You may be seeing elaborate shower cleansing routines on social media: daily exfoliation, double cleansing, antibacterial soap, loads of scented body scrubs and shower oils.
“I’m kind of appalled by the shower routines,” said Dr. Olga Bunimovich, a practicing dermatologist and assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
The multistep processes that have inspired people to spend endless amounts of time sudsing up can harm your skin — and the environment. Dermatologists say it’s all mostly unnecessary.
Indeed. Simplified, skin is kind of like a building: collagen fibers (rebar), bricks (cells), and mortar (sebum). All of them are necessary.
Hot showers strip away the sebum, letting the skin’s moisture escape, but also leaving it vulnerable to bacteria and fungus. The latter is why the armpits and feet pump out substances which feed smelly bacteria— to ward off infections. Post-shower oils, as recommended in the article, are good, but even better is not stripping the natural oils in the first place. If moisture escapes, then you have to exfoliate to remove the skin cells which died, and follow up with “moisturizing” lotion with urea to break down the collagen strands.
The whole skincare regimen is a scam to get you to buy more, expensive products. All you need is lukewarm water, and a spritz of mild soap for pits and crotch. Amazingly, once you establish a healthy skin microbiome, your feet and pits don’t stink, and you no longer reek after 3 days of camping without a shower.