Bathing and the Shower

I had a moment today to think about cleanliness after an especially troublesome case involving a middle-aged bachelor who came to an unfortunate end in the bathroom.

In the years of my youth, a gentleman began his day with a cold or tepid sponge bath, taken from a porcelain basin and pitcher. The sudden shock of cool water against the skin was understood by right-thinking men to be a necessary invigoration. Your modern shower is the direct, if more convenient, descendant of this practice, yet something of the original intention has been lost.

A middle course in temperature is advisable, since very hot water dries the skin and hair and, after the first pleasant minute, does little to improve the washing. Attend to the hair first, so that the shampoo is rinsed away before the body is washed; the order is a small matter, but it prevents the residue from remaining upon the skin.

When applying soap, be punctilious but not excessive. The underarms, the groin, and the feet require diligent attention; the remainder of the body does not need to be scrubbed raw every twenty-four hours. The skin possesses its own arrangements for maintenance, which have functioned admirably for millennia. On the matter of the feet: merely standing in a pool of soapy water does not constitute a cleaning. One must bend down and attend to the spaces between the toes.

Five or ten minutes is generally ample for a shower. Frequency depends upon work, climate, exercise, and the condition of the skin. When it is finished, dry the body, including the spaces between the toes, before dressing.

The bath belongs more naturally to the evening and is a slower undertaking. Draw it warm enough to be comfortable, though short of the temperature which turns the skin scarlet upon entry. Twenty minutes may suit healthy skin. Dry, sensitive, or eczematous skin usually fares better with five or ten.

A bath marks a useful interval between the working day and the private evening, particularly after travel, cold weather, or physical exertion. The notion that it is somehow an unmanly indulgence would have puzzled the Romans and a great many perfectly robust Englishmen; it need not detain us.

Where the skin feels tight or itchy after washing, apply an unscented moisturiser while it remains slightly damp. Persistent irritation calls for gentler products and, when it continues, medical advice.

Further guidance

• Dermatologists’ tips for relieving dry skin, American Academy of Dermatology