12 Shower Habits You Need To Stop Doing Immediately

1. Washing your face in the shower:

Sure, it seems like a time-saver to wash your face in the shower while washing everything else but chances are you're showering at a temperature your sensitive facial skin would rather not. You should be washing your face in lukewarm or cold water in the sink.

2. Showering in hot water:
Hot showers are the best but don't do your skin any good. Hot water strips your skin of natural defenses & can make some skin conditions worse. You don't have to risk hypothermia but even taking the temperature down from steamy to pleasantly warm can make a difference.

3. Taking long showers.

Long showers are also the best, but the longer you spend in the shower, the more opportunity your skin has to dry out. And you're using up about two gallons of water a minute, so both your skin and your water bill will thank you for cutting it short.

4. Leaving your loofah behind.

There's no more inviting place for bacteria than a warm, wet environment — just like the shower-fresh loofah that just rubbed the bacteria off your body. After your shower, wring it out and hang it up in a dry spot.

5. Scrubbing too hard.

Sure, exfoliating is all well and good, but you only need to do it about once a week. Once again, scrubbing doesn't do your skin's defenses any favors, so be gentle.

6. Washing your hair every day.

If you wash your hair every day, only the shampoo company benefits. You're just washing away your hair's natural oils and drying it out — and if you dye your hair, that beautiful color is washing down the drain.

7. Not washing your feet.

Yes, all the soap from the rest of your body makes its way down, but your feet need more of a personal touch. If you don't get in there and scrub between your toes, you're tempting athlete's foot and other bacteria and fungus to set up shop and grow.

8. Trying to get another use out of an old razor.

Razor blades aren't cheap, so it's understandable to want to stretch it out, but dull razors cause nicks and host bacteria — a recipe for an infection if there ever was one.

9. Skipping the shower after a workout.

Obviously if you get sweaty, you're going to get stinky. But if you leave bacteria behind it doesn't just stink it grows. That's how you get rashes and acne.

10. Not ending with a burst of cold water.

If you've ever been to a Scandinavian spa, you know how much good a shock of cold can do a body. Just a 30-second blast after your warm shower can increase your tolerance to stress, strengthen your immune system, and have anti-depressant effects.

11. Drying off too vigorously.

Just like scrubbing too hard in the shower, rubbing yourself down can irritate your skin. It's best to pat yourself dry.

12. Not moisturizing.

Don't wait or skip on moisturizing after your shower? Lock your skin's moisture in right after you dry off.