If you’ve read a lot of our past articles, you’ve probably seen us say that hot showers and long baths can be tough on some folks’ skin. However, we understand that without knowing why they’re bad for your skin, it can be easy to shrug it off and keep cranking that shower handle all the way around anyhow. Keeping in mind that everyone’s body reacts different. That said, we wanted to break down the effects of hot showers and long baths on your skin.
What Does Hot Water Do to Your Skin?
Overexposure to hot water can have some unpleasant effects on your skin, some of which are similar to a sunburn. Scalding water can harm your epidermis, the outermost layer of skin responsible for protecting you from the outside. Damage to it lessens the ability to protect you from the elements and leaves you vulnerable to infection. Additionally, hot water strips your skin (and hair!) of natural oils, which regulate moisture and skin health. This stripping process can push the overproduction of oils as your body tries to compensate for the loss.
Showers or Baths: Which Is Better for Your Skin?
Both are are tough on skin. If we had to choose one, we would say baths can be a little worse in some ways. Baths entail constant exposure to water without any breaks, and people tend to sit in them much longer than they stand in the shower. If you’re set on taking baths (we don’t blame you) add some essential oils to prevent damage to your skin.
How to Care for Your Skin without Sacrificing
You don’t have to give up hot showers or tubs completely. Who would?! You should, however, try to keep them to a minimum (both length and quantity). For most of your bathing, try to keep the water temperature closer to lukewarm and use soap with moisturizer. Finally, always be sure to pat yourself dry after bathing, instead of rub, and apply a moisturizer such as our Jojoba Gel Cream. Here are few tricks we use:
- Keep hot showers to a minimum
- Pat dry and use moisturizer after bathing
- Use a soap with moisturizer
- Don’t wash your hair every day
- Lower temps of water
As long as you try to keep the majority of your showers and baths to a reasonable temperature, and follow these few extra self-care tips, you should be in good shape!
