Should you take a shower or bath every day? A dermatologist answers: Femme Actuelle Le MAG

Shower or bath? Hot water or cold water? Once or twice a day ? Morning or evening ? When it comes to personal hygiene, there can be many questions. Everyone has their habits and preferences, but these are not necessarily the best for your skin, especially when it is dry.

As for frequency, you may have wondered if taking a shower or bath every day is good for your skin. On TikTok, dermatologist Dr Jenny Liu (@drjennyliu) looked into the issue. “There is a lot of confusion about how often to shower or bathe“, she begins, in response to an Internet user who claimed that doing it daily was bad for the skin.

Can we wash every day?

“A daily shower or bath is completely good for your skin, it’s even what I recommend to my patients who have dry skin or a tendency to eczema“, she continues. “Soaking the skin, especially in a bath, helps hydrate the stratum corneum and improves flaking, while improving the penetration of your treatment and moisturizer“, she explains, before specifying: “what damages the skin is taking a bath or shower every day, without moisturizing your skin behind, particularly if you use soaps that are aggressive to the skin“, she continues.

How to wash properly every day without damaging your skin?

The dermatologist then reveals her tips for a washing routine perfectly suited to the needs of your skin.

• Do not stay underwater for too long: she begins by explaining that the skin should not remain in contact with water for too long. “Do not exceed 15-20 minutes in the shower or bath“, specifies Dr. Liu;
• Wash with lukewarm water and avoid extreme temperatures, whether too hot or too cold;
• Do not use soap : “you don’t need soap unless you have dirty armpits or butt.” You can instead, for example, turn to a soap-free dermatological bar;
• Apply your moisturizer immediately after showering when the skin is still damp to help to “seal in hydration in your stratum corneum and prevent additional water loss in the epidermis“.