low-maintenance, since your hairstyle is more or less already in place when you wake up in the morning. But unless you want bedraggled braids and disheveled dreads, you still need to put in at least some effort....
Our bodies are adept at stench creation, a harsh reality that most of us can fortunately keep under control with showers and deodorant. Nevertheless, there are a number of unlucky people who — despite showering often and investing in powerful deodorants — are steadily trailed by a...
Bathing a pet is almost always an unpleasant experience for both parties. The animals we often keep around tend to have an aversion to being forced into porcelain prisons and subsequently drenched with water, so washing them can prompt a spirited freakout that inevitably results in pet...
We mostly all agree that hot tubs, massages and the like feel good, but ask anyone why and you’ll get a shrug (which is fair! That person was trying to relax, after all). Understanding what these self-care activities are doing to your body — and more importantly,...
Common sense holds that regular hand-washing is a simple way to prevent the transmission of disease. The impact is so dramatic, several government agencies have published comprehensive hand-washing guides — douse your hands, administer soap, lather the backs, get between your fingers and under your nails, scrub...
Anyone with even the slightest sense of decency would surely never intend to nosh while situated on the toilet (well, 91 percent of you, anyway). But there are times in life when bathroom dining could conceivably happen — say, you need to rush out the door or...
Some say having soft skin is a sign of emasculated weakness. And to those people, I say: Put on some freaking moisturizer! Your skin looks like a piece of beef jerky old enough to have watched the dinosaurs eat a giant asteroid. I admit, I may have...
You would think washing the dishes counts as washing your hands — dish soap is usually stronger than hand soap, and you might well be giving each individual finger a proper exfoliation with that skillful maneuvering of the sponge. On the other hand, so to speak, you...