Listen up you scruffy pups, apparently none of us have been showering correctly.
Though we may emerge from the shower smelling fruity fresh, a hygiene expert has said most of us are not scrubbing correctly and are guaranteed to still be covered in yesterday’s grime. Lovely.
This PSA comes from Mary Futher, who has several decades of experience in the beauty industry under her belt and is the founder of ‘clean body brand’ Kaia Naturals.
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She also has the delightful moniker Madame Sweat.
So according to Mary/Mme Sweat, most of us are giving our underarms too cursory a scrub, which is particularly a problem for folks with underarm hair.
She’s now shared exactly how long we should spend lathering our armpits, and what sort of body wash we should be using.
Mary shared a TikTok video to show where we’re all going wrong with the caption: “Most people are not washing their underarms properly - this is the right way.”
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Speaking in the clip, which has racked up 2.5 million views, she said: “If you’re washing your underarms like this, with some tutti-frutti soap, I can guarantee you still have yesterday’s deodorant on your underarms.”
Warning that a five second scrub just won’t cut it, she continued: “We’re here in the shower with Joey, and he’s lathering for 30 seconds.
“He’s doing it right. Plus, he’s using an antibacterial soap.”
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And what is antibacterial soap, you might ask.
Well, according to Mary, good ones contain apple cider vinegar, sea salt and charcoal - coincidentally just like the one sold by her company Kaia Naturals.
As is customary, not every expert has the same advice with what soap or body wash we should be using, but most agree we should be cleaning our armpits for longer.
Dermatologist Dr. Sheila Farhang told Today: “Using a body wash that contains alpha hydroxy acids or beta hydroxy acid in the shower and applying it to the under the arms can also help treat darker appearing skin.
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“Using benzoyl peroxide can also help with odour in the area, especially if someone is sensitive or prefers not to use aluminium-based deodorant.”
Which all sounds a hell of a lot more complicated than sea salt, charcoal and apple cider vinegar.
As you might expect, people in the comments on the TikTok video had plenty of their own recommendations too.
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One wrote: "Anything other than Castile soap, and I can still feel the [deodorant]."
Another recommended glycolic acid cleanser, while a third added: "I use my formulated soap with activated charcoal and tea tree oil. It’s the best."
If this has left you more confused than you were when you started this article, sorry about that.
The main takeaway? Scrub for longer.
Simon Fearn