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Shower Habits that Could Damage Your Skin

Shower Habits that Can Cause Damage to your skin

For many of us, taking a shower is an auto-pilot activity. You get in, you turn the water on and then wash, later and rinse your body. However, there are some common shower habits that could cause damage to your skin, and what you can do to correct them.

1. Taking showers that are too hot – Hot water strips your skin’s natural oils, leaving it very dry. Hot water also turns your skin red, meaning that the blood circulation underneath it is increased. This means that the chances of inflammation rises, resulting in itching, rashes and acne.

What you can do – Take a shower with water that has the same temperature of your skin, or just a little warmer.

2. Taking showers that are too long – A shower that is more than 10 minutes in length is considered too long by many dermatologists. The prolonged exposure steam, the running water and the general warmth removes the moisture out of your skin.

What you can do – Don’t spend too much time in the shower. Get in, wash, later and rinse and get out. Do not linger.

3. Waiting a while before moisturizing – Not moisturizing almost immediately after stepping out of the shower results in dry skin. This is because your skin loses its moisture from being exposed to the air. When your skin is dry, cracks form where bacteria and allergens can live in.

What you can do – Do not wait any longer than three minutes after leaving the shower to moisturize. When you get out of the water, gently pat your skin of excess water, and apply a liberal amount of moisturizer. Massage and spread it all over your body.

4. Washing your hair on a daily basis – Your scalp produces natural oils that stimulate hair strength, shine and growth. The production of these important oils decreases when you wash and shampoo your hair too often, leaving your hair dry and fragile.

What you can do – People with thin, fine or delicate hair should shampoo no more than two times a week to maintain the regular production of natural oils. Those with thick or curly hair should try to shampoo just once every seven days.