Hygine. What to wash and how often to wash it.
Lots of girls of wonder how often you should shower, when should you change your clothes, how often do you need to brush your teeth and what's the right way to do it. Well there is no right way but here are some basic guidelines to follow. Keep in mind that most of these things depend on how much you sweat. If you are only starting puberty and don't sweat much these guidelines don't really apply to you.
Showering:
Showering everyday is a good idea but every second day is okay too. I wouldn't go longer than three days without a shower. Make sure you use body wash and not just water or there isn't much point in having a shower. Remember you don't have to wash your hair each time you have a shower you can buy a shower cap to keep your hair dry.
If you're on your period you should shower everyday. If you wear pads you'll notice that some blood can be smeared around your vagina and and then drys. Well this is just plain gross but it does happen to everyone, even girls who use tampons because at night they should still be using a pad to prevent TSS! Make sure to give you vagina a good scrub when you're on your period, it'll make yu feel cleaner.
Tip: If you shower in the evening and then use a pad overnight and in the morning you're back to that bloody mess you started with use some wipes to clean yourself up.
Tampons during the day leave you as clean as you are when you don't have you period.
Washing your hair:
This really depends on how oily your hair is. Some girls need to wash their hair every day while other can get away with washing it twice a week. Personally I have normal hair and I wash it every second day or three times a week, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Make sure to shampoo twice, it will clean your hair twice as well and it'll leave your hair cleaner for longer. Only condition the ends to avoid putting excess oil on your scalp.
Tip: Try dry shampoo. It's a spray you put in your hair then brush out. It cleans your hair slightly but not as well as a shower would. Hair also looks less oily when it's up in a bun.
Brushing your teeth:
Everyone should be brushing their teeth at least once a day with a medium tooth brush (unless advised otherwise by your dentist). However you should really make the effort to brush them twice a day. Once in the morning after you've had breakfast and then again at night before you go to bed. To avoid getting cavities you should also floss your teeth before you go to bed, it removes food that's stuck in between your teeth that causes cavities. Mouth wash is a waste of time. If it has alcohol in it can give you jaw cancer and it dosen't help clean your teeth. You should only use mouth wash for fresh breath but consider breath mints instead.
Brush back and forth over the tops of your molars and then in circular motions around the front of your teeth to make them pearly white.
Fact: You should brush your teeth for 3 minutes however the average person stops after 30 seconds.
Removing your makeup:
You should remove your eye makeup every night that you wear makeup. Use eye makeup remove and then rinse your eyes with water to avoid any residue getting into your eyes while you sleep. There is no need for makeup remover wipes, they are way too big and bad for the environment. If you wear foundation then just wash your whole face. Try to only use makeup remover wipes if you're in a dressing room, on holiday or are somewhere you don't have access to water and facial wash.
Washing your face:
This depends on your skin type. If you have sensitive/dry skin you should only wash your face to remove foundation. Make sure you use a sensitive facial wash and moisturize after to avoid your face drying out. Normal and combination skin can choose how often to wash their face. If it looks oily it's a sign to wash it. Girls with oily skin should wash their face everyday. It will remove excess oil and make you look cleaner. Everyone should wash their face if they've been wearing foundation or it will clog your pores.
You can choose wether to wash your face morning or night. Personally I like to wash it at night to remove my make up and in the morning I just splash my face with luke warm water to help wake me up.
Moisturizing:
Once again this depends on your skin type. Sensitive/dry skin people should moisturize their face everyday (maybe even twice a day) to stop their face drying out. Normal skin should only moisturize if they want to soften their face. Oily and combination skin shouldn't moisturize or only moisturize certain areas to avoid putting excess oil on their face.
Tip: Moisturize after you get out of a hot shower when your pores are open so your skin will absorb more.
Exfoliating:
No matter what your skin type you should exfoliate your face twice a week to remove dead skin cells. Some people believe you shouldn't exfoliate if you have sensitive skin but it's actually even more important because you'll have many dead skin cells to remove. If you do have sensitive skin use a gentle exfoliator to avoid irritation.
