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Six Shower Mistakes That Damage Your Skin...#6 May Surprise You!

Here are six tips to keep your skin itch-free, flake-free and moist.

1. Ditch the loofa in favor of an old-fashioned washcloth. Loofas can harbor so much bacteria and fungi that they should be dried outside of the shower between uses and, even with the best care, be discarded after one month. Symptoms caused by a contaminated loofa include itchy skin and rashes.

2. Sing shorter songs. For healthier skin, your shower water should be slightly warmer than your body temperature and last 10 minutes or less. Any longer or warmer causes skin dehydration that you naturally experience after showering to become more severe.

3. Don't overdose on bubbles. Most ingredients that make soaps and shower gels produce a lot of lather not only rob your skin of moisture, but also hamper this organ's ability to prevent further dehydration throughout the day.

4. Wash your face at the sink and not the shower. This allows you to use cool water to protect against irritating, drying and possibly damaging delicate facial skin.

5. Don't exfoliate your body more than twice a week. More frequent exfoliation can irritate your skin. Make sure to use a light touch too!

6. Three-minute rule! Within three minutes of showering, your skin will begin to lose essential moisture. To prevent dry, irritated skin, towel-pat your skin to remove excess moisture and then apply body lotion while it's still damp.