13-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
How to take a shower, with tips on soap, oils and exfoliation to avoid damaging your skin
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,' says Dr Olga Bunimovich, a dermatologist who teaches at the University of Pittsburgh in the US.
The multistep processes that have inspired people to spend endless amounts of time lathering up can harm your skin and the environment. Dermatologists say it is mostly unnecessary.
Your skin is a barrier ,' says Dr Nicole Negbenebor, a dermatologic surgeon at the University of Iowa Health Care in the US. '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 is what you need to know about taking a basic shower and recognising when you have gone too far with your routine.
The basics of showering
