Ready to justify making your January routine even lazier than it already is? The new beauty thing that it turns out we're over-doing, and then under-doing and then doing just enough of as long as we use environmentally-friendly-ionised water and paraben-free pressed coconut oil with the water at precisely 23.6575°C (is anyone else having flashbacks to the no-shampoo debate?) is showering.
While it might tempting at the moment to run straight from bed to the consoling warmth of a boiling hot shower first thing in the morning, dermatologists have warned that this is actually pretty bad for your skin. It can cause irritation and sensitivity, with hot water being the worst culprit for causing dry and damaged skin especially if you suffer with sensitive skin or eczema.
And it turns out most of us shower at least once a day: A recent study by Yougov shows that almost half of us shower seven times a week with this statistic rising the three quarters of the population when you include those who shower at least 4-6 times a week. The same survey showed that Londoners are the most hygiene-obsessed of all of us, with the number of people who shower daily rising by 10% in the capital.
But Dermatologists have warned that unless you're actually going to that daily spinning class you signed up to (we're not, and won't be for the rest of the year) or handling dirty and dangerous substances, we probably shouldn't be showering as often as we are. In addition to drying out your skin: showering on a daily basis can wash away essential microbes This disrupts your microbial ecosystem and affect your digestive and immune system, something that none of us need when it's officially the season of dodging everyone sniffling, coughing and showing signs of the dreaded winter lurg.
But if you're going to insist on jumping under the faucet though (after all, there are lot of Christmas-themed bath products to get through before it becomes anti-social to smell like gingerbread on the tube...) experts suggest that you limit your shower-time to 10 minutes a day. You should also try using lukewarm water and a none-drying soap or cleanser, some good examples are Burts Bees Buttermilk Soap (£5.95, Look Fantastic), Avene Xeracalm Oil (£15.50, Boots) and Morroccanoil Shower Gel (£24, Beauty Expert). And this is also not an excuse to stop your 15-step Korean cleansing regime: as experts have also confirmed that your face still needs to be cleansed on a daily basis to avoid breakouts.