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 dermatologist who teaches at the University of Pittsburgh Medical College.
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.
“Your skin is a barrier,” said Dr. Nicole Negbenebor, a dermatologic surgeon at University of Iowa Health Care. “It’s one of the biggest barriers you have. It’s you in your natural elements. So you want to treat it right, and then sometimes there can be too much of a good thing.”
Here’s what to know about how to take a basic shower and indicators that you’ve gone too far with your routine.
A shower is a relatively simple routine that usually doesn’t require 10 steps or a plethora of products.
A daily shower with lukewarm water and a fragrance-free hypoallergenic cleanser — followed by hydrating lotion or oil afterward — will do the trick.
Don’t plan to stay in the shower too long or turn the water temperature too high — it can strip your skin of the natural oils it needs to maintain its barrier, leaving it vulnerable to dryness and irritation.
When it comes to soaps, use one meant for sensitive skin. Antibacterial soaps are popular, but experts said they dry out your skin too much for daily use. (However, they can be beneficial for people with an autoimmune skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa, which causes painful boils and abscesses on the skin.)
Oils can be beneficial for your skin once you’re damp and out of the shower, Negbenebor said. But it’s important to remember that oil isn’t a moisturizer, but a sealant. The water hydrates your skin, but the oil will lock in that moisture.
“It’s nice to hear about skincare routines that do involve both cleansing and also providing hydration,” Dr. Lisa Akintilo, a dermatologist at NYU Langone Health, “because that’s missing in a lot of people’s skin care routine.”
Some influencers suggest that a skin care routine isn’t complete without exfoliation and what’s called double cleansing.
The latter is typically reserved for facial skincare routines, especially when you’re wearing makeup, and involves using an oil-based cleanser to break down makeup and excess oil followed by a water-based cleanser to remove any remaining residue.
Experts said you don’t need to bring that practice to the full body.
“Not only do I not think that we need to double cleanse our skin … people overuse soap all the time,” Bunimovich said. “You should not be soaping up all of your skin, period.” Instead, Bunimovich added, wash your privates and your skin folds.
