Could showering too much be damaging your skin?

If you were asked the question, “how often do you shower?” you would not be alone in answering once or twice per day.

Whether it was after rugby practice or after a particularly rigorous dance class, even as children showering has always been taught as a practice that we need to do to fit in to society. It was just the norm. However there can actually be some negative impacts from showering so often.

The use of hot water and soapy water coupled with your standard loofas, scrubs and sponges can actually strip the skin of the initial horny layer. This layer of skin is what protects the living cells and when exposed makes people more susceptible to disease.

People didn’t always shower daily though and history shows many societies that had communal baths and bathing was a weekly chore rather than a daily pleasure.

Australians are one of the most hygienic nations in the world and almost all of us shower or bathe at least once daily according to a report conducted by the SCA (a leading global hygiene company) in 2008.

In depth studies have revealed that regardless of how often a person showers, there are no measurable differences in the number of micro-organisms on a person. With that in mind there is no specific number of showers that a person must have each week but ideally you should be showering less than 7 times. This is to protect the horny layer of your skin and skipping 1 shower each week is a possible solution. Using a wet cloth and facial wipes could be a balance between not showering for that particular day and staying clean.

Tell us, how often do you shower every day? Do you enjoy it or will you be skipping a shower each week from now on?