Too much washing is bad for your skin

A wise person (I believe it was Plato or Aristotle - please leave a comment if you know) once said, "Moderation in all things even in moderation."

A foolish culture (the current American culture) believes excess in all things even in excess.

Unfortunately we believe that if a little of something is good a lot is even better. Thus we have had people killing themselves with over consumption of water (for winning something from a Radio show) and carrot juice and vitamin A (for health). The last person was colored orange by the time he died.

I don't want to even mention human beings excess in the quest for more money. I only want to write about health and how some habits which are healthy in moderation may be harmful when taken to an extreme.

I'll start these series with washing with soap. Using too much soap especially medicated soap may be harmful for your skin because your skin is full and full and full of bacteria. So killing them is good, nay great!

Die, evil bacteria, Die.

In truth that's not the way things are. Most bacteria are benign (harmless or even helpful). A few are very harmful and even fewer are deadly. Now when you wash your skin with soap especially with medicated soap you kill all or most of the bacteria on your skin.

So after washing your skin there are way fewer benign bacteria on your skin. What happens now is that your skin is virgin territory and the bacteria which land there munch on all the yummy food on your skin. Chances are that the first bacteria which land on your skin are benign and as they "go forth and multiply."

However, if you wash your skin way too much chances are eventually harmful germs will land and conquer that virgin territory and you get some kind of skin disease or infection. Another problem with too much hygiene is that harmful germs exercise your immune system and strengthen it.

So be good to your skin and wash it but not too much. Another reason that too much washing is not good for you is that it dries your skin even if you use a "moisturizing soap."