5 ms·

Daily showers could be harmful for skin health, some experts claim

12 points by andy99 2y ago

b112 2y ago
If showers bother you, take lukewarm, not hot showers, eat more animal fat, and check if you have a vitamin D deficiency.
- fragmede 2y ago
  what's the underlying mechanism at play here?
  - b112 2y ago
    The warmer the water, the more oil you strip away. Most people don't soap up every inch of their body, and some places (crotch, under arms, etc) are just generate more oil, and they get the soap. So with the water cooler, most of your body retains much of its oil, and our friendly bacteria can deal with excess. But if you use HOT water, you remove oil everywhere, and so the body needs to make more. Animal fat is chocked full of vitamins, and everything the body needs. 50 years ago, before canola oil was a thing (Canada made this palatable, it was only used in animal feed before), and soy oil was used, everything was made with animal fat. I remember my mom making pies with animal fat, I remember her cooking with animal fat, people ate butter, drank whole milk, this list goes on. Couple that with the fact that animals used to be more fatty. We've been breeding them for leanness, and in fact Canada used to be at the fore of this, and in the late 70s Canada had pork leaner than US beef! So in a short period, we've moved away from butter and milk fats, had our animal fat marbling in the meat reduced, and we now throw away things like bacon fat (if we even eat bacon!), instead of using that fat to cook with, or bake with. Essentially, some people eat 1/100th the animal fat their parents did. I'm not saying we should necessarily revert to 50+ years ago. However, I think we've over done it. And one thing to consider here? We're not like cars coming off an assembly line Humans have variability in diet requirements. Some need more animal fat. Some need none. Some have genetic predispositions for vitamin deficiencies, too. So if you find yourself with dry skin, more vitamin D, or more animal fat may be necessary. It's not like Bob, Dick, and Jane all need exactly 24milligrams of animal fat per day! Bob may need 10x that, Dick none, and Jane in the middle. Lastly? Vitamin D improves the ability for the skin to make oil.
magicalhippo 2y ago
> "Short showers (lasting three or four minutes) with a focus on the armpits and groin may suffice." It's not like there's a universal standard for what "taking a shower" is. I follow that advice. Lukewarm at most, get in, shampoo hair, soap armpits and groin, rinse, and get out. About 3-4 minutes. Non-perfumed shampoo and soap. My SO is very sensitive to smells. When she worked at a grocery store she smelled something off two weeks before anyone else noticed, and after yet another week it got bad enough they started searching and found a ruptured can of some sort in the back of a shelf. If come home in the late at night and I've had pepperoni pizza for dinner, she can tell almost immediately even if I'm over 15 feet away. Anyway, been with her for years and she's never once complained about my shower routine.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
andsoitis 2y ago
Prior posts on the topic of frequent showering: - (flagged) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37989269 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37989269 - (2013) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5145268 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5145268
hilux 2y ago
This isn't new news. For much more, read _Clean_ by James Hablin. I followed his advice; tried not showering for three weeks. Yes, I'm still single - why do you ask?

12 points by andy99 2y ago

b112 2y ago

If showers bother you, take lukewarm, not hot showers, eat more animal fat, and check if you have a vitamin D deficiency.

fragmede 2y ago
what's the underlying mechanism at play here?
- b112 2y ago
  The warmer the water, the more oil you strip away. Most people don't soap up every inch of their body, and some places (crotch, under arms, etc) are just generate more oil, and they get the soap. So with the water cooler, most of your body retains much of its oil, and our friendly bacteria can deal with excess. But if you use HOT water, you remove oil everywhere, and so the body needs to make more. Animal fat is chocked full of vitamins, and everything the body needs. 50 years ago, before canola oil was a thing (Canada made this palatable, it was only used in animal feed before), and soy oil was used, everything was made with animal fat. I remember my mom making pies with animal fat, I remember her cooking with animal fat, people ate butter, drank whole milk, this list goes on. Couple that with the fact that animals used to be more fatty. We've been breeding them for leanness, and in fact Canada used to be at the fore of this, and in the late 70s Canada had pork leaner than US beef! So in a short period, we've moved away from butter and milk fats, had our animal fat marbling in the meat reduced, and we now throw away things like bacon fat (if we even eat bacon!), instead of using that fat to cook with, or bake with. Essentially, some people eat 1/100th the animal fat their parents did. I'm not saying we should necessarily revert to 50+ years ago. However, I think we've over done it. And one thing to consider here? We're not like cars coming off an assembly line Humans have variability in diet requirements. Some need more animal fat. Some need none. Some have genetic predispositions for vitamin deficiencies, too. So if you find yourself with dry skin, more vitamin D, or more animal fat may be necessary. It's not like Bob, Dick, and Jane all need exactly 24milligrams of animal fat per day! Bob may need 10x that, Dick none, and Jane in the middle. Lastly? Vitamin D improves the ability for the skin to make oil.

magicalhippo 2y ago

> "Short showers (lasting three or four minutes) with a focus on the armpits and groin may suffice." It's not like there's a universal standard for what "taking a shower" is. I follow that advice. Lukewarm at most, get in, shampoo hair, soap armpits and groin, rinse, and get out. About 3-4 minutes. Non-perfumed shampoo and soap. My SO is very sensitive to smells. When she worked at a grocery store she smelled something off two weeks before anyone else noticed, and after yet another week it got bad enough they started searching and found a ruptured can of some sort in the back of a shelf. If come home in the late at night and I've had pepperoni pizza for dinner, she can tell almost immediately even if I'm over 15 feet away. Anyway, been with her for years and she's never once complained about my shower routine.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

andsoitis 2y ago

Prior posts on the topic of frequent showering: - (flagged) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37989269 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37989269 - (2013) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5145268 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5145268

hilux 2y ago

This isn't new news. For much more, read _Clean_ by James Hablin. I followed his advice; tried not showering for three weeks. Yes, I'm still single - why do you ask?