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Woman showering

Shower Habits That Damage Your Skin

Spoiler alert! If you enjoy taking steamy hot showers, do not read this article. To many of us, a hot steamy shower is the high point of our day. The little cubicle, your own private haven, the steam, unknotting the stress in your muscles and opening the pores of your skin. The acoustics of the tile, providing just the right amount of echo to make the renditions of your favorite pop songs almost listenable. How can this be wrong?

Unfortunately, pleasurable as they may be, long hot showers can be damaging to your skin. While there are ways to mitigate the damage, it may involve making small sacrifices. Read on to find out which shower habits may be harming your skin, if you dare.

Water Temp is Too High
While the water temperature may offer short-term pleasure, the long term effects may be less enjoyable. Hot water can strip skin of its natural oils, drying it out, and causing possible discomfort. Those with eczema should be especially wary of very hot showers, as the skin barrier of eczema sufferers is already weak. If you really can’t live without the steam, try blasting the hot water, allowing steam to build and them decreasing the temperature of the water before it comes into contact with your skin.

Dirty towels

Dirty Towels
Even though it may seem that we emerge from the shower clean and bacteria free, this is not the case. Dead skin cells transfer to towels and can result in growth of bacteria, and even mold. Wash towels regularly and try and leave them in a dry, well-lit environment to cut down on bacterial growth.

Harsh Soap
Although antibacterial soaps are great for stripping pores of dirt and bacteria, it may also strip skin of natural oils and good bacteria that helps skin to maintain a balanced pH level. While antibacterial soaps may work well on your hands, they are not recommended for all over cleansing. Also, you may want to swap the bar soap for a moisturizing, natural body wash. Bar soaps can accumulate bacteria from sitting in a wet, dimly lit shower.

Showering Without Moisturizer
Showers provide the best opportunity for moisturizing, and one that you should definitely take advantage of. Warm water opens the pores, allowing water to hydrate skin and allowing the moisturizer to lock the hydration in. For optimal results, use a soap that contains moisturizing ingredients in addition to your regular lotion.

Woman scrubbing

Overscrubbing
Scrubbing should not be confused with exfoliation. Roughly textured bathing accessories, such as shower brushes and loofahs, can break healthy skin cells, leaving behind raw patches on your skin. These tools also collect bacteria, which, when combined with vulnerable skin, is a recipe for damage. Use mild loofahs and try to keep exfoliation down to once or twice a week.

Hard Water
Unfortunately, the water most of us shower with is “hard.” This means it has chemicals and mineral to purify it. While this makes it safe for showering, it may not be the best thing for our skin, and may clog pores and strip skin of natural oil. However, you can avoid this by purchasing a shower head with a water filter to keep the hard stuff out.

What do you think? Is good skin worth the sacrifice? What price is too much for a great shower? Let us know!

Woman taking a shower and shampooing her hair

Why You Shouldn't Shower Daily

You may shower to wake you up in the morning or help you wind down at night and you probably look forward to doing so. Chances are you also do this on a daily basis. You may want to rethink your daily shower, as dermatologists deem doing so as potentially harmful to your skin. Dr. Ranella Hirsch, a Boston dermatologist, says “[w]e over bathe in this country and that’s really important to realize. A lot of the reason we do it is because of societal norms.” So, should you skip your daily cleansing ritual? Not necessarily. Resveralife researched the thoughts behind not showering each and every day and how to properly shower to protect your skin from damage.

Why Skip Showers
Dr. Casey Carlos, assistant professor of medicine in the division of dermatology at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, says “[p]eople don’t realize that the skin does a pretty good job of cleaning itself.” Still, our inclination is to do it ourselves daily in the shower. Carlos and other dermatologists advice showering less to keep skin at its healthiest.

How to Shower
You know how to shower; you’ve been doing it since you were a kid, but dermatologists suggest that perhaps it’s how you shower that does the most damage to your skin. The first thing you should be doing is lowering the temperature of the water. Hot showers may feel soothing and relaxing, but they also add to the damage your skin suffers in the shower. Use warm, not hot, water when you shower.

Your natural inclination is to step into the shower and lather up everything from your hair to the tips of your feet. “It’s the hardest thing to get people to use soap only where they need it,” says Dr. Casey Carlos. Soap is designed to remove oils from the skin, and sometimes it can do too good of a job. Using soap only on areas that need it (armpits, feet, and groin area) can help minimize the damage that showering does.

And, if you’re still washing your hair every day, you might want to give that up too. Shampoo, like soap, strips your hair of natural oils. If you must shampoo, use a gentle shampoo only at the roots of the hair because it will rinse down into the ends of your hair and clean them. Condition the mid to ends of your hair to avoid irritating the scalp with unnecessary heavy products.

Once out of the shower, moisturize immediately. Adding moisture back into the skin while it is still damp helps your skin to better absorb moisturizing products.

It may feel completely unnatural to not shower or shampoo daily, but you will get used to it. If you want to protect your skin but absolutely must have water to do so, consider taking a warm bath in between shower days. Soak for 10 to 15 minutes in warm water then moisturize afterward. Post workout use, refreshing pre-moistened cloths to keep yourself feeling fresh. Skipping your daily shower helps strengthen and take care of your skin.

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