Understanding the Importance of Personal Hygiene

From our hair to our hands and teeth, maintaining good personal hygiene is essential to our health and wellbeing. Find out how to maintain good hygiene within the whole family and the way it can benefit your wellbeing.

Hands

Our hands can come into contact with many different germs and bacteria so it’s vital that we wash them regularly throughout the day to keep them clean. Hand washing is particularly essential after using the bathroom, coughing or sneezing, changing a nappy, using public transport or before preparing and eating food. NHS guidelines advise washing your hands with soap thoroughly under warm water for at least 20 seconds. Take care to rub across the knuckles, in between the fingers and across the palms.

Top tip: Why not make up a song to make hand washing fun for children? This will also remind little ones of how long it should take.

Hair

Washing your hair with a shampoo removes grease and oil from the scalp and can also help to care for scalp conditions such as dandruff. It also keeps the hair smelling fresh and looking soft and healthy. The frequency you wash your hair is dependent on your hair texture and length; if you have oilier, finer hair you may need to wash it every day to keep it looking clean, while thicker, drier hair may only need to be washed a couple of times a week. Dry shampoos are also a good way of freshening up the hair and removing the look of grease from the roots when you don’t have time for a full wash and blow-dry.

Body

A morning shower is a great way to start the day as it helps to wake you up and remove sweat and impurities from the body. You should also take a shower after vigorous exercise or any activity that makes you perspire. If old sweat is left on the body, it can create skin conditions such as body acne and also leave body odour. It’s also advisable to cleanse use a shower gel or body wash as water alone doesn’t always cleanse the skin effectively.

Sanex Expert Skin Health + Micellar Hypoallergenic captures impurities from the skin while maintaining its natural protective barrier, while Sanex Expert Skin Health for Kids Head to Toe Wash gently cleanses children’s delicate skin without drying it out. Adults can then follow a shower with an anti-perspirant to control sweat and stay smelling good throughout the day.

Clothes

Body odour, dirt, food, and pets can all make our clothes smell less than fresh so they need to be washed regularly and dried thoroughly. You also need to wash your clothes after exercise or any time when you have sweated a lot as body odour clings to fabric until it is washed with detergent. Try to make sure you wear freshly laundered clothes after a shower to stay smelling great all day long.

Top tip: Air heavier items like coats and jumpers outside to rid them of stubborn smells such as smoke and food.

Mouth and teeth

Our mouths can say a lot about our internal health and are also one of the first things many people notice about us. It’s essential that adults and children brush their teeth twice a day, in the morning and before bed, to remove food and plaque from the teeth and gums – a common cause of gum disease. Not only will this keep your mouth clean and hygienic but it will also keep your breath smelling fresh. You can also follow with a mouth wash but if you still feel that your breath smells unpleasant, you should visit your dentist. It could be due to an infection, gum disease or digestive problem.

Maintaining good personal hygiene not only keeps us healthy but is essential to our overall well being, improving our confidence and self-worth. Teaching children how to care for themselves from a young age also instils independence and the importance of hygiene in all areas of their lives.