Doctors warn against washing too much

[peterb]

7/31/2003 5:00 AM

Frequent hand washing can stop the spread of germs, but how often do you scrub your face, your body, your hair?

"People think, you know, if clean is good, you can wash more and cleaner is better," dermatologist Bruce Katz, MD, said. "That's not necessarily true -- you actually irritate your skin and cause problems by over washing."

"I seem to have extremely sensitive skin so I found, you know, if I'd wash all the time, I either get very irritated or I'd even tend to break out," Angela Caponi said.

Some Americans are obsessed with being squeaky clean. Katz has had patients who developed a total body rash because they took two and three showers a day.

When it comes to healthy skin, you can overdo a good thing.

"What the washing does is really wicks, it wicks the oils from the skin," Katz said. "So I have patients who come in and they end up having eczema from washing too much."

There are common sense ways to save your skin.

"I recommend to my patients to wash or shower once a day, try not to use very hot water, try to keep it lukewarm because the hot water will be more drying too, and use a mild cleanser," Katz said.

Daily hair washing and blow drying can also cause trouble. For some people, shampooing every few days is better.

"I was washing every day and I would get extremely flaky," Caponi said. "So now I have to use extremely mild shampoo, not as soapy and to wash only like three times a week, my hair."

Unless you're doing something to get very dirty, a daily shower or bath and face washing morning and night is all your skin needs to be clean and healthy.

Senior citizens are especially susceptible to dry itchy skin from harsh soaps and over washing because as we age, oil and sweat glands shut down.

[Gobe]

Too true.  When I was last in hospital getting my   treated they didn't let me wash for 5 days!

[Celery Peach]

 

You must all know how I feel about this one by now. Yes, Im a dirty ol hippy that thinks we all are far too sterile !! I think a daily bath or shower is still too much......wash yer bits if they smell, but I would keep the full bod wash down to 3/4 times a week.

[Aquababe241]

This is true, when my skin was really bad I was having 2 baths a day, cause that was the only relief I got...

Now my skin loves just having 3 baths a week with tonnes of coconut oil splashed all over it...I smell cocoey!!

Yummy and nice

[sHauN26]

hmmm you know what? when i was little i used to take showers like once a week, and my eczema wasn't all that bad.. i  think i may have found the solution to my very random eczema..i really hope taking 4 showers a week calms down my dry skin...

[Aquababe241]

Shaun,

Try having less showers...


You'll be surprised at what happens to your skin....Try to go as long as you can without smelling and then bathe...you'll find that in tepid water, you'll not only relax but your skin will have a chance to get it's own oils going...

Coconut oil is soooooooo lovely!!  My skin's silky now....

In February, went to Chinese masseuse 1ce a week and stopped going cos all she said was "you're skin is sooo dry..".  Well it's fixed now

See you,

Aquababe

[sHauN26]

lol yea aqua babe it works!!! i keep clean as possible and i only showered 3 times this week ( i woulda showered 2 times but i had gym class  ) my E on my neck is gone and i hope it stays that way!! im so relieved that this worked.. i tried almost everything for about 8months.
P.S - can i wash my face only at night? i dont want to wash my face twice a day, thats too much for my skin, but i want a clean face

[Aquababe241]

Hi Shaun!

Glad it worked - the best things in life are free and simple

I'm not sure about how often you should wash your face you know - I NEVER WASH MINE!!

People always ask me what make up I use and I don't use any - it's also the most glowing part of me....

I also don't use soap at all -

Ermm...do what you feel is best for you and find something that will cleanse you and is natural...

I tend to use ground oats and clay soaked in water to wash myself with - 2ce a week.  Skin's healed up in triple time since discovering this..

Cider vinegar in the water keeps your skin PH balance and also helps it keep moist so end up using less moisturiser.

Normally retails for £1.29 per bottle...

Enough already!!  G'nite Shaun

 

[sHauN26]

my face is probably the most senstive part on my body, so i think im gona try to not wash it much anymore..u never wash urs and u have a glow the eczema on my body and neck like disappeared but my face is dry because of the cold weather here in NYC.
well thx  tell me if ur eczema gets better, dont be a stranger

[Aquababe241]

Ah, Shaun......

Actually my secret is 10g of evening primrose oil in the evening and 10g in the morning.  That way I wake up with glowing skin

Also drink 2-3 litres of water.  When (or if!) you take the oil you need to eat either chicken or fish to go along with it as protein and fat are best taken together for good results.

Also have lots of veg of different kinds.  Avocado (a fruit) is cheaper than fruit and you can make guacamole with it (blend it and toss in whatever salad pieces you fancy).

When to the States in September for 2 weeks and realised real fast that they don't sell fruit if not in season...I'm based in London where we have whatever fruit or veg all year round because of excellent Asian imports..

Also do a lot of veg juicing  and eat loads of apples.

Why so much?  Because my skin was so bayad that I was turning into an ugly prune and found this is the only way to reverse the curse..

Coconut oil is brilliant for skin like I said b4 - it's so nice you can eat it off the spoon!!  Brilliant in smoothies.  Check out coconutresearch.com or coconutdiet.com for testimonies and real evidence of the goodness of that fruit.  Have only discovered avocadoes and coconut oil this year and my friends have noticed the difference     Yaye!!


Enough already...have a good week


Aquababe

[sHauN26]

quick question - with all this that your doing, u have good skin right now??
and if i dont wash my face well i get pimples??
oh and what form of evening primrose oil are u using? capsules?
thx 

[Aquababe241]

Hi Shaun....

Think am going to slow down on all this posting as am having a tough time keeping up!!  Getting famous here...Just my 2nd week too....Sheesh!!

Yeah, my skin is lovely and glowing and not inflamed even when I itch....my face was acting up 2 weeks ago, but it's back to it's nice self now.  It's just my arms that am dealing with at the mo...

Getting ready to sleep, but will be up early to get some carrots, parsley and cucumber for juicing (4am).  Juicing is the only natural thing that gets my arms sorted.   

Only thing is am having a busy week.  Will have to sort it out though - cos I'm getting fed up with wearing long sleeved stuff....

Have a good week...

Aquababe

[Aquababe241]

Hi Peterb...

I have reduced my bath times to 2ce a week now...3 days in between each bath. My skin used to be so bad, I had my bath 2ce a day!! Maybe that's why I've got baby wrinkles on my legs and arms and hands

Aqua