Good Personal Hygiene
Good hygiene is important in taking care of
yourself physically as well as emotionally.
People often have infections because they
don’t take good care of themselves
physically, which can lead to emotional
difficulties as well. To avoid physical
problems associated with poor hygiene,
consider the following ideas to keep yourself
clean:
Hair Care
Washing Your Hair. It’s so important to keep
your hair clean and conditioned to ensure it
stays healthy and strong. Washing your hair
at least every other day is important to
keeping your hair healthy and in good shape.
If you wash it too frequently, your hair will
become brittle and dry, making it difficult to
grow and keep strong. If you wash it too
infrequently, it will become greasy and will
also stunt its growth.
Washing your hair too frequently also strips
it of necessary nutrients required to keep it
strong and healthy. Conditioning your hair is
critical to keeping the nutrients within your
hair intact. Use a “leave-in” conditioner every
time you wash your hair. The long-lasting
conditioning agents will rebuild your hair
every time you use it.
Cutting Your Hair. Getting your hair cut
frequently is critical to healthy hair. The
longer you wait to get your hair cut, the more
frail and brittle your hair can become,
especially if it is longer.
The length of your hair will determine how
often you get your hair cut. If you are male,
or a female with a very short hairstyle,
getting your hair cut every six weeks is best
in order to keep it trim and neat, while
keeping it healthy as well. If you have longer
hair, you can go as long as 10 weeks without
a haircut, but try to get your hair cut at least
every 10 weeks. This will help keep your hair
strong, and if you are trying to grow your
hair, will enable your hair to grow more
quickly, because you will get rid of the dead,
dry ends and will enable the healthy part to
grow more effectively.
Dental Care
Going to the Dentist. The mouth is the area
of the body most prone to collecting harmful
bacteria and generating infections. In order to
have and maintain good oral hygiene, it is
critical to visit your dentist at least every six
months. In some cases, your dentist may
recommend every four months, depending on
how much tartar builds up on your teeth and
how often you need to have it removed. To
keep your teeth free from tartar build-up and
tooth decay, make sure you visit your dentist
as frequently as he or she recommends. This
will ensure your teeth and your mouth stay
healthy and strong.
Brushing Your Teeth. For best results, invest
in an electric toothbrush. Crest and Oral B
both make excellent electric toothbrushes
designed to clean your teeth and gums.
Regardless of the type of toothbrush you use,
make sure you brush your teeth at least two
times per day, if not after every meal. This
will help minimize the amount of bacteria in
your mouth which leads to tooth decay, and
will help you maintain a healthy, happy
smile.
Flossing Your Teeth. In addition to regular
brushing, it is critical to floss your teeth at
least once a day, usually before you go to
bed. This will enable you to reduce plaque in
the more difficult to reach places-between
teeth and at the back of your molars.
Flossing also keeps your gums healthy and
strong, and will help protect your mouth from
a variety of diseases that could eventually
cost you your teeth.
Physical Care
Cleanliness of Your Body. Taking a bath or
shower once daily is very important to
ensuring your body stays clean. Cleaning
your body is also important to ensure your
skin rejuvenates itself, as the scrubbing of
your arms, legs, and torso will slough off
dead, dry skin and help your skin stay
healthy and refreshed.
Shaving. In American culture, it is important
to remember that shaving is a critical part of
cleanliness. For men, shaving the face
enables it to stay cleaner and is a more
acceptable hygienic practice, especially for
those who work in corporate America. For
women, shaving the legs and under the arms
also keeps the body cleaner, with less places
for bacteria to grow.
Washing Your Face. It is important to wash
your face at least once a day to remove all
dirt and grime that you have come in contact
with during the course of the day. This will
keep your face freer from wrinkles and
pimples, which are the result of clogged
pores. Using some sort of moisturizer will
also ensure your face stays rejuvenated and
fresh.
Trimming Your Nails. Keeping your nails
trimmed and in good shape is also important
in maintaining good health. Going to a
professional to learn proper nail care will
help you get on the right track to trimming
your fingernails as well as toenails. Proper
trimming techniques will also help you avoid
hangnails and infected nail beds.
Washing Your Hands
Before Meals. It’s important to have clean
hands before you sit down to eat. Washing
with hot water and soap will clean your
hands so that they do not carry bacteria to
your family and friends as you pass the
bread!
After Restroom Use. To ensure you don’t
carry fecal or other bacteria to other parts of
the body or to other individuals, you will want
to wash your hands after every time you use
the restroom. Make sure you wash your
hands immediately afterward-don’t touch
your nose or mouth to avoid unnecessary
illness.
Before Preparing Food. Washing your hands
before you prepare food is very important to
ensure you don’t spread bacteria to your
food. Wash them with hot, soapy water for at
least 2 minutes before you begin working
with food, particularly poultry or red meat.
This will keep your food free from bacteria,
and will ensure your food is healthy to serve
once it’s cooked!
After Preparing Food. Again, washing your
hands for at least 2 minutes with hot, soapy
water after you have prepared food (and
before serving) will ensure you don’t carry
bacteria with you, thus potentially infecting
you or others.
Good hygienic habits are easy to begin and
maintain. Starting with a few of these ideas
will help you start on your way to developing
good hygiene for both you and your family.