10 Bad Shower Habits That Can Harm Your Health and Beauty
For many of us, taking a shower is a routine we perform without even thinking. It’s not hard to just wash yourself, so how can we be doing it wrong? But after doing some more research, we realized that many of us don’t know some very important things about showering, so we can easily harm ourselves.
We at CHEERY have reconsidered our “shower” preferences and hope you will also benefit from reading these experts’ opinions about the popular mistakes we make when showering.
1. Using hot water
Experts think that taking hot showers regularly may lead to blood pressure increase, dry skin, and the destruction of the skin’s protective barrier. Our hair also becomes drier and more fragile. Cold showers have a lot of advantages:
- skin look better
- hair becomes shinier
- post-workout soreness in muscles is reduced
- weight loss is boosted
- wakes you up
The optimal shower temperature is between 98º and 105º F.
2. Taking a shower every day
Showering every day, or even more than once a day, is a good idea if you live in a hot climate, do physical work every day, work out, or have a job in a dirty place. If not, taking a shower every day washes off the protective barrier of your skin. It can lead to flare-ups of skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Experts recommend showering every other day.
3. Using soap and shower gel without checking their pH
The pH level is not just a number on your shower gel. It also indicates how “friendly” the product is. The numbers vary from 1 to 14, with 7 being neutral. The lower numbers are acidic, while the upper numbers are considered alkaline, or non-acidic. A healthy skin pH is more on the acidic side. Experts recommend using soaps with pH levels from 5 to 7 because they are not likely to cause skin irritation.
4. Showering for 30 minutes
Yes, in the morning, especially on cold days, it’s hard to make yourself turn the water off and go to work. But it turns out that the optimal duration of a shower is from 5 to 10 minutes. Longer water exposure can activate eczema on dry skin, and dehydrate healthy skin.
5. Rubbing too hard to dry your skin
Doctors say that it’s a bad idea to rub your skin with a towel to be perfectly dry. Instead, you can leave it damp to help the skin retain moisture and remain healthy.
6. Not applying body lotion
We’re often in a rush, so we jump out of the shower, rub our skin dry, put our clothes on, and leave the apartment. But experts say we should take a moment to think about our skin and apply lotion. Right after a shower is the best time to put on lotion or cream because that is when the skin is the most perceptive to the products’ active ingredients.
7. Shaving legs right after the start of the shower
Experts recommend shaving your legs and other body parts at the end of your shower. Doing this gives your skin a chance to get moisturized and softened, which reduces the risk of cutting or damaging yourself while you shave.
8. Ignoring the weather
No matter how much of a rush you’re in, don’t forget that taking a shower during a thunderstorm is a bad idea. Experts recommend avoiding the shower during a storm because the lightning might hit a power line and come through the pipes.
9. Washing hair every time we shower
Many people like feeling clean and light after washing their hair. But this sensation doesn’t last long. Experts say that washing your hair too often does more harm than good. Very few people should actually wash their hair every day. The exceptions to this rule are people with very thin hair or those that do sports every day. In most cases, we should only wash our hair once every 2-3 days. If you want to freshen your hair up, you can use a dry shampoo.
10. Not removing makeup before showering
When we are tired after work or a party, we might get into the shower with our makeup still on hoping the water will wash it off. But experts don’t recommend that for several reasons. Also, you will still have to wash your eyes at the sink again afterwards!
What kind of shower do you prefer? Hot, cold, or contrast?