How often should you shower? Is a daily shower really necessary or healthy?
Having a shower is pretty much part of everyone’s daily routine. Some of us shower two or three times daily but according to researchers from the Columbia University School of Nursing, you apparently don’t have to shower every day (OMG, can’t believe these researchers really did a study on this).
“I think showering is mostly for aesthetic reasons,” Dr Elaine Larson, an infectious disease expert and associate dean for research at Columbia University School of Nursing told Time.
“People think they’re showering for hygiene or to be cleaner but bacteriologically, that’s not the case,” Larson added. “Bathing will remove odour if you’re stinky or have been to the gym. But in terms or protecting you from illness, washing your hands regularly is probably adequate.”
So how often do we have to shower? In terms of your health – not how you look or smell – once or twice a week should do claims Dr C. Brandon Mitchell, assistant professor of dermatology at George Washington University.
“Your body is naturally a well-oiled machine. A daily shower isn’t necessary,” Mitchell told Time.
Mitchell believes people over-bathe and over-bathing can strip your skin of its natural oils, and may also disrupt the skin’s population of immune system-supporting bacteria.
Larsson also told Time that as long as you’re washing your hands – and your clothing, which naturally rubs off and collects a lot of the dead cells and grime your body accumulates – you’d likely suffer no ill health.
Mitchell also tells people who shower everyday not to lather their whole body.
“Hit your pits, butts and groin, which are the areas that produce strong-smelling secretions. The rest of your body doesn’t need much soaping,” Mitchell told Time.
I don’t know about you but I definitely know I will stick to my twice a day shower routine. Thanks experts for the research but I think I enjoy the twice a day routine.
Phil