How often should you bath, shower?

The biggest problem with too frequent showering is that it strips your skin of natural oils

A hot shower is the usual start of your morning; along with brushing your teeth and combing your hair, but you may want to take a new look at your showering routine. It’s possible your daily shower is actually too much for your skin.

So how often should you bath, shower?

The honest, albeit utterly vague, answer to the question is it depends. There really isn’t a magic number that is right for every person. But, there is a general consensus among dermatologists that as a society we shower too often. Dermatologists vary in their recommendations, so advice runs the gamut from showering once or twice a week to once every two to three days.

Why the disparity? Everybody’s skin and lifestyle is unique. So, you have to take into account your personal situation.

A shower every other day or so is a good guideline. Most people can shower every second or third day and still be clean and unlikely to offend your family and co-workers. Babies and young children shouldn’t be bathed every day. And as you get older you will probably want to cut back on the number of showers you take a week as well.

Showering more often doesn’t make you healthier, and there is no need to shower more often to cleanse away bacteria. The human body is teeming with bacteria, the vast majority being helpful (or at least not harmful.) A daily shower, in many cases, is just not necessary.

Some people do need a daily shower. There are exceptions to this, of course. If you work out daily, live in an especially hot or humid area, work a job where you get dirty/sweaty, or are prone to body odor, you will want to shower every day to rinse away sweat and dirt.

Hands should be washed several times daily. Even if you’re not showering daily you should still wash your hands with soap and water several times per day. Hands are the germ-magnets. It’s the bacteria and viruses that you pick up on your hands and transfer to your eyes, mouth, and nose that make you sick. This will help keep you healthier, especially during cold and flu season.

Your face should be cleansed daily as well. Just like with your hands, your face should be given special treatment. Even on days you’re skipping the shower, wash your face with a gentle cleanser at least at night before you go to bed. Removing makeup, grime, and excess oil is important to keep breakouts from forming and keep your skin healthy.

Showering Too Often

If you’re used to a daily shower, the thought of skipping a day (or two or more) may seem gross. But truly, we’ve been socially conditioned to feel the need to shower every day. Showering too often can, in some cases, cause more troubles than it prevents.

The biggest problem with too frequent showering is that it strips your skin of natural oils. Human skin is covered with a fine layer of oil called sebum. This oil is meant to protect the skin and keep the skin moisturised. Frequent cleansing removes this oil and can make your skin dry and itchy. It can also irritate sensitive skin and eczema.

For what it’s worth, you don’t want to wash your hair too often either. Over-washing can make your hair dry and frizzy, especially if your hair is naturally dry, curly, or coarse. It can make your scalp feel dry and itchy too.

And if you think showering often helps protect you from bad bacteria, the exact opposite may be true. Showering can break down the skin’s natural barrier, called the acid mantle. The acid mantle is slightly acidic. Showering too often, especially with alkaline soap or washes, can change the pH of your skin and leave your skin more susceptible to bacterial and viral invasion.

Not Showering Enough

Most people shower more than necessary, and you don’t want to completely ditch this hygiene ritual. There are times, though, that maybe you go days on end without a shower. Say, you’re camping in a remote area, or you’re feeling under-the-weather and peeling yourself from the bed is the last thing on your mind. Are there any risks of going too long between bathing?

Beyond the obvious (you start to develop some wicked B.O.) you could be setting yourself up for blackhead and acne development. You have a ton of oil glands on your face, so your face will get extra oily fast if you’re skipping a daily wash. But going too long between showers can also trigger body breakouts, especially if you are prone to them.

Skipping showers when you’re sweaty is a bigger issue than an accumulation of dirt, oil, and bacteria, though. Sweat can irritate the skin, and leaving your skin moist for long periods of time (like sitting around in your sweat-soaked post-workout clothes) can raise your risk of developing a bacterial or fungal infection like jock itch.

If you go for long periods without bathing, you can develop a skin condition called dermatitis neglecta, where brown patches develop on your skin. These plaques are a mix of dead cells, dirt, sweat, and grime that have accumulated on your skin. Thankfully, this only happens if you’re going weeks or months without stepping in the shower.

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Source: Verywelhealth