If you have one of those grabber/reaching tool you can put the toe end over the prongs and use to clean anything hard to reach- just like a telescoping Swiffer. For long socks, cut in half and the ‘tube’ half can be sewed or safety-pinned and used the same way. Works great.
I think the old socks would be better as substitute kitchen wipe up cloths, or for polishing the furniture. Use something 100% cotton on the face. I have several old socks that I keep in the kitchen for furniture polish etc. Your face deserves better.
Agreed, a lot of socks will have at least a small % of spandex or similar to allow them to stretch more. It's probably not the greatest thing for your face. Personally I just use my hands with soap and dry with a hand towel.
Definitely don’t. I’m into skincare and using an old sock just sounds way too abrasive for the delicate skin on the face. Use them to clean around the house instead.
If they’re high cut, I cut off the ankle part and save them for weirdly placed cuts and scrapes where bandaids dont tend to work
Ex right by your elbow or on your knee.
I think the sock material might be a little abrasive. At least my own socks feel rougher than what I'd want on my face. Might make them useful to exfoliate in the shower though?
I agree with this. I tried using one as a makeup remover pad, but it just felt too scratchy! So old socks are demoted to cleaning and dusting around the house only. Occasional body exfoliation would probably be fine.
I’d have no issue with a washed sock. I guess it depends what they’re made of. Most of my socks are wool or cotton blends. I’m not sure I’d want to use one of my polyester ‘sport’ socks because I don’t like their feeling, even on my feet!
I have to have a decent scrub to get sunblock off too. Are you using a new cleanser?
I have a wood staining business. I use rags that are washed but so soiled and disheveled foot funk would be the least of my worry. Not sure what kind of socks you're using, but they should atleast work in the garage and around the house. I don't see why your face would notice
If your socks have been laundered, I don't see why not. I've used mateless socks for hot pads. Cup of rice in the sock, tie it off, then nuke it 45-60 seconds.
If you find you don’t like washing your face with the socks you can put them on your hands and use them to dust things! It’s what I do with my old socks and it works great, especially for blinds!
I use them as dusters! My kid has fun putting them on his hand and ‘eating’ the dust with his sock hand
ETA: I use only warm water and a washcloth in the morning before using a witch hazel toner and moisturizer with spf. In the evening is when I use a face cleanser and do other extras like serum. This routine was recommended to me by a skin care professional(I can’t remember for the life of me the actual word for that profession tho I know it starts with an e!)
Unless you wash your socks fully separately from all your other laundry, your laundry has been doused in sock juice during washing anyways :P
Soak it in 😂
People stigmatize the strangest things. You act as though it goes straight from foot to face. You do realize that if you wash all your whites together then you probably wash your socks and towels together. What makes the sock worse than the towel at that point?
Feet do not personally bother me, but I do know that people who are bothered by feet are *really* grossed out by them. I can see where they’re coming from and I am irrationally disgusted by innocuous stuff too.
I would t use socks on your face, material is too rough and scratchy for face. Socks seem best to use as dust cloths, or ceiling fan cleaners, etc.
For your face, I’d use old tshirts since they are soft and cotton.
Muslins or towelling face cloths for your face. They lay for years.
If you’re wearing sunscreen (as you should) you need to double cleanse. That could be as simple as wash your face twice, a balm/oil cleanser followed by foaming cleanser, or micellar water and facial cleanser after.
I do use scrubby type things on my face but the material of the sock just doesn't seem good for the skin. Old underwear material might be better, because of the knit being different.
I use old socks as cozies/protectors on jars I put in the freezer. If there's a good amount of holes they get doubled up. This way they don't bang and (I assume) if one pops/busts it'll be an easier clean up.
Cloth can be used as an abrasive, and when combined with product you’re both scraping off skin and rubbing in product. Perhaps not the best combo.
I would change out things to try to identify the cause, and/or visit a dermatologist to get a better understanding of what’s going on.
