Skipping Showers Might Make You Stink, But It's Better For Your Health

If you love nothing more than having a shower - or five - on a daily basis then you could be putting your health at risk.

Following on from our previous article about the average Brit not washing for three months of the year, there is now evidence to suggest that this might actually be the best thing for your skin.

Dermatologists from New York have suggested that showering regularly - especially in hot water - could dry out skin. They added that it can also cause irritation and wash away any good bacteria that naturally exists on the skin resulting in a higher risk of infection.

While the act of showering is as etched into our daily routines as, say, brushing your teeth, specialists have said that we're "overbathing" due to "societal norms". In essence, everyone else is showering too much - and because of that you are too.

After all, nobody wants to be known as the "riffy one".

Dr. Joshua Zeichner, assistant professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told BuzzFeed that what we perceive as body odor is “really more of a cultural phenomenon.”

John Oxford, Professor of Virology at Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry told The Times: "A vigorous daily shower would disturb the natural bug flora of the skin as well as skin oils."

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"As long as people wash their hands often enough and pay attention to the area of the body below the belt, showering or bathing every other day would do no harm," said Oxford.

"Even twice a week would not be a problem if people used a bidet daily as most infectious bugs hang around our lower halves. We pay too much attention to the body beautiful and smelling good - we should wash to stop cross-infection, not for grooming reasons."

And this theory applies to children too. Dermatologists suggest not to bathe babies and toddlers every day as early exposure to dirt and bacteria might help prevent allergies and eczema as they age.

[H/T BuzzFeed]