Dr. Marc Perrussel, dermatologist and venerologist recalls the precious advice to take care of his skin when she is very fragile.
Without neglecting your body hygiene, you should not abuse showers, especially when you have fragile, dry, irritated and even itching skin. As is the case for people with eczema (2 million adults in France and around 1.5 million adolescents and children). Too frequent showers cause skin irritations and itching. The moment when you take a shower is also important. “”It is better to take a shower in the evening rather than in the morning to guarantee the elimination of bacteria, dirt, pollution and bad odors. Especially since going to bed without having been lavished beforehand is likely to promote the obstruction of pores and therefore, the appearance of comedons on the face“Explains Dr. Marc Perrussel, dermatologist and venerologist.
He also recommends starting by cleaning the cheapest areas when showering, namely the bust, arms and legs, and ending with areas that are bacteria nests (armpits, interfentry folds and feet). The objective is to avoid contaminating the rest of the body. In case of fragile, dry and/or atopic skin, the choice of washing product is also of crucial importance. “”The best is to bet on a washing oil or a surgras gel that cleanses the skin without attacking it and leaves a moisturizing film. This not only helps preserve the hydrolipidic film in the moment but also in the longer term“, Recommends the dermatologist.
As a general rule, it is not recommended to take more than one shower per day (except after a sports session or a sexual intercourse) because it attacks the hydrolipidic film, this skin barrier which protects the epidermis from external aggressions. When the skin is very dry, it stings and/or during eczema thrusts, you have to reduce its number of shower per week. A complete shower every two days is enough according to our interlocutor, i.e. three per week at most, but we still wash the genitals and armpits every day using a toilet glove.
Finally, it is better to avoid too hot water which tends to promote skin irritations and itching. The ideal water temperature to protect our skin barrier would be between 36.5 ° C and 40.5 ° C, which corresponds to very warm to slightly hot water.