We`ll tell you why you shouldn`t shower every day and how it harms our health.

Can you shower

A few numbers to start. Just think, one shower session uses about 60 liters of water. If a heater is used, consumption triples. Bathing – 200 liters. If you calculate, a family of 4 people who shower every day consumes about 25 m3 of water each year.

With today`s prices for electricity and water, that costs a round sum. Besides hurting our wallets, it also destructively affects the environment. People who shower frequently are responsible for 3.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. But the norm for one person is 1 ton, considering all life activities.

Some will say that none of this matters because showering every day is simply necessary. But that`s not entirely true, and there`s medical evidence for it. Dermatologists believe that children shouldn`t be washed every day because it reduces the skin`s ability to fight bacteria. They claim that early interaction with dirt makes the skin less susceptible to infections and can even prevent the development of eczema.

We all like various shower products: soaps, gels, and others. Doctors claim that frequent use of soap causes loss of skin oils and destroys beneficial bacteria on the body. This promotes the development of dermatitis. The same situation with shampoo for hair. If you wash your hair with shampoo constantly, it also washes away the protective oil layer from the hair, drying and damaging the skin.

Who do you think benefits from us showering so often and using a ton of washing products? Of course, the companies that produce them. It might sound exaggerated, but the rule of showering every day is imposed as a cultural norm, and there`s no real necessity for it. Hygiene is important and shouldn`t be neglected, but according to hygiene scientists, it`s not necessary to use soap at all. Plain water will handle sweat and odors.

Most of our body is hidden under clothing and doesn`t contact the environment, so it doesn`t require daily washing, especially with soap. Undoubtedly, certain body parts (armpits, intimate areas, feet) require daily hygiene for obvious reasons. And, of course, hands. They need to be washed constantly and preferably with soap.

In reality, there`s no law on how much and when a person should wash. It all depends on their lifestyle, climate, and anatomical features. The more physical activity, the more often you need to wash.

Overall, a warm and short shower a couple of times a week will fully handle body hygiene maintenance (in the case where armpit and intimate area hygiene is maintained). Everything is individual, but you shouldn`t overdo water procedures, just like with hygiene products.

But what do you think about this question? Share with us in the comments!