Are you making these common shower mistakes?
By Carla Snuggs

Most of you shower at least daily, but at least one step in your well-meaning routine may unintentionally leave your skin or hair worse for wear. Have you ever had dry, tight skin, an itchy scalp, irritation or redness after a shower? These 4 common shower mistakes may be the likely culprits that inadvertently strip your skin of oils and screw up your skin’s pH balance. Fortunately, there are some quick fixes. Here’s how to improve your cleaning routine so that your body is balanced and refreshed:

Mistake #1: Overdosing on Shampoo

Ninety-three percent of the country’s adults shampoo their hair almost daily, according to market research firm Mintel. This strips the hair of natural oil and dries and weakens the strands and irritating the scalp. Dermatologists suggest shampooing your hair 3 to 4 times per week (or less!). They also suggest using a dime-sized dollop of soap free shampoo, and only rinsing hair on other days. If you must wash your hair every day, choose a pH balanced formula. My choice: Sebamed Scalp Activating Shampoo which has a balanced formulations that won’t strip hair of oils.

Mistake #2: Washing with Soap and Hot Water
Traditional bars of soap can have a pH of up to 9. This leaves skin dry, tight and vulnerable to damage. Switch to a soap-free cleansing bar or soap-free milky cleanser for both the face and body. My choice: Sebamed Liquid Face and Body Wash.

Mistake #3: A Sudsy Shave

While shaving with foam and water alone helps protect you from cuts, foam isn’t protective enough to keep you from getting razor burn and redness, especially if you’re using hot water. For dry skin, use your hair conditioner as an alternative to shaving cream. It hydrates and sinks deep within skin to prevent nicks, cuts and razor burn, but its smooth consistency won’t clog your razor, as long as you rinse.

Mistake #4: Not Moisturizing Immediately After Your Shower
After a hot shower, you have 3 minutes before your body loses essential moisture. To prevent dry, crackly, irritated skin, keep body lotion in your shower and apply lotion all over while skin is still damp.

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