Think of the days when indoor plumbing and water heaters were not the part of American households. It was the time when frequent bathing was not the norm. If someone intended to take a bath they had to fetch the water, heated it over the fire and finally poured it into the bathtub. Generally, the same water was used by the entire family for bathing, doing laundry and other house chores.
Don’t be too surprised when you hear someone doing the same even in this era; many developing countries still go through the same inconvenient process of fetching water and heating it before taking a bath.
So who should we thank for the water heaters installed in our homes? Edwin Ruud, a Norwegian engineer was the first one to come up with the idea of water heater, in the year 1889. Whenever there was a need for hot water, a faucet was turned on which ignited a switch of the gas heater. In the same era, a variety of shower designs were introduced with different spray settings. Now you might not like this, but many of these shower designs came with a closed-system, meaning that the water that was used from the showerhead, passed through the drain back to the showerhead for reuse.
Another important invention, “the indoor plumbing” was introduced in the year 18th Century. In 1829, the Tremont hotel in Boston became the first hotel in the world to introduce indoor plumbing. It was designed and implemented by Architect Isaiah Rogers. The modern bathrooms with indoor plumbing became the part of middle-income households by the end of World War I.
By the early 19th Century, the rural Americans got familiar with the joy of showering daily.
Even showering on an ordinary day gives you a luxurious feeling. Think of the rough days when all you need is a warm shower to soothe you. Science approves of it! There are evidences that show that bathing does have a calming effect on the body and also provides relief in stress. The Japanese researchers found a significant decrease in the hormones indicating stress, after bathing.
You might think it would be a waste not to pour water on your tiered shoulder when you have indoor plumbing and showers installed in your homes. The question remained unanswered is, “How much is too much?”Can frequent washing be harmful for your skin? What should be the frequency of bathing?
How much Shower is enough for you?
So you think too much showering is good for? It will make you cleaner? Of course! There are many of us who believe that “a healthy dose of soap” and some “steaming hot water” is all we need to wash those germs away. Unfortunately, medical science tells us the opposite. Plain, fragranced soaps do not help to kill the skin-borne bacteria. Studies revealed that “It actually disturbs microcolonies of skin flora and fauna, transferring them to the surrounding environment — like your shower, for instance. For this reason, surgical teams and patients are generally restricted from showering immediately before entering an operating room.”
The outermost layer of the skin also known as stratum corneum is a protective layer made up of dead skin cells. These dead cells act like a barrier for the skin, protecting the underlying healthy layer of cells. The cells of the startum corneum are held close with the help of fatty compounds called lipids; these lipids trap moisture inside them and keep the skin moisturized.
When you take a hot shower, you use devices like soap and scrubber or a loofah, these devices undermine the integrity of the protective layer of the skin. How does it happen? The mixture of hot water and soap dissolve the lipids. What else? Scrubbing make it worst by hastening the process and exposing the delicate layer of healthy cells lying beneath. The more frequently you take a shower the more damaged this outer layer gets, and at the same time it deprives your skin of the natural oils that it can produce. So by frequently showering you get dry, cracked and irritated skin.
Another problem creating factor related to frequent showering is the use of towel. Just like scrubbers, towel also damages the skin cells. The best option is to air dry after having a shower, but if you can’t wait for that long you can pat dry yourself with a towel. Choose a soft towel for this purpose, do not rub your body with the towel.
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