Why Do We Splash Toothbrush Water on Our Face?
You’ve just finished brushing your teeth, and there’s that little puddle of minty water sitting in your cupped palm. Instead of letting it go down the drain like a normal person, you do the thing. The thing we all do but never discuss at dinner. You splash it on your face.
Why do we do this? Is it efficiency? Laziness? Some primal instinct buried deep in our evolutionary code? Let’s investigate this bizarre bathroom behavior that unites humanity across continents, cultures, and income brackets.
The Water Is Already There
Here’s the thing. The water is right there. It’s in your hand. Your face is also right there, just inches away. It would actually take more effort to tilt your hand toward the sink than to just fling that minty goodness straight at your cheeks.
We’re not lazy. We’re optimized. We’re like those fancy factories that reuse steam from one process to power another process. Except instead of steam, it’s toothpaste spit water. And instead of powering turbines, we’re just getting our face slightly damp.
The Illusion of Multitasking
Somewhere in our brains, we’ve convinced ourselves that using toothbrush water on our face counts as washing our face. It doesn’t. You know it doesn’t. I know it doesn’t. But for that brief shining moment, we feel like productivity gurus who just hacked the morning routine.
Two birds, one handful of water. Teeth: brushed. Face: technically moistened. Morning routine: absolutely crushing it.
The truth is you’re going to wash your face properly in about thirty seconds anyway. But that doesn’t stop the satisfaction of the splash. It’s like checking your email on your phone while your computer boots up. Completely unnecessary, but it makes you feel like a time management wizard.
It Feels Minty Fresh
Let’s be honest. That toothbrush water hitting your face feels amazing. It’s cool, it’s refreshing, and it has that tingly mint sensation that makes you feel more awake than your actual coffee will.
For a split second, you’re in a toothpaste commercial. There’s probably a waterfall in the background. Someone’s playing a flute. You’re glowing. This is self care. This is wellness. This is you, absolutely nailing adulthood at 6:47 AM.
Never mind that you’re basically rubbing diluted spit on your face. We don’t think about that part. That’s a problem for overthinking you, and overthinking you doesn’t wake up until at least 10 AM.
The Conservation Instinct
Maybe it comes from a deeper place. Maybe we’re all unconsciously trying to save water, doing our part for the environment one palmful at a time. We’re basically environmentalists. Someone should give us an award.
Except you’re about to turn on the tap again in five seconds to actually wash your face, so the water savings here are roughly equivalent to unplugging your phone charger to save electricity while leaving every light in the house on.
But it’s the thought that counts, right? Mother Earth sees you. She appreciates the gesture, even if the math doesn’t quite work out.
We’re All Just Following the Script
The real answer is probably the simplest one. We do it because we saw someone else do it once, and our brains went “oh, that’s what people do” and filed it away in the morning routine folder.
Maybe it was a parent. Maybe it was a roommate. Maybe it was a character in a movie who was definitely not supposed to be a role model for personal hygiene. But we saw it, we absorbed it, and now it’s part of our morning ritual along with hitting snooze three times and pretending we’re going to make breakfast.
Is splashing toothbrush water on your face efficient? Debatable. Is it hygienic? Let’s not dig too deep. Is it necessary? Absolutely not. Will we keep doing it anyway? You bet your minty fresh face we will.
Because some things in life don’t need to make sense. Some things just are. The toothbrush water face washing is one of humanity’s great unexplained mysteries, right up there with why we say “bless you” when people sneeze and why we all collectively decided neckties were professional.
