But for many people, two to three times a week is enough and may be even better to maintain good health. It depends in part on your lifestyle. Someone who spends hours in the hot sun working in the yard or running or biking, will likely need to bathe more often than someone who’s cool and indoors.
How Often Should You Shower?
Regular bathing is obviously a healthy habit. So an extra shower a day may seem like more of a good thing. After all, showers clean your body. And cleaner is better, right?
Well, not necessarily. It might be too much of a good thing. You want to shower enough to keep yourself clean (and not too smelly), but not so much that you dry out your skin and strip off its natural protective layer.
So how often should you bathe? Though your family and friends may beg to differ, it might not be as often as you think.
What Happens When You Shower Too Much?
Normal skin has a protective layer of oil and a balance of “good” bacteria that help protect your skin from dryness and germs. If you clean it too often, especially with harsh soaps and lots of scrubbing, you can strip away this layer, leading to dry, irritated, itchy skin. This can cause cracks in the skin that allow germs and allergens to get through resulting in skin infections or allergic reactions.
In addition, your body’s immune system needs some stimulation from germs, including those that live on your skin. If you scrub them away too quickly, your body doesn’t have a chance to produce the antibodies that protect against them.
Antibacterial soaps can actually add to this by killing off the natural bacterial protection against more infectious germs on the skin that are harder to treat. This can make an even bigger difference in kids as their bodies develop. That’s why some pediatricians and skin doctors recommend against bathing children every day.
What Happens When You Don’t Shower Enough?
Well, your friends, family, and co-workers might let you know about the most obvious problem first: the odor. Though there isn’t anything normally unhealthy about walking around with a strong body odor, it might not be good for building healthy relationships with people at home, school, and work.
But there are also some health and skin issues that can arise. The buildup of oils can cause a buildup of the bacteria that causes acne. Dirt and dead skin can add to the problem by clogging pores. Bottom line: Too little bathing could mean more pimples. The buildup of oils can cause other skin problems too: the flaking away of skin on your scalp (dandruff), and flareups of existing skin conditions like eczema.
How Many Showers Per Week?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Many doctors say a daily shower is fine for most people. (More than that could start to cause skin problems.)
But for many people, two to three times a week is enough and may be even better to maintain good health. It depends in part on your lifestyle. Someone who spends hours in the hot sun working in the yard or running or biking, will likely need to bathe more often than someone who’s cool and indoors.
There are other factors, too. If you have certain allergies or especially oily skin, it may be a good idea to shower more often. On the other hand, it might be better for people with certain skin conditions to keep showers to a minimum.
It also depends on how long you spend in the shower (or bath).
How Long Should You Shower?
Not all bathing is created equal. A quick daily rinse is not the same as a marathon hour-long shower or soak in the tub. The more time you spend in the water, the worse the effects can be on your hair and skin.
Shoot for 3 to 5 minutes and concentrate on the important body parts: armpits, groin, and face. You don’t have to scrub every inch of skin unless you’ve been rolling in the dirt.
And most people don’t need to shampoo every day either. About 2 to 3 times a week is plenty for most types of hair. Though you may need to do more if your hair is especially oily.
The temperature of the water makes a difference too. Hot water may feel good when it’s cold outside, but it’s more likely to dry out your skin and make it itchy. Try to keep the water temperature closer to warm than hot.
Fragrances and scents can pull moisture out of your skin, too. So look for gentle soaps and cleansers. You can even seek out those with labels like “gentle cleanser,” “for sensitive skin,” or “hypoallergenic.”
Limit the drying effects by patting yourself dry with a towel instead of rubbing, and then put on a fragrance-free moisturizer. For best effects, put the moisturizer on within 3 minutes of getting out of the bath or shower.
Show Sources
Cleveland Clinic: “How Often Do You Really Need to Take a Shower?”
Harvard Health Publishing: “Showering daily — is it necessary?”
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center: “How often should you bathe?”
Showering daily — is it necessary?
