Seven good personal hygiene habits you should have

As the world grapples with Coronavirus, there has never been a more important time to up your hygiene game than now.

These personal hygiene habits need to be practiced every day. Doing this creates a healthy environment not only for you, but for those around you including your kids, spouse, friends and colleagues.

To get you started on how to do so, below are some personal hygiene basics worth your consideration.

Washing your hands with water and some antibacterial soap is one of the most essential hygiene routines to practice. Wash your hands when you come home because you’ve probably handled a lot of things during the day, wash them before eating or before handling food and rinse them well when you’re from the washroom. These are just some of the examples where you need to clean your hands to prevent any illnesses as a result of not doing so.

Always pay attention to those unseen areas as you bathe. Places like behind the ears, the scalp, in between the toes and your bellybutton are all parts you should never forget to clean. It’s quite likely to skip those areas and assume everything is fine so long as the water is dripping over there, but a lot of dirt can actually accumulate over time. This will eventually lead to body odour something that can easily be avoided.

Sweating is a natural process for everyone but let’s be honest, the smell is unpleasant. This is the reason why brands offer a variety of deodorants to cater for everyone’s ‘deo needs.’ You can go for the usual brands you find in supermarkets if you’re a fan of those, or get alternatives like vegan brands or those that are 100% natural. The options are many it is entirely up to you to choose what works best. Deodorant should be an essential even for those who aren’t fans of perfumes and colognes.

It’s possible to forget this ear cleaning routine while paying attention to more obvious personal hygiene practices like showering. As you shower, using a wash cloth might not be quite as effective when it comes to removing wax but you can always look for other alternative methods. You can find special ear cleaners, ear wax removal drops, safe q-tips, wax extractors or, just visit your doctor occasionally to handle that for you if you’re not comfortable doing it at home.

But if you choose to extract the wax at home, always be careful enough not to damage your ears. Either way, don’t let the wax build up for too long.

It’s important to be clean every other day but doing a little more when you’re on your period goes a long way. At that time of the month, carry some extra pads, liners and tampons in your bag. You can even go that extra mile and carry one spare panty, just in case. Why not? Change your pad, liner or tampon after sometime to avoid unpleasant odors and to stay fresh and confident all day long.

As a lady, you should never repeat bras or underwear. They gather a lot of sweat during the day because they are close to the skin so they need to be washed after every wear. Sweaty bras smell and this can be quite embarrassing. Also, you won’t feel as confident wearing a dirty bra. Always wash and dry them well to avoid skin irritations and infections from wearing damp innerwear.

Dirty beddings can attract all sorts of infections that no one would wish to have. They increase your chances of breakouts and rashes that will take a lot of time to get rid of. Actually, one of the first steps to having healthy skin is washing your bedsheets, duvet and pillowcases regularly. You’ll be more comfortable at night knowing you’re sleeping on clean beddings.