How often should you shower? … dermatologists answer
Is bathing daily beneficial for skin health? In fact, knowing what is best for our skin today is a real ongoing dilemma that dermatologists are doing extensive research on.
According to some dermatologists, excessive bathing can affect the skin’s main function of protecting the body.
In this report published by the Spanish magazine viviendolasalud, author Claudia Muñoz Campos reviewed some of the advice of Dermatologists on how often to bathe, how to bathe, and effective products to maintain healthy skin.
The beginning will answer the question “how often should you bathe weekly?”It is “once or twice a week”, the following details about the reasons for this:
What is the function of the skin?
The skin is the largest organ of the human body, covering two square meters of the body and ranging in thickness from 0.5 to 4 millimeters, and is responsible for several functions. Besides protecting the body from external factors, the skin responsible for maintaining hydration and elasticity of the body.
The skin consists of 3 main layers: epidermis, the outer layer, dermis, the middle layer, and hypodermis, a subcutaneous tissue containing fat cells. The bathing process mainly involves the skin, which is the layer that comes into direct contact with water and chemicals used in the manufacture of skin care products.
What do dermatologists think about how often to bathe?
During the shower, many factors can affect the health of the skin, including the number of times that we use, the water temperature, quality of the products that we use, the method of drying the skin, which makes the process subject of study dermatologists.
Dr. Richard Gayo, a dermatologist at the University of California, discovered in one of his research that bacteria on the skin help its cells create their own protective agents. Specifically get rid of these bacteria a kind of antibiotic that combats harmful bacteria that can affect our skin. They also help in maintaining a healthy balance of fats and oils that cover the skin.
For Richard Gallo, the bathing every day is not necessarily a healthy habit. Bathing with hot water, for example, increases dryness and damage to the skin. According to dermatologist Jose Raul González, “excessive cleaning of the body causes more problems than accumulation of dirt”.
Dermatologists such as Jose Carlos Moreno, on the other hand, emphasize that bathing every day is neither good nor bad at the same time and does not cause damage to the skin. “The use of soap can have negative consequences because it weakens the skin’s defensive barrier,” he says, and he advises focusing on cleaning the most dirty areas of the body as an absolute priority.
How often should one take a shower?
Recommended Dr. Brandon Mitchell, dermatologist, Professor, University of Washington, bathing once or twice in the week confirming that it is the best way to protect our skin. And if you use it once a day, experts advise using soap only in parts that accumulate the most bacteria (genitals, soles of the feet, armpits). The rest of the body does not need soap, because the fats and oils necessary to maintain skin hydration.
Dermatologists generally agree that bathing twice a day can harm skin health, since it damages fatty acids and keratinized layer, which are Skin Defense barriers that prevent the reproduction of fungi, bacteria and viruses.
Bathing once a day with the right product, moisturizing the indicated areas, and using low-temperature water, is not very negative for our skin, according to the author.
What soap is suitable?
Given the wide variety of hygiene products available on the market, and the abundance of advertising, it is almost hard to know which skin is best suited to cleanse and moisturize at the same time. Soaps free of fragrances and colorants contain less alcohol and chemicals that cause dry skin. The pH of the soap should be 7, a neutral level that can be used without problems for most skin types.