Listen to the advice, it is really not recommended to take a bath every day in winter

Taking a bath in winter must be something that many people are very entangled about. You have to be mentally prepared to walk into the bathroom, but when you feel the warm water, you feel so comfortable that you don't want to come out. It's really too cold to take a bath in winter. Is it really necessary to take a bath every day?

How often is it best to take a bath in winter?

The frequency of bathing depends mainly on individual needs and preferences. The Chinese Skin Cleansing Guide recommends that we bathe every 2 to 3 days in general. So, what should we do in special situations? We have summarized a table, welcome to check the corresponding table.

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Is it necessary to take a shower every day?

There is no fixed requirement for the frequency of bathing, and you don't have to bathe every day. The main purpose of bathing is to keep the skin clean and healthy, and the condition of the skin is related to each person's lifestyle, health status, personal preferences and even local culture. Some people get their skin dirty easily at work, some people exercise a lot, and some people sweat a lot, so they tend to bathe every day to keep their skin clean and comfortable. Others don't sweat much and have very little activity. This lifestyle does not require frequent bathing and can bathe every other day or longer. Bathing too frequently, especially in the wrong way, does have some risks, such as removing the skin's natural oils, causing dry and itchy skin, and in severe cases, eczema.

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Precautions for bathing in winter

1

Water temperature selection

The general advice is "warm water is better than hot water". In other words, the most suitable choice for the skin is warm water rather than hot water. This is because hot water has some risks, such as stripping the skin of its natural protective layer, causing dryness and sensitivity. In addition, too hot water also has the risk of scalding the skin - not only boiling water can scald the skin, but hot water can also cause "low-temperature scalds" after contacting the skin for a long time.

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The Chinese Skin Cleansing Guide also gives a specific idea - the water temperature for bathing can be based on the skin temperature. If it is summer, it can be lower than the body temperature, and if it is now (winter), it can be slightly higher than the body temperature. Specifically, about 38~40℃ would be more appropriate, and 42℃ or above would be considered a bit hot. However, this is not absolute, and it is only suitable for most people because:

If you take a bath, most of your body will be submerged in the water, and you will feel warm even if the temperature drops a little;

If you are showering, especially if the bathroom is very cold, the temperature of the warm water from the shower head will drop quickly to your skin temperature, so you may need to raise the temperature slightly to make yourself feel comfortable.

In addition, different people have different subjective feelings about temperature. For some people, this temperature will be so cold that it will give them goose bumps.

2

Use appropriate bath products

What ingredients should be used for bathing? Medicinal soap, milk and salt, or wormwood, calamus, honeysuckle? Honestly, it doesn't have to be that complicated! Just remember one sentence - use mild bath products. What are they? The most common one is shower gel, especially weakly acidic products.

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Because the skin itself is also weakly acidic, this type of product is gentler on the skin, less irritating, and less likely to cause skin problems. If it is other products, such as ordinary soaps and medicated soaps, because they are alkaline and soap-based products, although the cleaning power is relatively strong, long-term and frequent use will increase the burden on the skin, easily damage the skin barrier, and cause dry skin and itching, which is not the best choice. In particular, if someone in the family has skin problems, such as dry skin, eczema, atopic dermatitis, chicken skin (keratosis pilaris), snake skin (ichthyosis), psoriasis, it is recommended not to use products such as soap, but to use mild shower gel instead.

3

Do you want a bath?

Scrubbing is a habit ingrained in some people, so can we rub? My answer is - you can rub, but a little rubbing is enjoyable, but too much rubbing is harmful to the body. It is okay to rub occasionally, and we also know that a lot of mud can be rubbed off by scrubbing. And this mud, mixed with dead skin, oil, dust and sweat, is mostly waste on the surface of the skin. Foreign data show that among the billions of skin cells in our human body, 30,000 to 40,000 skin cells fall off every hour, and nearly one million skin cells will be lost within 24 hours. They are what we see with our eyes - dead skin, sometimes remaining on the skin, sometimes on autumn clothes and autumn trousers.

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So, rubbing occasionally is harmless. But why is rubbing too much harmful? How is it harmful? Rubbing too much brings many risks:

Frequent mechanical friction can cause slight damage to the skin, making folliculitis, a bacterial infection of the hair follicles, more likely to occur;

If you take a bath in a public bathhouse, the above damage will make the skin more susceptible to other diseases, such as molluscum contagiosum;

Friction damages the skin's physical barrier. Excessive rubbing with mud also damages the skin's chemical barrier (sebum membrane), which can easily lead to dry skin, itching, eczema, etc.

If a fixed part is frequently rubbed, the local skin may become rough, thickened, and darkened. There is a disease called "frictional melanosis", which is often seen in people who scrub their body excessively.

Since you can't rub all the mud off your body, leaving some mud on your body is good for your skin. But let me emphasize again: excessive scrubbing is neither necessary nor recommended.

4

Bath time

The general advice is that the bathing time should not be too long, especially for those who bathe frequently. A few baths will do. If you bathe quickly, it should take about 5 minutes to finish one song, and if you bathe slowly, it should take about 10 minutes to finish two songs. If you want to have a concert while bathing, that is a bit too much, even if it exceeds 15-20 minutes, it is not recommended.

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This is because if the bathing time is too long, it will have a certain burden on the skin. We call this burden "overhydration", that is, the skin is in contact with water for a long time, absorbs too much water, and "swells". After the skin is soaked, the barrier function will be reduced, and the risk of dryness and itching will be greater. In order to keep the skin hydrated, the key is not to keep in contact with water for a long time, but to use moisturizing products to reduce water loss. If you encounter a long bathing time, or the skin is prone to dryness and tightness after bathing, then after wiping off the water, you should reapply moisturizing products in time, whether it is moisturizer or body lotion, which has a moisturizing effect. In short, the frequency of bathing is a topic related to health, but it is not limited to health, and it also depends on the actual situation of the individual. We do not give answers, but only some principled suggestions, such as not bathing too frequently, and paying attention to using mild bathing products to protect the health of the skin. How to wash, you can refer to these basic health principles and determine the most suitable bathing plan for yourself according to your lifestyle and physical needs.

References

[1]Howmanyskincellsdoweshedeveryday?https://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/information/anatomy/shed-skin-cells.htm

[2]Skinconditions:understandingyourskin.http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/PATIENTCARE/healthcare_services/skin_conditions/anatomy_skin/Pages/index.aspx

[3] Li Li, He Li, Zhu Xuejun, et al. Chinese skin cleansing guidelines[J]. Chinese Journal of Dermatology. 2016;49(8):537-540.

[4]WorldHealthOrganization.(‎2017)‎.WHOrecommendationsonnewbornhealth:guidelinesapprovedbytheWHOGuidelinesReviewCommittee.WorldHealthOrganization.https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/259269.

[5]JohnsonE,HuntR.Infantskincare:updatesandrecommendations.CurrOpinPediatr.2019;31(4):476-481.

Planning and production

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Tang Jiaoqing, attending physician of dermatology department

Review | Feng Jun, Deputy Chief Physician, Dermatology Department, General Hospital of Datong Coal Mine Group Co., Ltd.