source: http://digg.com/2016/how-often-should-you-shower
Q1: Are you a person with good hygienic habbit? Have you follow any suggestion in the article? how is that?
Q2:
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Everyone has to skip a shower, or discovers they’ve run out of deodorant after a particularly intense pre-work gym session.You’re an adult, you’re (perpetually) busy, and sometimes the forces of nature will conspire to push the limits of reasonable hygiene.
Question is, how often should you be taking care of basic hygiene routines anyway? Of course, needs will differ from person to person, but overdoing it can wasteful of both your time and your fancy soaps/skincare products/monogrammed towels.
You’re Probably Showering Too Much
Showers aren’t a daily necessity. If that news rubs you the wrong way, hold up. If you’re physically active at your job, in your free time, or both, rinsing away the day’s sweat is still a good call. That said, showering more than twice a week isn’t making you healthier, just less smelly. Time spoke to two scientists, Dr. Elaine Larson and Dr. C. Brandon Mitchell, to establish a bathing baseline. The key thing to remember here is that healthy skin isn’t scrubbed sterile-clean — skin shouldn’t be overly dry, absent of oils, or without (helpful) bacteria for that matter:
Too much all-over bathing may even raise your risk for some health issues. Dry, cracked skin opens up gaps for infection-causing germs to slip through. That means frequent bathing when your skin is already dry—and especially as you age, when your skin becomes thinner and less hydrated—may increase the odds of coming down with something, Larson says. Other experts agree. “I think most people over-bathe,” says Dr. C. Brandon Mitchell, assistant professor of dermatology at George Washington University. Mitchell says washing can strip your skin of its natural oils, and may also disrupt the skin’s population of immune system-supporting bacteria.
[Time]
Maintaining properly hydrated cells and balanced skin flora won’t earn you approval from peers if you smell like the inside of a bowling rental shoe, but most people’s skin doesn’t need a daily sudsing. Dr. Mitchell recommends only focusing on conspicuously stinky areas if you’re a once-a-day shower-taker: “Hit your pits, butt and groin, which are the areas that produce strong-smelling secretions.” If you’re already an every-other-day bather, rejoice — you’ve got a thumbs up from experts.
And You're Almost Certainly Using Deodorant Wrong Too
Have you ever stopped to consider that not all deodorants are antiperspirants? “Of course,” you might say, “deodorant mitigates bad odors while antiperspirants actually stop sweating.” Even if you don’t use the two terms interchangeably, you still might be shocked to hear that the proper time to apply deodorant is at night.
The active ingredients in antiperspirants are aluminium chloride compounds, which mix with sweat to clog the ducts of your sweat glands.1 It’s verifiably better to let this duct-clogged process happen overnight. Plenty of sources online will tell you this — even your antiperspirant packaging might — butGreatist spoke with a dermatologist and got the skinny on why you should roll-on at night:
It's better to apply antiperspirants at night because our natural sweating rate is decreased, says A. Yasmine Kirkorian, M.D., an assistant professor of dermatology at Children's National Health System. Using it in the morning is like trying to plug a dam as water rushes in; applying at night builds a stronger dam before the storm hits.
[Greatist]
Makes sense, right? By letting antiperspirant do its thing while you’re not sweating buckets, it works more efficiently. This has the added benefits of sweating less in bed and having less need to reapply2 throughout the day, even if you’re particularly active.
When (And When Not) To Wash Your Clothes
Sources online will quote you all sorts of figures regarding how often you should wash particular clothing items. While it’s good to establish a rule of thumb for washing that’s more complicated than “does this smell rancid,” there’s also no good reason to commit rules regarding garments to memory when you can learn why certain clothes get smellier in the first place.
You’re correct if you think it has to do with sweat, but BBC’s Greg Footexplains that there are different kinds of sweat, and the associated stink isn’t your perspiration itself, but a result of its breakdown:
The problem starts when the bacteria living on your skin get involved. They live by feasting on your sweat and skin oils, breaking the proteins in those down into smelly by-products. For example, the Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria, which lives on your skin, breaks amino acids in your sweat down into stinky isovaleric acid. That’s the same acid that also pops up in strong cheese and in badly made beer. But it’s apocrine sweat that really makes you stinky. Apocrine sweat glands are found in the genital area, breasts, armpits and, randomly, your eyelids.
[BBC]
Yes, unfortunately there’s a bit of a Catch-22 here. The bacteria that are a regular part of healthy skin flora are also why our sweat bothers us and causes our clothes to get all funky. It’s useful to have them break down products in our dead cells and sweat, but we stink as a result. So how about your clothes? In BBC’s video, Greg Foot delivers the most important rule of all in a pleasant British accent: if the article of clothing rests close to your apocrine glands, wash it after a day of use (same goes for socks, which of course get sweaty as a result of being trapped in your shoes all day).
For other articles of clothing, it can really be a matter of personal preference and maintenance — for instance, don’t bother looking for a scientifically-backed regimen for blue jeans care because you may never find two denim disciples who agree on what’s best.
