Fact: You Probably Did Not Need to Shower Today, Experts Say

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If you, like me, hate showering (because hellooo, that 20 minutes of my life could be better spent re-watching Beyoncé’s Year of 4 for the 142nd time), then prepare to squeal with joy: The folks over at BuzzFeed chatted with a couple of dermatologists to get the lowdown on how often we really need to shower, and turns out, if you’re showering daily, you’re showering too often.

According to the experts, we really only need to shower once every two to three days — and showering more often than that could be doing us more harm than good. Over-bathing, as many of us do, can wash away the good bacteria that live on our skin, as well as irritate and dry it out. And who wants that?

The obvious problem with not showering, though, is that it’s kind of hard to avoid after a hot yoga class or long run. Because, well, ew. But not showering every single day doesn’t mean you have to be a gross, smelly slob: The experts suggest, instead of showering on the daily — even after a super-sweaty workout — use a washcloth or cleansing towelette to clean “the grossest parts of your body.” I’m sure you can figure out what those are without my help.

So if you spent a good 20 minutes of your life showering this morning, I’m so sorry. Next time, you’ll know better.

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