We’ve all heard of hygiene, but what the heck is it?!
Hygiene is keeping our bodies healthy with cleanliness… It’s all the things we do to clean ourselves, that keep us feeling, looking, and smelling fresh and healthy! That includes washing our hair and bodies, keeping our hands clean, brushing our teeth, and more. Good hygiene shows other people that we know how to be responsible and look after ourselves; it’s a very important part of being an adult.
When we look after our hygiene, we smell and look better, which means people will want to be around us more. Even getting a job is much easier when our hygiene is good, since that is something employers look for. Good hygiene shows our boss and coworkers that we are responsible and take good care of ourselves. But the very best part about looking after our is that it helps our self esteem (that’s the confidence we feel about ourselves). When we know that we look and smell good, we feel a whole lot better about ourselves!
Some hygiene areas are especially important. Let’s check them out!
Scrub Those Hands!
All day long, we are constantly touching things around us. This can cause us to spread our germs around if we aren’t careful. And in times like these, with Covid 19, we want to be EXTRA careful not to spread germs. The number-one best way to help reduce the spread of germs it to wash our hands well, and wash them often. That means that we want to wash our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and we should be doing it before AND after eating, after going to the bathroom, after touching things in public, and after sneezing or blowing our nose. That’s a lot of hand washing, but it’s super important!
If there’s no sink available to wash your hands, hand sanitizer can work too… But if you can, soap and water still work best! Not only does good hand washing keep you safe, but it also helps to keep the people around you safe. When you’re a good hand washer, you’re being a good team player.
Want to wash your hands well, but don’t know how? Check out this quick lesson:
Cleaning Our Bodies
Keeping our bodies clean is an important part of daily life. It helps us to wash away dirt and bacteria that can build up on our bodies, leading to bad smells. Cleaning our bodies not only helps us to stay healthy, but it also makes us feel good about ourselves. To other people, staying clean makes us look and smell like we take good care of ourselves, which is a big part of how they feel about us. When we don’t shower for long periods of time, it makes us look like we don’t care about our health, and that can turn other people off. If our body odor starts to get too bad, people might not want to be around us at all!
How Often Should I Shower?
So just how often should we clean our bodies? As a general rule, showering every 1-4 days is a good idea… But the real key is, if you’re starting to get stinky or your hair is greasy, it’s high time to jump into the shower and scrub down! When you shower, it’s important to make sure that you use some gentle soap, and to clean the main areas that can collect bacteria. That includes your armpits, hair, and private parts.
This video has more info about how often you should shower.
What’s the Deal with Deodorant?
This video shows you how to apply your deodorant, and has some other great tips on how to stay smelling great!
After puberty, we start sweating more from our armpits. The bacteria in that sweat can build up, leading to those B.O. (body odor) smells that we all know! If we smell like a dirty gym bag, that’s not too pleasant for us OR the people around us! Deodorant is something we can put onto our armpits that keeps them from getting stinky.
There are lots of different types of deodorant. It comes in stick forms that you rub on, sprays that you spray on, and tons of different smells! You can find whatever kind you like best.
It’s a good idea to put deodorant on in the morning before you go out for the day. Another good time is before you exercise, or do anything that makes you extra sweaty!
Too Much of a Good Thing?
So, we know that it’s not great to have stinky body odor from not wearing deodorant or not showering. But you also need to be careful not to be too smelly from products you put on! Too much cologne, perfume, aftershave, or scented deodorant can be really irritating for the people around you. Some people even have perfume allergies, and get headaches if they’re around people who are wearing too much. It’s important that if you want to wear nice-smelling products, that you apply just a little bit! 1 or 2 sprays should be plenty.
Remember: LESS IS MORE!
Keep Your Mouth Fresh!
We have ALL smelled bad breath before, and it is NOT pleasant, is it? Taking good care of your mouth helps to keep the bacteria in our mouths away, which means our teeth will look better and our breath will smell nicer! That’s what oral hygiene is all about.
When we don’t look after our oral hygiene it’s not just bad breath we have to worry about. Bacteria can build up in our mouth, and actually start to rot our teeth. That can lead to cavities, gum decay, and even teeth falling out or having to be removed! That all sounds pretty gross, huh? Luckily, there are some super-easy things that we can do to keep things looking and feeling good. Brushing your teeth at least twice a day, flossing, and taking trips to the dentist help us to care for our oral health.
Learn more about oral hygiene!
Learn to brush from a PRO!
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