From a very young age, we're taught personal grooming habits that we can either choose to stick to or to ignore. We've all had that one friend, roommate or sibling whose questionable use of personal hygiene made us feel a little queazy.
While it's fine to skip a shower every once in a while if you're running late or don't have access to proper bathing facilities. However, going for days or weeks without showering has been shown to have tons of harmful effects. Read on to find out exactly what happens when you go for too long without showering:
At any given time, your skin is home to a combination of thousands of different types of fungi and bacteria, many of which are actually beneficial for you. However, when you let your bad habits take control of your body, any bad germs you have are also cued to take charge, which can lead to you developing nasty infections.
Viruses, ringworm, staph, and other unwelcome microbes will end up invading your skin, eyes, nose, and mouth. If it sounds horrible, that's because it is, and you could avoid all of this by simply taking regular baths or showers.
One of the most obvious reasons for showering regularly is for the sake of smell. No one's saying that you need to drown your body with lavender oil each morning, but a little soap and water can go a long way.
That funky onion soup smell that you can't quite pin down? It's you. The reason you've got a terrible craving for salt-and-vinegar chips? That's coming from your own scent. That peculiar garbage smell that seems to be following you around? You get the point...
Leaving dirt on your skin for days or weeks will end up contributing to problems like eczema, acne, psoriasis, and rosacea. You could also end up contracting dermatitis neglecta, which could end up spreading unsightly lesions across the surface of your skin.
According to dermatologists, you don't even really need to bathe on a daily basis, but a regular schedule needs to be kept up. They also recommend paying extra attention to certain key body areas, such as the groin, feet, face, and armpits.
There's no need to go overboard on fancy bathing products, and in fact, dermatologists often warn against this. Bathing too much can actually strip your skin of its natural oils and good bacteria, causing irritation, cracks, or dryness. A mild soap and water are usually more than enough to get rid of everyday grime.
While the seasons or your mood may have a certain amount of influence over your showering habits, try to consider friends, family, and colleagues when deciding whether or not to shower each morning!