When Dermatologists Agree with my Outdoorsy Friends

Not sure exactly how I managed this, but I recently chanced upon an online article about taking showers.  Specifically, the article listed recommendations for how to take a shower according to dermatologists.

Growing up in East Helena, Montana, I had more than a few “outdoorsy” friends.  By outdoorsy, I mean they had an aversion for spending any time indoors during the summer.  They also had an aversion for such things as clean sheets and taking showers regularly.

Turns out, my outdoorsy buddies somewhat align with dermatologists in their thinking about showers.  Among the recommendations for showering are these:

1. Don’t shower too often.

2.  Keep it short.

3. Don’t wash your hair too much.

If my friends were the reading type, they would most certainly revel in this dermatological advice.

My friends clearly did not shower too often.  While the article did not firmly define “too often,” I don’t suspect my friends would have been harmed by an added shower somewhere there during the summer months.

My outdoorsy buddies definitely had the “keep it short” stuff figured out.  Often, their showers were more a “walk-through” than anything.

Nobody—and I mean NOBODY—would have accused any of my friends of washing their hair too often.  Hair management involved choosing the appropriate hat and nothing more.  To this day, I have one friend who will call his brother on the phone every few weeks just to say this: “It’s time to wash your hair.”

I am now wondering if dermatologists are the outdoorsy type.

—Mitchell Hegman