How Often Do You Need to Shower? We Asked 3 Experts

When it comes to maintaining your skin health, there is no “golden rule” for the amount of times you should shower your body a week. That said, “you should wash areas like your face, groin, and underarms daily,” Dr. Zeichner says. “You also should clean any areas of skin with visible soiling. If you start to notice any significant body odor or any changes in the skin, particularly in the skin folds — for example, between the toes, in the groin, in the armpits, or under the belly or breasts — you should wash the skin. A moist environment can promote overgrowth of fungus on the skin, leading to potential infections.”

If you are spending most of your time indoors and the environment has been properly cleaned and not contaminated, you can shower as often (or least often) as you’d like. Anytime you go outside, though, he says the safest course of action is to shower when you get home.

“While some people prefer to rinse without soap, in this environment, I do recommend using a dedicated cleanser. Dove’s Deep Moisture Body Wash ($9) provides gentle cleansing but also respects the skin barrier with the same type of hydrating ingredients found in traditional moisturizers. Especially if you are washing more often than you normally do, it is important not to disrupt the outer skin layer.”