多久该洗一次澡

There's no such thing as showering too much, right? Wrong... Despite the practice that most people shower once or twice a day, we're only meant to shower once or twice a week. As gross as it sounds - according to experts humans daily showing is mainly for "aesthetic reasons."

没有洗澡洗得太频繁这种说法，对吧？那你可就错了……尽管人们通常的做法是每天洗一次或两次澡，但实际上我们应该每周只洗一两次。虽然听起来有点恶心--但根据专家所述，人类每天洗澡主要是因为"爱美。"

Speaking to TIME, Dr. Elaine Larson, an infectious disease expert and associate dean for research at Columbia University School of Nursing argues: "People think they're showering for hygiene or to be cleaner, but bacteriologically, that's not the case. Bathing will remove odour if you're stinky or have been to the gym. But in terms of protecting you from illness, washing your hands regularly is probably adequate."

哥伦比亚大学护理学院的传染病专家和研究副院长伊莱恩·拉森博士在接受《时代》杂志的采访时说道："人们认为洗澡是为了卫生，为了更干净，但从细菌学角度来说，情况并不是这样的。如果你闻起来臭哄哄的或是刚从健身房健身回来，那洗澡能去除你的臭味。但在保护你不生病方面，经常洗手就够了。"

Turns out, the fancy soaps your buying are probably a waste of money too. Larson's research shows that antibacterial soaps and cleaning products aren't any better than a regular bar of soap when it comes to lowering your risk of getting infectious diseases.

事实表明，你买的昂贵的肥皂也可能只是浪费钱财。拉森的研究表明：在降低人们患感染性疾病的风险方面，抗菌皂和清洁产品并不比普通肥皂的效果更好。

The more you bathe, the thinner and less hydrated your skin becomes. Dry skin open up gaps for infection and causes germs to slip through. Washing can also strip your skin of its natural oils and may disrupt the immune system-supporting bacteria that live on your skin according to Dr. C. Brandon Mitchell, assistant professor of dermatology at George Washington University.

洗澡越频繁，你的皮肤就会越薄，水分也就越少。干燥的肌肤为感染打开大门，从而导致细菌趁虚而入。洗澡也会去除肌肤的天然油，有可能破坏栖息于皮肤之上的支持免疫系统的细菌，乔治华盛顿大学皮肤科副教授C·布兰登·米歇尔博士说道。

Both Mitchell and Larson recommend you don't use antibacterial soaps are particularly bad for stripping essential oils. Mitchell adds that: "Your body is naturally a well-oiled machine. A daily shower isn't necessary. The rest of your body doesn't need much soaping."

米歇尔和拉森都建议人们不要使用抗菌皂，因为它们很容易去除人体的必需油脂。米歇尔补充说："你的身体是一个天然产油的机器。每天洗澡并非必要之举。你身体的其它部位并不需要太多的肥皂。"

And when it comes to your hair, it's even less often. "Some people with a dry scalp and hair probably only need to lather it every few weeks. But even if you have dandruff or some other scalp issue that requires more frequent washing, a couple washes a week will suffice."

至于头发，那更不需要经常洗了。"那些发质头皮干燥的人只需要每隔几周洗一次就行了。但即使你有头皮屑或其它的头皮问题，需要经常洗头，那也只需要每周洗几次就行了。"

So, in terms of your health, you should probably only shower once or twice a week, in terms of how you look and smell might be a different story. A recent study showed that smelling bad was the biggest relationship deal-breaker.

所以，为了健康，或许你每周只应该洗一两次澡，但如果你想要看起来精神，闻起来芬芳，那就是另一回事了。最近的一项研究表明：难闻的味道是感情关系破裂的首要原因。