Proper personal hygiene is essential to make us feel clean, fresh, and take good care of our skin. That’s why people buy all kinds of fancy body cleaning products, with rejuvenating properties, fragrances, and other substances that help maintain a healthy-looking body. But the number one goal of personal hygiene is to keep the body free of germs and avoid potential health problems, such as infections.
The question is: are you truly aware of how to properly wash your body? All the nooks and crannies? You might think you do, but the truth is that most people’s body cleaning routine has at least one minor flaw. Fortunately, fixing these flaws is relatively easy. So, neglecting the hygiene of some parts of your body has no reason to exist.
Here are 5 body parts you’ve probably been cleaning wrong your whole life (and how to clean them right):
1. Belly button
Of course, starting with the belly button is needed. Perhaps the most ignored body part of all time when it comes to cleaning. You see, a regular shower is not enough to properly clean the belly button – it must be cleaned carefully at least once a week in a very specific manner. The concave physiognomy of the belly button makes it a place favorable to the deposit of germs. According to The Belly Button Biodiversity Project, a study that analyzed the belly button of 60 volunteers, there can be up to 2,368 bacteria species living in that small space. That’s because its irregularity makes it difficult to clean every corner without some serious effort. From now on, you should use a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol to clean your belly button. Once it is completely clean, grab a new cotton swab and use it to absorb the excess alcohol left in your belly button. Do this process once or twice per week. Additional tip: since many people have a piercing in the belly button, it’s also worth teaching how to take care of piercings and clean them properly. Grab a glass and fill half of it with warm water and add ¼ teaspoon of sea salt to create a saline solution. Afterward, press the glass against your stomach so that the belly button region is covered in water and hold it tight to soak your piercing for about 10 minutes.
