Changing How You Shower Could Level Up Your Life
Image: Wiki Commons
Damn the word “underrated.”
Nothing’s more misused than that one.
Nothing, that is, except for “literally”, but let’s not even.
If anything, it’s easier to find what’s overrated — just set some reasonable expectations for that journey on which you’re about to embark, then sit back and let your discernment do the rest. You know what’s overrated when you see it.
But “underrated”? That’s a harder label to levy. To be brass-knuckles simple about it, you could argue what’s underrated is simply that which is awesome, yet never lauded (let alone hyped) for being as much. The shower, ladies and gents, is one of those things.
Where’s the one, single place where you can pause all thought and sink into nothingness?
The shower.
Where’s the one, single spot where the daily ennui won’t follow you?
The shower. It’s that one place you frequent, the one space that serves almost all your life’s needs, yet we hardly talk it up. Granted, we’re butt-naked in showers, so there’s an element of privacy that warrants etiquette and discretion.
“Did you have a good shower?” “So, how was the shower?” That shit sounds offside.
To be fair, many of us fellas are quite apt to talk sex, especially if it’ll make us look good. And everyone knows ladies love to spill the beans.
Makes you think.
Done thinking? Now get ready to take something that’s actually underrated — showers, if it’s not clear enough — and add another layer of unexpectedness: counter-intuition (aka doing the opposite of what you’d think you oughta do). Unlike proper squat form or a roundhouse kick to the chin, most men don’t just wake up and endeavour to perfect their showering.
Yet, you’d be surprised how a tweak or two can yield the richest of spoils.
Not only could your showers use an upgrade (cold water included, heads up), but a better, smarter shower could unlock a greater, smoother, leaner, and altogether more beastly you.
And you thought we just wanted to sell you body wash.
I. Soft Water’s Better For You Than Hard Water
Soft water’s easier on skin than hard water, and it’s no contest.
For one, soft water won’t strip your skin of its precious moisture, the kind that keeps it from drying otherwise drying out, plus products like ours will lather up in it like it’s nothing compared to hard water. Hard water, conversely, is the absolute worst.
Hard water’s a known irritant.
And if you’ve got atopic dermatitis (or eczema), don’t rule out hard water as a culprit.
In 2018, the Journal of Investigative Dermatology published the results of a study that saw 80 participants wash with sulphate-based products, and “varying levels of [water] hardness” were used. So you know, sulphates are chemicals that help household cleaning and big-brand grooming products lather up something big and fast. But like the aforesaid trial proves, the stuff relies on robbing skin of its natural oils in order to function, hence our aversion to using sulphates in our own line (read more about them right here).
Technically, there there are different types of sulphates, and the kind you’ll often spot in grooming products is sodium lauryl sulphate.
Back to the study. Keep in mind there were two participant groups observed — folks with healthy skin and folks with a “predisposition to skin barrier impairments.” Turns out that, once used, a combo of hard water (which packs a ton of calcium), chlorine and sulphates left SLS “deposits” in the skin of people from both groups, plus it “increased transepidermal water loss and caused irritation.”
In other words, sulphates are aggressive bastards; They tend to strip a little too much moisture from human skin, which messes with a lot of people.
That study’s not the first of its kind, by the way.
There’s no proof sulphates are carcinogenic, so that’s good. Those things won’t kill you. But if your skin’s even close to sensitive, dodge sulphates and look into a water softener. A good softener will reduce the amount of minerals in your H2o, including the calcium.
II. Icemen Always Prosper
While cold water therapy (or cold water immersion) isn’t exactly news, let’s be serious — it’s not something a lot us practice, either.
Back in ‘09, former Penn State student, Justin Rosales, was just as blown away by Wim Hof after watching a YouTube video of the guy doing his thing. Rosales was so moved, he flew to Poland a year later and trained to be an Iceman himself... with Mr. Wim Hof. That book you’re looking at tells Rosales’ story, and without spoiling anything, it’s a damn good one.
Click on the cover for a link to a free audiobook version online.
A lot of freak athletes count on cold water to recoup after going hard. Multi-Champions League winner, Cristiano Ronaldo, swears by ice baths post-match, and anyone who’s seen the 37-year-old Portuguese shirtless knows he’s doing something right.
But no talk of cold water exposure could be legit without mentioning the “Ice Man” himself, Wim Hof. Mr. Hof’s a 63-year-old athlete and adventurer who’s famous for being able to tolerate the most frigid of environs imaginable.
