To improve my skin I thought I would experiment with how often I shower.
Almost all of my life I have taken a daily shower. That seemed to be ok. However lately I have been taking a shower in the morning and then in the evening and that seems to have some benefits for me.
My skin is softer even in places that I don’t apply a moisturizer. I see other improvements in my skin as well. I didn’t think that taking two showers a day would make any difference.
Each shower is only about 5-10 minutes max. Since I am indoors and not filthy I don’t need to spend as much time as someone who might only shower once a day. The water seems to also improve my mood and general sense of well-being. I love water and I could easily spend more time in a shower if I didn’t limit myself.
I did some research on this topic and the opinions of how often to shower are mixed. Of course, they recommend daily showers if you get dirty on your job, but many doctors also said a shower 2/3 times a week is sufficient. One site even suggested a shower a week would be fine. I don’t think I will follow those suggestions. I like feeling clean and that length of time never felt comfortable in the past.
When I was a kid I attended a summer camp and they didn’t have showers. I was there for a week and I felt terrible. The camp’s solution was to use a bucket in the stream and a washcloth but that was not for me. I did it but I didn’t like the experience. The adults were in RVs and I hated their hypocrisy.
According to the research I did the amount of showers you take depends on the season, health, and a variety of other factors. I think the daily shower standard is just a shortcut that probably leans on the side of doing it too often. Once my skin improves in the way I want, I will go back to just one shower a day and might experiment with taking fewer showers. One of the other benefits of WFH.