To Shower or Not To Shower

10 November 2014

Does our vanity increase as we grow older? This question occurred to me recently when during a visit to my Doctor I asked for a referral to a skin specialist regarding slightly darker patches of skin on my face and underarms.

For those that know me, I am a whitey, always have been and always will be. The sun kisses me, burns me and then I peel back to my former whiteness and despite years of wishing and praying this has been the routine for the past 41 years.

Anyhoo these darker patches were noticed by my beautician and I succumbed to her pressure and sought the advice of an expert. The outcome was not what I expected.

After describing my skin patches and after closer examination Mr Dermatologist asked a question, “Kim do you take long, hot showers?” Well, that’s a bit personal Mr Dermatologist, I thought, but you asked for it.

“In fact hubby and I shower together each day so we can scrub each others back!” I replied.

Too much information perhaps however it turns out our long showers – say five to seven minutes – are causing havoc with my precious skin bag.

Hot water from my beloved daily ritual has washed away the nutrients my skin needs and opened the door to fungal infection – OMG – I have a fungus face.

This was the moment in the conversion with Mr Dermatologist when my 40+ vanity kicked in and the colour or embarrassment on my face appeared. HOW EMBARRASSING!!

To be clear I asked the question – what is the recommended time for a shower?

Apparently anything longer than a three (3) minute – yes, 3 minute – shower is too long. Can you believe it? How long are your showers? Do you think you could shower in three minutes?

Plus the water must be tepid rather than steaming otherwise we wash away the much needed oils our skin needs.

Mr Dermatologist calmly and with subtle humour explained that if the water is too hot it can create mini-craters in the skin and result in small and itchy pimple-like areas as the body tries to expel the excess water and re-create balance.

He also explained that everybody has discoloured skin on their body however because I am so fair the different skin shade tends to show up more on my whiteness. Yay!

The outcome of my rather entertaining and somewhat embarrassing trip to the skin specialist was some antifungal cream and instructions to take shorter showers...”Plus, it’s good for the planet,” Mr Dermatologist said as I departed.

The following day I timed myself just to see if I could get everything done, in my shower routine within three minutes. Well, I managed it but there was one thing missing... my Special Friend to scrub my back.

So, to shower or not to shower with my hubby – that is the question?