How Often Should Men Shower? (Is Daily Washing Too Much?)

Showers are a pleasure - you get clean and you get warm.

When you're feeling beat and it's cold outside, there really is nothing better than spending an extra few minutes in the warmth of a good shower.

But ask yourself - is it healthy to shower so often? 

Is there such a thing as too much showering and could regular exposure to hot water damage your skin? 

The answer's more complicated than you might thing. To ensure your stay clean, fresh AND healthy, you need to understand the benefits of showering as well as the potential risks to your health.

Should men shower daily?

That depends on your location and your lifestyle. If you’re living in a hot humid climate where you’re dripping with sweat, it makes sense that you’d want to shower every single day. 

Ditto for guys who have jobs where they get super dirty every day. And if you’re hitting the gym, post-workout showers are an absolute must. We’re talking common sense here.

Anything that gets your skin all oily, sweaty, and grimy is going to necessitate a daily shower. Letting all that grime just sit on your skin is a great recipe for breakouts since dirt and oil clog the pores. If you’re a sweaty or oily guy in general, you might also want to jump in the shower on a daily basis.

Otherwise, if none of the above applies to you, showering once every two or three days isn't going to kill you.

How often does the average guy shower?

A recent survey showed only 60% of men showered daily, then 12% of men showered more than once a day. Maybe these guys all lived in a tropical rainforest? 15% of guys showered every other day, 9% every few days, and a particularly stinky 2% showered once a week or less.

Can showering too much do you harm?

Showering too much can wreak havoc on your skin, especially if you’re blasting the hot water.

Washing a lot rinses off the skin’s protective layer of sebum, and can also kill the healthy microbes that live on the surface of the skin. The oil and good microbes act like a barrier for your skin, protecting it from toxins and bad microbes. 

Washing your skin’s natural oils off by showering too frequently can lead to dry, itchy skin. It could also lead to your skin reacting to the dryness by creating more oil and even more stink. 

You want your body to be exposed to some dirt and microbes in order to strengthen your immune system. Just like taking too many antibiotics can create superbugs, never exposing yourself to dirt or germs means your immune system doesn’t get the fighting practice it needs. 

Feeling stinky between showers? A good-smelling natural deodorant might be just the thing to tide you over and get all of you shower addicts used to showering less.

How long should a man spend in the shower?

Sometimes it’s hard to get out of the shower once you hop in, especially if it’s cold out or you’re feeling kind of sick. The temptation to stay in the shower until the hot water runs out can be irresistible.

But try to resist!  The best amount of time to spend in the shower is about ten to fifteen minutes. That’s plenty of time to get everything you need to do done.

And about that hot water - super hot water can be very drying to the skin, probably because it strips even more of the skin’s natural oils away. And too-hot water can increase inflammation and aggravate conditions like eczema and psoriasis, especially in cold months.

If your skin is already too dry from spending ten hours in a steaming hot shower, better get back on the road to hydrated skin with a high-quality body moisturizer for men. Ours is specially formulated for men’s skin and is pH balanced to suit your body chemistry. 

So now that you know how often to shower, grab yourself a set of quality bathing products and feel confident in your routine!