When it comes to doing our laundry there can be a lot of products involved.
Washing detergent and fabric softener are both commonly used in the washing machine.
While these items work to thoroughly clean our clothes and leave them soft and fresh, they can bring with them some unwanted side effects.
More specifically, one expert warned about the risks of using dryer sheets in the tumble dryer.
Dryer sheets are small sheets made from liquid softeners, lubricants and fragrances coated on a layer of fabric.
They are placed in the dryer alongside your clothes and work to reduce static, depositing scents and making the laundry feel softer to the touch.
But if you use these dermatologist Dr John Zade took to social media to tell you to “stop right now”.
Speaking to his 140,000 followers on TikTok, he said: “If you’re using this one thing in your laundry, you need to stop right now.
“What’s that one thing? It’s dryer sheets.”
He explained: “So these have a lot of chemicals and fragrances that linger onto the clothes in the dryer.
“And when you put those clothes on the chemicals cause a lot of irritation of your skin and we do not like that.”
As an alternative to sheets he suggested using wool tumble dryer balls.
“So instead try those wool dryer balls that you can throw into the dryer and it has a similar effect,” he added.
One expert also said that dryer sheets could be linked to acne – although they are not the only cause.
Speaking to The Independent in 2023, Dr Meghan Feely, said: “Synthetic ingredients in dryer sheets may cause skin irritation and potentially increase the risk of a breakout in some individuals, but everything considered, the strongest factors that underlie acne are hormones, bacteria, genetics, and lifestyle.”
She continued: “Acne can also result as a side effect from certain medications.”
She also advised washing bed sheets and towels regularly, “as oil, bacteria, and dead skin cells can build up over time on fabric that is not clean” and contribute to acne.
“In general, for patients with sensitive skin, I recommend fragrance-free detergents, and putting clothing and bedding through an additional rinse cycle,” she suggested.