Do you shower or bathe daily? If you do, you’re not alone.
Approximately two-thirds of Americans shower daily. In Australia it’s over 80%. But in China, about half of people report bathing only twice a week.
In the US, the daily shower tends to start around puberty and becomes lifelong. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself why?
Perhaps your answer is: “because it’s healthier than showering less often.” Think again. For many — perhaps most — the daily shower is more about habit and societal norms than health. Perhaps that’s why the frequency of bathing or showering varies so much from country to country.
Are there reasons to shower every day?
Besides considering it healthier, people may choose to shower daily for a number of reasons, including:
- concerns about body odor
- help waking up
- a morning routine that may include working out.
Each of these has merit, especially considering that personal or work relationships can be jeopardized by complaints about body odor or personal hygiene. But what is considered acceptable in this regard varies from culture to culture. And some (perhaps a lot) of what we do when it comes to cleaning habits is influenced heavily by marketing. Ever notice that directions on shampoo bottles often say “lather, rinse, repeat”? There is no compelling reason to wash your hair twice with each shower, but it does sell more shampoo if everyone follows these directions.
When it comes to concerns about health, however, it’s not at all clear that a daily shower accomplishes much. In fact, a daily shower may even be bad for your health.
What are the health impacts of showering (or bathing) every day?
Normal, healthy skin maintains a layer of oil and a balance of “good” bacteria and other microorganisms. Washing and scrubbing removes these, especially if the water is hot. As a result:
- Skin may become dry, irritated, or itchy.
- Dry, cracked skin may allow bacteria and allergens to breach the barrier skin is supposed to provide, allowing skin infections and allergic reactions to occur.
- Antibacterial soaps can actually kill off normal bacteria. This upsets the balance of microorganisms on the skin and encourages the emergence of hardier, less friendly organisms that are more resistant to antibiotics.
- Our immune systems need a certain amount of stimulation by normal microorganisms, dirt, and other environmental exposures in order to create protective antibodies and “immune memory.” This is one reason why some pediatricians and dermatologists recommend against daily baths for kids. Frequent baths or showers throughout a lifetime may reduce the ability of the immune system to do its job.
And there could be other reasons to lose your enthusiasm for the daily shower: the water with which we clean ourselves may contain salts, heavy metals, chlorine, fluoride, pesticides, and other chemicals. It’s possible these may cause problems, too.
The case for showering less
Overcleaning your body is probably not a compelling health issue. Yes, you could be making your skin drier than it would be with less frequent showering. This is not a public health menace. However, daily showers do not improve your health, could cause skin problems or other health issues — and, importantly, they waste a lot of water. Also, the oils, perfumes, and other additives in shampoos, conditioners, and soaps may cause problems of their own, such as allergic reactions (not to mention their cost).
How often should you shower?
While there is no ideal frequency, experts suggest that showering several times per week is plenty for most people (unless you are grimy, sweaty, or have other reasons to shower more often). Short showers (lasting three or four minutes) with a focus on the armpits and groin may suffice.
If you’re like me, it may be hard to imagine skipping the daily shower. But if you’re doing it for your health, it may be a habit worth breaking.
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
About Us
Family Medicine
In 2024 our team of doctors and nurses provide a comprehensive range of family planning services. Our doctors have expertise in antenatal care, preconception planning, and STD checks. Contraceptive advice including Mirena and Implanon insertion is available.
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Our practice is dedicated to treating a wide spectrum of women’s health concerns. We offer pre-natal, antenatal and postnatal care, contraceptive options, pap screening, and preventative health care advice. We provide assistance, advice and support through all stages of life, recognising the many issues many women may face from adolescence through to the peri and post-menopausal period.
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We encourage men to present routinely to their GP to discuss all aspects of their health. We provide comprehensive advice and support for men to address the prevention and management of various health conditions. This may include assessments for cardiovascular risk, diabetes, cancer prevention, mental health assessments, STD screening, sports injuries and the importance of sleep as it relates to other areas of health.
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