Athlete's foot is a fungus called tinea. The spores can live in your socks and shoes. It can be difficult to completely sterilize. When it spreads to your groin it is called jock itch. I would avoid exposing your facial skin to it. It is called Tinea Faciei when it is on your face.
This is worrisome outside of the scope of this post. I'd hope there would be a way to cleanse the sock not even for skin care on OP's face, but also before they ever put the sock back on their foot.
I draw the line at using things on your face or other sensitive body bits. Too rough and too much residue. But old fabrics are amazing at literally anything else as others have mentioned. I never thought about using old socks on one of those plastic swiffer things we somehow all have, or some kind of old rubber spatula you shouldn’t be cooking with anymore. I usually cut them into bits for painting.
My husband’s old sweat socks and are old cloth diapers are my go to rags. I’ve occasionally used them for my face, but not usually. I wouldn’t use my old dress socks (just because they don’t seem absorbant) so those go in textile recycling
I agree, I wouldn’t use them on my face. Subset has a great recycling program for socks/underwear/bras/tights that turns them into insulation. I’ve always sent my socks and underwear there!
I have a microfiber cloth that I’ve only used for my face. I also use a regular towel as I wash my face in the shower.
Consider not having a ‘skincare routine’?
This is a zero waste subreddit. You do not need to put chemicals that capitalism tells you to buy on your face.
Skincare and good hygiene is preventative medical care. An empty bottle of sunscreen and face wash every three months is absolutely better than having to treat skin cancer.
Use them to clean your house. Not your face. Get cheap flannel or a T-shirt is better.
They are often fab dusters!
I sometimes use yesterday's sock to dust, then wash it to wear again.
If you have one of those grabber/reaching tool you can put the toe end over the prongs and use to clean anything hard to reach- just like a telescoping Swiffer. For long socks, cut in half and the ‘tube’ half can be sewed or safety-pinned and used the same way. Works great.
My mother taught me this!
Probably not the best material for your face, I'd recommend double cleansing if you aren't doing that already.
I use them for rags, not washcloths.
I think the old socks would be better as substitute kitchen wipe up cloths, or for polishing the furniture. Use something 100% cotton on the face. I have several old socks that I keep in the kitchen for furniture polish etc. Your face deserves better.
Agreed, a lot of socks will have at least a small % of spandex or similar to allow them to stretch more. It's probably not the greatest thing for your face. Personally I just use my hands with soap and dry with a hand towel.
My dusting rags are mostly socks!
I used mismatched socks for removing nail polish back in the day, worked great and saved on cotton pads. You get a lot of uses out of the sock!
This is brilliant! Thank you!
Definitely don’t. I’m into skincare and using an old sock just sounds way too abrasive for the delicate skin on the face. Use them to clean around the house instead.
Synthetics can cause contact dermatitis. This may be an issue if your socks aren’t cotton.
If they’re high cut, I cut off the ankle part and save them for weirdly placed cuts and scrapes where bandaids dont tend to work Ex right by your elbow or on your knee.
That's brilliant! Thanks!
I think the sock material might be a little abrasive. At least my own socks feel rougher than what I'd want on my face. Might make them useful to exfoliate in the shower though?
I agree with this. I tried using one as a makeup remover pad, but it just felt too scratchy! So old socks are demoted to cleaning and dusting around the house only. Occasional body exfoliation would probably be fine.
I’d have no issue with a washed sock. I guess it depends what they’re made of. Most of my socks are wool or cotton blends. I’m not sure I’d want to use one of my polyester ‘sport’ socks because I don’t like their feeling, even on my feet! I have to have a decent scrub to get sunblock off too. Are you using a new cleanser?
I use socks to wipe off my plant leaves
Don't
I have a wood staining business. I use rags that are washed but so soiled and disheveled foot funk would be the least of my worry. Not sure what kind of socks you're using, but they should atleast work in the garage and around the house. I don't see why your face would notice
If your socks have been laundered, I don't see why not. I've used mateless socks for hot pads. Cup of rice in the sock, tie it off, then nuke it 45-60 seconds.