Apocrine comrades aside, the other textile rule of thumb worth getting serious about is swapping your bath towel out after three uses. Towels accumulate dead skin cells and bacteria quickly, and if you don’t hang them to dry after each use they’ll get nastier even faster. Of course, if you’re going to shower less than you have before, you might not need to do any additional laundry to abide by this rule.
Just Say No To Q-Tips
Put down the cotton swab, seriously. It’s common knowledge that Q-Tips are not intended for use in the ear canal and can damage your eardrums, but some people still swab away to feel like they’ve really gotten their ears “clean.” Here’s a shocker: in addition to risking irritation or puncture of the eardrum, a swabbing might make your earwax problem worse. Here’s what the American Academy of Otolaryngology (representing your ear/nose/throat doctors) advises regarding the effects of swabbing your own ears:
Old earwax is constantly being transported, assisted by chewing and jaw motion, from the ear canal to the ear opening where it usually dries, flakes, and falls out. Earwax is not formed in the deep part of the ear canal near the eardrum, but in the outer one-third of the ear canal. So when a patient has wax blockage against the eardrum, it is often because he has been probing the ear with such things as cotton-tipped applicators, bobby pins, or twisted napkin corners. These objects only push the wax in deeper.
A waxy outer ear is no reason to break the rule regarding Q-Tips, especially now that you know wax blockages can be caused that way. As far as regular cleaning goes, these doctors recommend simply washing the outside of your ear with a damp cloth without inserting anything into the ear canal. For problematic blockages, refer to their website or consult with a doctor regarding professional wax removal or prescription ear drops — and don’t buy ear candles, which can lead to worse blockages and burns (that’s a great reason to not stick a candle in your ear).
Tread Carefully With Your Toenails
Toenail trimming is important, but overly-diligent clipping can lead to an ingrown toenail. Which can lead to really nasty infection, which can sneak up on you, becoming a problem before it even starts hurting. Even if you’ve never come close to having an ingrown nail, you should have a refresher on proper toenail clipping — chances are you’re doing one of the steps wrong. Here’s the top two tips from Jennifer Geddes and podiatrist Ami Sheth at SafeBee:
Choose your weapon wisely. The best tool for trimming toenails is a simple clipper. Sheth prefers the “plier” type, which is flat across the bottom, rather than the clam-shaped variety. The curved blades of manicure scissors and fingernail clippers can lead to ingrown nails.
Get it straight. A rounded edge increases the risk of an ingrown toenail so cut your nails straight across. That way you can see the edges and know they aren’t digging into the tender sides of the nail bed. A nail file or emery board can come in handy for smoothing rough edges. Gently file in one direction: Sawing back and forth or using too much pressure could cause the nail to split.
[SafeBee]
Like cleaning your ears, you might only think to clip your toenails once in a blue moon. Just be sure to use straight clippers and soft instruments to clean grime out from under the nails, otherwise the next time you think about your toenails you might be well on the way to ingrown nail or infection. Sheth notes that people with diabetes are especially at risk due to decreased blood flow to the feet, lowering sensation and letting telltale toenail pain slip by unnoticed.
And For Aspiring Hand Models…
Look at your hands — you can probably tell if you’ve got some issues in this department.3 The Mayo Clinic provides a list of telltale signs that your fingernails are unhealthy to the point of concern:
Changes in nail color, such as discoloration of the entire nail or a dark streak under the nail
Changes in nail shape, such as curled nails
Thinning or thickening of the nails
Separation of the nail from the surrounding skin
Bleeding around the nails
Swelling or pain around the nails
Otherwise, just be sure to keep grime out from underneath your nails with a soft manicure stick, and clip those nails carefully — the mechanical action of nail clippers or scissors is actually a little rough, so if you find the edges of your nails are a little jagged, adjust your trimming and consider using a nail file if you don’t already.
Long Or Short Hair, You Should Care
There’s no golden rule for hair care, either from health or beauty perspectives. Hair is one of the most variable aspects of our bodies with regards to its physical properties and our own style preferences. Your personal hair care regimen is probably most determined by the particular look you’re trying to cultivate.
There is one eternal question that crops up with hair: how often should you use shampoo? Again, there’s no single answer, but many people tread lightly around the subject of washing too little or too much, for fear of the social stigmas of being either unhygienic or uninformed. Who should lather and rinse their locks the most? WebMD and Professor Carolyn Goh explain:
Only a small group needs to shampoo daily, like those with very fine hair, someone who exercises a lot (and sweats), or someone living in very humid place, Goh says. “If you have oily scalp, then daily washing is needed,” she explains. “Sometimes, people think they have dry scalp because they have dandruff, but in those situations, more frequent washing is also helpful.”
[WebMD]
From here, extrapolate a routine based on your own hair and preferences. Thicker hair? Every other day. Pristine scalp? Every 3-4 days. Dry climate? Maybe once a week! Beyond that, ask a friend, your stylist or go with your gut.
Have other basic hygiene concerns? Let us know and we’ll do what we can do provide the straightforward, adult answer. We won’t judge, and it’s a better option than asking a friend “does this smell/look/sound weird to you?”
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