As his official site states, the Dutchman has climbed Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain on earth) in shorts, he swam under 66 metres of ice, and there’s no telling how many times he’s sat in ice water (often from the neck down).
According to Hof’s “method", taking ice-cold showers is fantastic for you, so it’s not like the guy does it to be a hero. He’s even trained a few noteworthy athletes and entertainers to withstand the cold. Here’s the time Hof got Russell Brand to chill out in a freezing cold lake.
And when you get into bedrock of the matter, you’ll see the real question isn’t what can ice water do for you, but what can’t it do?
The possible mental benefits alone look incredible, never mind the physical ones (we’ll get to those in a second). Hof’s work has shown that ice showers kill stress (the idea is the “shock” normalizes physical stress, conditioning to take more and more over time), sharpen focus and boost energy levels, and he’s also proven cold exposure can help control your breathing and, thus, take mediation to new heights.
As for the potential physical improvements, man. From faster athletic recovery to less inflammation to arthritis relief, Hof’s list reads impressively, at the least.
But of all proposed benefits, two stand out like few others:
There’s the “thermogenesis theory,” or the idea that cold water exposure can rev up your metabolism and, in turn, help torch those love handles. Intermittent exposure to cold water (think cold for x amount of time, then back to not-so-cold for x amount, repeat) activates our brown fat cells and puts them to work, and their job’s to “dissipate energy as heat,” effectively warming you up by dipping into fat metabolism stores.
Cold water could “boost” the human immune system. Check out this Czech study referenced in a piece from The Conversation written Lindsay Bottoms, Head of the Centre for Research in Psychology and Sports Science. Basically, a group of “young, athletic” men submerged themselves in 14 degree Celsius water for an hour each time, three times a week for six weeks in total. The results showed a “slight” boost to the immune systems of these guys, but bear in mind they were the only group tested.
Ice water showers can even improve blood flow, and there are actual studies that prove as much. It comes down to your skin cells, which constrict when faced with low temps, causing less circulation. In effect, your body then has to work harder get blood flowing again, warming things up in the process.
How to Ease Into Cold Showers (Inspired by the Iceman Himself)
Condition your indestructible self to cold showers in increments, and go from short blasts to full on cold showers.
Start with something small, like 15 seconds. You can even use warm water when you jump in, but the key’s flipping to cold when it’s time to rock — don’t go slow on the switch. Then, go back to warm.
If you can’t hack it at first, just end your warm shower with 15 seconds of cold water. Boom.
When you’re ready, go from 15 seconds to 30, then from 30 to a minute. Then, guessed it, just keep adding the minutes and repeat the process until you can handle five whole minutes.
Stick to this and you’ll be showering like a superhuman in two weeks’ time (roughly).
Naturally, cold water exposure’s not for everyone, and no one’s advocating for running a marathon above the Arctic Circle barefoot (Hof did that, too). We don’t want you meeting hypothermia anytime soon. Besides, Hof’s all about slow, steady adaptation.
Also, accept there’s a chance cold water exposure may not work for you; everyone’s different.
But if you’re safe about it, it’s well worth a shot.
III. If You Can’t Go Cold, Cool, Just Don’t Go Hot
No shower upgrade’s complete without a serious body wash, one that won’t only smell like a barbershop, but it’ll clean man hide with ease, too. The best part is, ours has zero sulphates.
Veteran readers will have heard this here before (and if you’re new, welcome): Don’t take hot showers. They feel fucking great, yes, but don’t do it.
Hot water’s not unlike sulphates in that it strips skin of moisture. Take it from our resident dermatologist, Dr. Ben Barankin, Founder of the Toronto Dermatology Centre. “Hot water, while soothing in many respects, can sometimes damage/burn your skin,” says Dr. Barankin. “It’s also more likely to dehydrate skin, leaving it drier and more prone to itching or eczema.“
After any shower — especially a hot one — it’s critical to pat dry, then moisturize immediately to avoid dryness, dullness and, again, itching.”
If you can’t take cold water — or flat-out don’t want to — that’s cool, and no one’s judging. Let’s not sidestep the fact that some guys might have conditions that’ll worsen if they “shock” themselves in this way, be they cardiovascular or otherwise.
Still, even lukewarm’s better than hot.
Or, if you can hit that sweet spot between lukewarm and a little cold (and you know your doc’s cool with it), it could just make the difference between having good skin and aging like a sandbag.
And don’t forget the eczema part.