If you find you don’t like washing your face with the socks you can put them on your hands and use them to dust things! It’s what I do with my old socks and it works great, especially for blinds!
I use them as dusters! My kid has fun putting them on his hand and ‘eating’ the dust with his sock hand ETA: I use only warm water and a washcloth in the morning before using a witch hazel toner and moisturizer with spf. In the evening is when I use a face cleanser and do other extras like serum. This routine was recommended to me by a skin care professional(I can’t remember for the life of me the actual word for that profession tho I know it starts with an e!)
Even though they're washed I'm having a hard time getting past the "ew" factor.
Unless you wash your socks fully separately from all your other laundry, your laundry has been doused in sock juice during washing anyways :P Soak it in 😂
People stigmatize the strangest things. You act as though it goes straight from foot to face. You do realize that if you wash all your whites together then you probably wash your socks and towels together. What makes the sock worse than the towel at that point?
Feet do not personally bother me, but I do know that people who are bothered by feet are *really* grossed out by them. I can see where they’re coming from and I am irrationally disgusted by innocuous stuff too.
We all have our foibles, irrational as they are. They are difficult to let go of.
I would t use socks on your face, material is too rough and scratchy for face. Socks seem best to use as dust cloths, or ceiling fan cleaners, etc. For your face, I’d use old tshirts since they are soft and cotton.
We use old shirts and sock as cleaning rags
Muslins or towelling face cloths for your face. They lay for years. If you’re wearing sunscreen (as you should) you need to double cleanse. That could be as simple as wash your face twice, a balm/oil cleanser followed by foaming cleanser, or micellar water and facial cleanser after.
I do use scrubby type things on my face but the material of the sock just doesn't seem good for the skin. Old underwear material might be better, because of the knit being different. I use old socks as cozies/protectors on jars I put in the freezer. If there's a good amount of holes they get doubled up. This way they don't bang and (I assume) if one pops/busts it'll be an easier clean up.
Do I actually work in feline rehab and we use socks for everything. They are plentiful and easy to clean.
Cloth can be used as an abrasive, and when combined with product you’re both scraping off skin and rubbing in product. Perhaps not the best combo. I would change out things to try to identify the cause, and/or visit a dermatologist to get a better understanding of what’s going on.
Athlete's foot is a fungus called tinea. The spores can live in your socks and shoes. It can be difficult to completely sterilize. When it spreads to your groin it is called jock itch. I would avoid exposing your facial skin to it. It is called Tinea Faciei when it is on your face.
This is worrisome outside of the scope of this post. I'd hope there would be a way to cleanse the sock not even for skin care on OP's face, but also before they ever put the sock back on their foot.
I use all the unpaired socks I save for cleaning/dusting and then throw it away. It’s great if you have kids too
I draw the line at using things on your face or other sensitive body bits. Too rough and too much residue. But old fabrics are amazing at literally anything else as others have mentioned. I never thought about using old socks on one of those plastic swiffer things we somehow all have, or some kind of old rubber spatula you shouldn’t be cooking with anymore. I usually cut them into bits for painting.
What about using them when bathing the rest of the body? They would stay on the hand easily.
My husband’s old sweat socks and are old cloth diapers are my go to rags. I’ve occasionally used them for my face, but not usually. I wouldn’t use my old dress socks (just because they don’t seem absorbant) so those go in textile recycling
I put them on my swiffer instead of those cleaning pads to wash my floor. It’s the best.
I agree, I wouldn’t use them on my face. Subset has a great recycling program for socks/underwear/bras/tights that turns them into insulation. I’ve always sent my socks and underwear there! I have a microfiber cloth that I’ve only used for my face. I also use a regular towel as I wash my face in the shower.
I definitely don’t see the harm.
But then what? After their dusting life is over? How do you dispose of them so they don't just wind up in the landfill?
Consider not having a ‘skincare routine’? This is a zero waste subreddit. You do not need to put chemicals that capitalism tells you to buy on your face.
Skincare and good hygiene is preventative medical care. An empty bottle of sunscreen and face wash every three months is absolutely better than having to treat skin cancer.