Unhealthy Shower Habits

Rajeev Verma Published on 31-October-2024

Everyone has bad habits, but when it comes to how you shower, many people don’t even realize that they were doing bad habits in the first place. From personal hygiene to unhealthy practices will surprise you!

1. Rubbing Yourself Dry With Towels
   This shower habit is one almost everyone is guilty of. Using a towel to rub and scrub ourselves dry feels normal. But this isn’t good for your skin! Doing this can irritate your skin and cause it to dry out more easily, even right after a shower. Gently patting yourself dry with a towel is a great way to be kind to your skin and hair. By taking the time to pat, you’re not only being gentle on your skin and hair, but you’re also allowing them to air dry naturally, which can further promote their health. So, next time after taking a shower, remember to pat yourself dry with a towel for a more gentle and nurturing drying process.
2. Showering Too Often. Yes, it’s possible to clean yourself too much! Your skin has natural oils that keep it safe, and showering too often gets rid of those natural oils, which can actually make your skin more dry. When your skin is dry, it develops small cracks, and bacteria can slip into those. So, showering too often might make you feel clean, but it could actually make you sick. Outside of really hot and humid climates, you generally don’t need to shower daily.
3. Body Wash on Your Face. Some of us like to use body wash on our face because the face is part of the body, right? But body wash is not intended for that. Body wash tends to have oils that are too harsh for the thinner, more sensitive skin on your face.If you absolutely must use body wash for your face, consider using moisturizer afterward, too.
4. Washing your Hair Every Day. Just like your skin, your hair has a carefully balanced biome that can be destroyed if you wash it too often. Washing your hair does eliminate bad bacteria, but guess what… some of that bacteria is actually good for your hair! They help balance the pH of your hair. If that pH is disrupted, your scalp can get irritated, you might have inflammation, or your hair will dry out and break more easily. Remember, it’s best to wash your hair only about twice a week.
5. Avoiding Cold Showers. Most people avoid a cold shower. But science says that a cold shower can actually be good for you! People who endure a cold blast of water for 30 to 90 seconds are 30% less susceptible to illness. Cold shower improves your mood. So, this would be a good habit to learn even if it’s only for a brief time in each shower.
6. Avoid Scorching Hot Showers. We already talked about how cold showers can help you, but are warm showers actually bad? Well, no, but very hot water can be, even if you’re the type of person who can tolerate it. As with most shower problems, the issue here is how that super-hot water strips natural oils off of your skin. Hot water does it even faster than cooler water, and as you age, your skin gets thinner, making it even more of a problem. So turn down the heat!
7. Clean the Tub More Frequently. The hygiene habit everyone needs to learn is to clean your shower more often. Just think about it: this is where you go to wash off dirt, grime, germs, and other nasty things. Most of it goes down the drain, but not all of it. Some are going to end up in your tub.
8. Shower after exercising. Most people shower after working up a sweat, but if you don’t, you should consider doing it. It’s science: leftover sweat on your skin provides a place for bacteria to breed, and that could lead to rashes, acne, or worse. Not only will it be better for your health, but it will most definitely be better for your body odor! The longer you let old sweat stick around, the more problems it will cause you.
9. Don’t Shower With Hard Water
   Water with lots of calcium and magnesium in it is considered “hard.” They can react with the chemicals in your shower products and even your soaps, which can make them less effective. Hard water can also really do a number on your hair. To avoid hard water, invest in a shower filter or perhaps a water softener. This will be better for your hygiene and will even help with the buildup of things like limescale in your tub.