I know many of you will be wondering if the title of this post is just click bait, a way to trick people into reading what I wrote. Well, I am not sorry to disappoint you. The content of this write-up is exactly what the title says.
Why should this even be a question? Aren't we supposed to be bathing every day? This is exactly what many people consider normal. To bathe every day. However, as someone who has been working at home for almost 2 years now, I really do not consider it normal to bathe every day. Why should I?
Most time, I don't go out for days (I work from home, thanks largely to Hive). We are in the rainy season, so hardly would there be a reason to sweat. I don't have body odours. Why then should I be bathing every day? Even before looking at the medical side of it, something about it doesn't just sound right.
This has always generated issues between me and my wife. She's of the opinion that one should bathe every day irrespective of whether they go out, sweat, have body odour, or have any other conditions that primarily require washing off. Her argument is that our skins produce excretory products irrespective of our activities. These products should be washed off, at least, once every 24 hours.
Is she right? Now let's look at what medicine says. What my wife and many other people call skin's excretory product is oil essentially. This oil actually helps give the skin its natural moisture. Where the problem lies when the oil mixes with sweat. Then, washing it off may be necessary because not doing so may cause the body to start emanating odour.
A combination of natural oil and sweat does not itself generate odour until it is acted upon by microbes. And guess what! We've got more than enough of those microscopic organisms on our skin naturally. They are collectively called normal skin microflora and serve very important functions.
In order words, washing off the natural oil of your skin unprovoked could be an invitation to dryer skin. Not just that, you could also be disrupting the balance of the microflora ecosystem on your skin which may lead to different skin problems.
So, how often should one now bathe?
The truth is there are no recommended standards unlike what many people assume. What many considered as standards are just societal standards. Imagine their reaction telling your colleagues at work that you did not shower before coming to the office today.
Bathing every day does not necessarily make us cleaner unless there are significant specks of dirt on our skin of we have sweated. The skin naturally cleans itself by getting rid of dead cells and replacing them with new ones every second of the day.
So, if you think bathing every day or multiple times per day without any physical activities or sweating makes you cleaner, it is all in your mind. You could actually be harming yourself.
If the condition warrants it thought, then you should bathe as many times as necessary. The condition could be a physical one such as sweating and having dirt on the skin. Not bathing in this case could cause the pores of your skin to close up. Pimples may result on your face.
Many dermatologists agree that taking a bath once every other day or even just twice a week is fine, provided that one does not gets involved in situations that cause sweating or dirt to the skin.
Interestingly, no research has confirmed that bathing every day harms the skin. Most of the concerns remain mere hypotheses.
In other words, while bathing every day does not make you cleaner, it may not also harm you. In the same vein, not bathing every day does not necessarily make you dirtier. Personally, I prefer to adjust as necessary instead of joining the bandwagon.
However, don't get it twisted. Not bathing every day does not mean I don't wash sensitive parts of my body. I do because it is vital for body hygiene.
So, which one will you rather go for and why?
PS: The best skincare routine is neither excessive showering nor skin products. You can't get it wrong with good food.
Thank you for reading.
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