are you washing your body too much?

You probably have been washing your body for as long as you can remember, but have you been doing it correctly? Odds are, you could be doing better by your skin. The first bombshell we’re going to drop is that you don’t need to wash every single part of your body every day. The second is that you are probably using too much soap when you shower. Why? Because over washing and over soaping can lead to dry skin.

If you are showering daily, it is better to only wash the parts of you that are really getting dirty throughout the day. That means the “folds” of our bodies including the armpits and genital areas, as well as your feet and hands. The fewer bacteria heavy parts of you, including your arms, legs, and torso can be washed less frequently. However, if you’re coming from a particularly dirty or sweaty activity, like playing a sport, you may want to go for the whole body.

It’s best to try to minimize the amount of soap you use and to avoid scrubbing every part of your body as to not irritate the skin. Your body produces natural oils that are stripped away whenever you wash your skin. When these oils are removed your skin will likely become dry and sometimes irritated. For this reason, it is important not to wash your body more than necessary to stay clean.

When choosing your soap, opt for a more gentle cleanser, like recurrent’s 2:1 shampoo + body wash. And steer clear of exfoliators, loofahs, and anything else that requires harsh rubbing of the skin. Making these changes to the way you clean yourself will help you avoid, dry, irritated, or patchy skin keeping you clean and fresh!

To find out what to do after this shower to continue you on your path to clean and soft skin, check out the recurrent article on how to moisturize.