Nice hot showers are great, they are relaxing, they warm you up and they loosen you up after a long tiring day.

There might be a couple of things you’re doing wrong in the shower and this is what is causing your skin to be dry after a shower.

If you want to ensure that your skin is healthy and moisturized it is important that you don’t make these mistakes in the shower:

Why is my skin so dry after a shower?

Showering for too long:

I do it too. It’s just an easy and tempting thing to do. Unfortunately, this is not doing any good for your skin.

How it this drying? While in the shower your skin is getting stripped of its natural oils and proteins which are supposed to keep your skin moist and supple. Long showers extend the stripping time.

Showering in hot water:

These are great for relaxing muscles and easing stress from your body. The steam around you can feel like a sauna.

Why this is drying: The hotter the shower the easier the oils will melt off your skin. This has a drying effect on the skin.

Scrubbing too hard:

Yes, it is important to exfoliate your body often, around 2/3 times a week. You can use exfoliators that are specially made for the body which will exfoliate and moisture. Dry brushing can smooth out cellulite and increase circulation if done correctly. This is a great dry brush for the body

Why is drying: If you use an exfoliator that is drying and that does not moisturize your body as well as exfoliating then your skin will come out of the shower feeling dry, not to mention irritated. This will strip away the natural oils on your skin.

Your soap is too harsh:

There are many soaps on the market, so much so that it becomes difficult to choose from them. Soaps are a great way to cleanse your skin but you need to be aware of what is actually in your soaps before you put them on your body.

Why this is drying: The ones that you really need to look out for are the fragranced soaps and the soaps that contain alcohols. These ingredients are very drying on the skin, the can case cause irritation and result in rashes.

Your soap has too much lather:

Your soap might not be too harsh but it can have too much lather. The feel and look of all these bubbles on your skin seems good but your skin can become dry from it

Why is it drying: The lather strips your skin of the natural oils that it produces, making your skin dry. More lather means higher surfactants in products formation. These surfactants bind with oil from the skin and remove it.

Showering too many times a day:

It isn’t necessary to be taking many showers a day. I know that the feeling of being in and just getting out the shower can be great and we would all like to do it as much as possible but this is not the best practice

Why is it drying: This increases the frequency of rinsing off the natural oils off the body. You don’t need to do this often. Only shower once or twice a day. If you are going to the gym or practising sport then the shower after the activity will be your second shower. The symptoms of over washing are quite bad.

Using unfiltered water on the skin:

This may not be something you can change because of the area you live in or it might seem like a luxury but if you can change it then it’s worth the change

Why is it drying:  This can really have a negative effect on the skin, this is because the hard water can contain calcium and magnesium? These minerals might be good to take internally but when you shower with water containing these minerals this can dry out and irritate our skin.

You aren’t moisturising after the shower:

Moisturizing after the shower should be a given. After your shower, you need to replace the moisture that you have removed from being in the shower.

You need to use a good moisturizer for after the shower especially if you’ve scrubbed or used an exfoliator. You need good ones for your face or body

Why this is drying: If you don’t moisturize and you just leave your skin bare it can quickly become dry and irritated. This is more important if you shave as shaving can remove a thin layer of skin off the top leaving the layer below exposed. This is a great body moisturiser

I hope you enjoyed this article explaining why your skin is so dry after being in the shower.

I hope that you are able to make more informed decisions about your shower habits to prevent dry skin. If you found this article helpful please share it so we can all prevent dry skin.