Is it possible that hot showers cause damage to your skin and hair?

A hot shower or bath is most people’s favorite form of relaxation. It takes pressure off our bodies. Still, we must be aware of its bad sides too. Hot showers might cause damage to skin, did you know that? Let’s find out why it might be dangerous!

A bathtub filled with hot water is the most pleasurable thing one can imagine, it reduces the risk of sore muscles, relaxes, lets us rest. We appreciate its effect when joints hurt again or when we face up to another stressful situation. If we don’t have a tub, there’s a shower available instead. Does it have an equally positive effect?

Cold shower vs hot shower

Generally, a cold shower takes credit for health benefits. By toughening up this way you boost immunity, accelerate metabolism, freshen up and stimulate circulation.

On the other hand, a hot shower has benefits too:

• relieves muscles and is relaxing after a hard workout;
• soothes painful joints and reduces feeling of tiredness;
• minimizes stress, has a calming effect;
• opens skin pores, facilitating detoxification.

Is taking hot showers bad for us?

As much as once-in-a-while hot shower makes a good idea, it shouldn’t be done on a daily basis. Both skin and hair might suffer.

In order to understand why hot showers have a dark side, we must know what exactly happens when the temp goes up. First of all, the blood and lymph circulation is faster which might be a problem if your skin is couperose. Also, the skin pores open, which facilitates the disposal of toxins as well as (sadly) water and nutrients.

As a result, in certain cases or in excess, hot showers may have a negative effect on skin. If this is another time your skin feels very dry and irritated after a shower, it’s a sign you should use cooler water.

Negative effect of hot showers

If you like to take hot showers, you must be aware that high humidity plus high temperature don’t mean you’re in a healthful steam room. Much more often, heat:

• intensifies the problem with broken vessels.
• causes skin redness and irritations.
• leads to skin dehydration and discomfort.
• deprives skin of natural hydro-lipid coat.
• worsens skin conditions e.g. acne, eczema.

Who should give up on hot showers?

A hot shower can be harmful for everyone, even if the skin is healthy and nourished. A high temperature is able to cause damage if you expose skin to heat on a regular basis. Still, there are cases in which taking a hot shower is out of question.

Hot baths and showers must be forgotten by:

• people whose skin is couperose and prone to occurence of spider veins;
• owners of very dry, tight-feeling, scaly skin;
• acne, eczema and other skin disease sufferers;
• women during pregnancy or first days of their period;
• hypertension and other blood disorders patients.

Hot showers vs health of hair

Each and every haircare freak knows that cold water has a very positive effect on hair, sealing cuticles, smoothing and boosting gloss. So you can easily guess that hot water gives the opposite effect.

Hair may also suffer from our regular hot showers. Because cuticles open, hair loses important nutrients and water resources. Consequently, it’s frizzy, coarse and dull-looking. A high temperature may also irritate the scalp and start off excessive sebum production, making hair greasy. In the worst-case scenario, a hot shower triggers the occurrence of dandruff (or its recurrence).