Exfoliating your body is important too. Use a shower gauze sponge. I know right. What the hell is that? Well it's a mesh sponge you use in the shower to exfoliate your body. Here's a picture.
Showering:
Showering everyday is a good idea but every second day is okay too. I wouldn't go longer than three days without a shower. Make sure you use body wash and not just water or there isn't much point in having a shower. Remember you don't have to wash your hair each time you have a shower you can buy a shower cap to keep your hair dry.
If you're on your period you should shower everyday. If you wear pads you'll notice that some blood can be smeared around your vagina and and then drys. Well this is just plain gross but it does happen to everyone, even girls who use tampons because at night they should still be using a pad to prevent TSS! Make sure to give you vagina a good scrub when you're on your period, it'll make yu feel cleaner.
Tip: If you shower in the evening and then use a pad overnight and in the morning you're back to that bloody mess you started with use some wipes to clean yourself up.
Tampons during the day leave you as clean as you are when you don't have you period.
Washing your hair:
This really depends on how oily your hair is. Some girls need to wash their hair every day while other can get away with washing it twice a week. Personally I have normal hair and I wash it every second day or three times a week, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Make sure to shampoo twice, it will clean your hair twice as well and it'll leave your hair cleaner for longer. Only condition the ends to avoid putting excess oil on your scalp.
Tip: Try dry shampoo. It's a spray you put in your hair then brush out. It cleans your hair slightly but not as well as a shower would. Hair also looks less oily when it's up in a bun.
Brushing your teeth:
Everyone should be brushing their teeth at least once a day with a medium tooth brush (unless advised otherwise by your dentist). However you should really make the effort to brush them twice a day. Once in the morning after you've had breakfast and then again at night before you go to bed. To avoid getting cavities you should also floss your teeth before you go to bed, it removes food that's stuck in between your teeth that causes cavities. Mouth wash is a waste of time. If it has alcohol in it can give you jaw cancer and it dosen't help clean your teeth. You should only use mouth wash for fresh breath but consider breath mints instead.
Brush back and forth over the tops of your molars and then in circular motions around the front of your teeth to make them pearly white.
Fact: You should brush your teeth for 3 minutes however the average person stops after 30 seconds.
Removing your makeup:
You should remove your eye makeup every night that you wear makeup. Use eye makeup remove and then rinse your eyes with water to avoid any residue getting into your eyes while you sleep. There is no need for makeup remover wipes, they are way too big and bad for the environment. If you wear foundation then just wash your whole face. Try to only use makeup remover wipes if you're in a dressing room, on holiday or are somewhere you don't have access to water and facial wash.
Washing your face:
This depends on your skin type. If you have sensitive/dry skin you should only wash your face to remove foundation. Make sure you use a sensitive facial wash and moisturize after to avoid your face drying out. Normal and combination skin can choose how often to wash their face. If it looks oily it's a sign to wash it. Girls with oily skin should wash their face everyday. It will remove excess oil and make you look cleaner. Everyone should wash their face if they've been wearing foundation or it will clog your pores.
You can choose wether to wash your face morning or night. Personally I like to wash it at night to remove my make up and in the morning I just splash my face with luke warm water to help wake me up.
Moisturizing:
Once again this depends on your skin type. Sensitive/dry skin people should moisturize their face everyday (maybe even twice a day) to stop their face drying out. Normal skin should only moisturize if they want to soften their face. Oily and combination skin shouldn't moisturize or only moisturize certain areas to avoid putting excess oil on their face.
Tip: Moisturize after you get out of a hot shower when your pores are open so your skin will absorb more.
Exfoliating:
No matter what your skin type you should exfoliate your face twice a week to remove dead skin cells. Some people believe you shouldn't exfoliate if you have sensitive skin but it's actually even more important because you'll have many dead skin cells to remove. If you do have sensitive skin use a gentle exfoliator to avoid irritation.
Exfoliating your body is important too. Use a shower gauze sponge. I know right. What the hell is that? Well it's a mesh sponge you use in the shower to exfoliate your body. Here's a picture.
You should exfoliate your body two to three times a week. It's enough to squeeze a very small amount of shower gel onto the mesh and it creates lots of bubbles. Then rub it in circular motions all over you body.