“Bathing is a simple process of cleansing your body. However, our modern lifestyle has distorted the beautiful process of bathing and people make some mistakes,” says Mrs. Hansa, Director, The Yoga Institute, in a YouTube video. In the video, he explains common bathing mistakes that you should avoid to keep your health in check. He has told about many everyday habits which can ruin your skin.

Mrs. Hansa explains that long, hot baths feel great, especially in winter, but hot water strips your skin of its natural oils and can make it dry and itchy.

What is best: It is best to use room temperature water for bathing. She further explains that in case of people who are elderly or have some health problems, lukewarm water can be used. In ancient times, people used to go to the river to take bath at sunrise. The water flowing in the river was always warm, this flowing water contained the warmth of the earth and the person looked towards the sun expressing gratitude, prayer and pure thoughts in his mind. “But at present we live far away from river streams and hence we should try to bathe in water at room temperature,” she said.

According to Smt. Hansa, some strong soaps can kill even good bacteria and may lead to the growth of bad bacteria. Harsh soap also dries out your skin, especially sensitive skin. So use mild soap instead, and only in certain areas. “While bathing, we should focus on moving our hands on every part of our body and massaging it well. Take a small towel, wet it with water and rub it all over the body. This is the first step in the bathing process. Nowadays there is a lot of air pollution, hence it is important to use soap because usually water is not enough to clean the skin. But we can use some mild soap and apply it on the armpit, groin area. It should also be applied on the legs and areas where there is hair. It is necessary to rub only water on the rest of the body. This rubbing should be done with soap in the second step of bathing. The third time, it can be done only with plain water, so our hands should go over the entire body at least three times,” she said.

She adds, “Earlier people used to use a little turmeric or turmeric and honey in fresh milk or curd in place of soap, especially during winters, when your skin becomes dry. Each person needs to experiment with what suits their skin because everyone’s skin is different.”

3. Washing hair daily

How often you should wash your hair depends on personal factors, such as your hair texture, hair condition, your lifestyle or schedule, etc. Mrs. Hansa explains that when you wash your hair too often, you remove the natural protective oils from your scalp. This causes your scalp to produce more oil. “Frequent shampooing removes sebum (natural oil) from your hair. Sebum helps protect your hair from losing moisture. Washing it completely can make the scalp dry and the hair thick, which is prone to breakage. This can be a reason for excessive hair fall. It’s essential to find what works best for your hair type and weather conditions.

What is best: If you need to wash your hair frequently, it’s best to use plain water or natural soap with herbal ingredients.

4. Staying in the bathroom for too long

Mrs. Hansa explains that prolonged bathing can strip your skin of essential oils, causing inflammation and irritation. These oils are natural moisturizers whose absence can lead to dry, peeling, cracked or yellowing of the skin.

What is best: It’s best to limit your bath time to less than 10 minutes. “This is just enough time to cleanse and hydrate the skin without overdoing it. It is best to wash yourself at sunrise and sunset.

Along with the rest of the body, it is important to clean the soles of the feet. Many people ignore these or forget to wash their feet completely. “It is your feet that are the most dirty and smelly. You should wash your feet properly to clean and exfoliate them. Regularly washing the skin of your feet – the top, bottom and sides – with soap and water is an easy way to prevent them from smelling bad. Use a foot scraper or stone to remove dead skin cells. This will prevent calluses or hardened areas of skin that force you to rub repeatedly,” she explains.

6. Take bath immediately after eating food

Hansa says, taking bath immediately after eating food means that you are spoiling your digestion. One should ensure that each activity should be done at a specific time period and doing the same during odd hours can actually harm the body. “Ayurveda believes that when you eat food the Agni element gets activated in our body to help in the digestion process. If you take a bath, the body temperature decreases and the digestion process slows down. As the body starts to cool down, it has to work extra hard to maintain the standard temperature. This may also cause discomfort and indigestion.

What’s best: Hansa suggests that it’s best to wait at least 2 hours to take a bath after eating. Taking bath before eating is even better as it makes you feel very refreshed and increases your digestive fire.

7. Take a bath immediately after workout

Hansa explains that it is important to cool down for at least 20 minutes after a workout. Do some light stretches and allow your body to return to a relaxed state. It helps normalize your heart rate and body temperature. “Hydrate yourself with water or fruit juice. When you stop sweating you can take a bath. After bathing, a person should sit quietly for 10 minutes and not do any activity. You can do Shavasana, meditate, sit peacefully and pray,” she said.

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