When many of us bring home new clothes, we tend to either try on the garment again or rip off the tags and wear immediately that night (ahem, this editor). Well, as Refinery29 highlighted from a piece in WSJ, you shouldn't actually wear anything without washing it first. As Donald Belsito, a professor of dermatology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, pointed out, despite clothes "looking clean," most synthetic textiles are colored with dyes, which can irritate the skin.
But the worst clothing culprits come from the stores themselves. “I have seen cases of lice that were possibly transmitted from trying on in the store, and there are certain infectious diseases that can be passed on through clothing,” he said. To avoid issues like this, along with fungus that could be hanging around from humidity, Belsito recommends washing your new clothes at least once before wearing. Why take any chances?
What do you think? Do you already wash your new clothes before you wear them? Sound off in the comments below! And if you’re in the market to shop new clothes, check out these cute summer tops.