Good personal hygiene is important for our health, but sometimes our efforts can backfire. Certain hygiene habits can end up causing damage to our body as a result of being too harsh or too intensive. Below are a few examples of harmful hygiene mistakes that people tend to make.
Brushing your teeth too hard
When brushing your teeth, it’s important to brush in slow gentle circles. Vigorous back-and-forth brushing can sometimes end up stripping away enamel, leading to scratched and sensitive teeth. In fact, it’s a common cause of yellowing among people who otherwise have good dental hygiene (brushing away the enamel can reveal the yellow dentin below). If your gums bleed regularly following tooth brushing or you find that your toothbrush bristles fray or flatten after just a few weeks, it could be a sign that you’re brushing too hard and that you need to be gentler.
Cleaning your ears with cotton swabs
Some of us own cotton swabs for the sole reason of cleaning our ears. But, in fact, you’re not supposed to clean your ears with them – or indeed stick anything in your ears to clean them. Using cotton swabs can sometimes damage the ear canal and also push earwax further into the ear. Sometimes ear wax can become compacted and cause blockages as a direct result of using cotton swabs. Cleaning ears often isn’t necessary as it’s actually healthy to have earwax in your ear canals. If you’ve got an earwax blockage, try using ear drops instead to gently soften up the wax or consider earwax removal services.
Exfoliating daily
Exfoliation involves removing the top layer of dead skin from your body using a scrub or a sponge. While occasional exfoliation can help to prevent spots and improve skin tone, you only really need to do it twice per week max. Some people make the mistake of exfoliating every day, which can strip the skin of essential oils, making it drier and more reactive to skin conditions. In fact, you may even exacerbate problems like acne by exfoliating daily (although exfoliating every other day might be worthwhile if you have very oily skin).
Taking long, hot showers
Another hygiene habit that can strip away your skin’s natural oils is long, hot showers. This can lead to dry skin and also dry hair. While it’s good to regularly shower (especially if you get sweaty every day from work or exercise), you should try to limit showers to 5 to 10 minutes to avoid getting rid of too many of your skin’s oils. Keeping showers warm and not too hot also reduces damage (too much heat can cause inflammation and problems like eczema and psoriasis worse).
Washing your bra after every wear
Many of us assume that because bras are underwear, they need to be washed after every use. While this can be worthwhile if they get sweaty or otherwise dirty, you can often get 2 to 3 uses out of regular bras before this is necessary. Washing bras after every use – especially if you don’t have many – can cause them to degrade and lose their shape and support, which could start to cause discomfort and irritation while wearing them. If you’re not okay wearing the same bra after each use, hand-washing your bra could reduce damage compared to using a washing machine each time.
