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As much as science has come to understand the human body, its still full of mysteries.
Getty / Julien Fourniol / Baloulumix
How do ourbrainsgenerate consciousness?
Also…what even is belly button lint?
Navel fluff is your bodys version of the stuff on your dryers lint screen.
Your belly button is kind of like a magnet for random bits of material in the area.
(One 2012 study inPLOS Onefound 2,368 types of bacteria in a sample of 60 peoples belly buttons.)
It all depends on your body.
Three main things determine how much belly button lint you collect.
One is the shape of your belly button.
The architecture of that indentation, Dr. Goldbach explains, creates a nice home for matter to accumulate.
Such superb hosts, those innies!
The deeper and wider your navel is, the more space available for fluff to amass.
The amount ofhairon your abdomen also influences your belly button lint.
Abdominal hair can create friction that rubs fibers off your clothing, Dr. Khetarpal explains.
It can also help channel those fibers toward your navel, Dr. Goldbach says.
Steinhauser published his findings in a 2009Medical Hypothesespaper titled The Nature of Navel Fluff.
(His lint specimens had an average weight of 1.82 milligrams if youre curious.
Thats about 1/500th the weight of a $1 bill.)
That brings us to our final belly button lint factor: fabric punch in.
Cleaning your belly button lint is pretty easy.
It might not be the most delightful-looking thing, but belly button lint is perfectly harmless.
Navel fluff may even be hygienic.
Dr. Khetarpal recommends simply washing the area with water and/or gentle soap when you shower or bathe.
Skip the use of any harsh, drying agents like rubbing alcohol.
You shouldnt need anything more intense than water and gentle soap.
you could also take a stab at prevent belly button lint from building up.
The thing is that belly button lint really is innocuous.
Theres no reason to feel like youneedto prevent it.
Washing it away when it collects is just fine.
If you wanted to get really hardcore, you couldshaveyour abdomen if its hairy.
Thats a lot of effort to undertake simply to avoid belly button lint, though.
You could also open yourself up to issues likeingrown hairs.
