For people of urban Jakarta bathing with cool or even cold water is not a problem as the city is prone to high temperatures especially during the day. But how about the people of areas with low temperatures such as Puncak or other mountainous locations? Probably, most of them there instead own water heaters in their residences and warm water bath is instead their everyday choice. So is there specific benefits from bathing using warm water? Is it good to bathe with warm water daily? The following explains the benefits and risks associated with bathing with warm water.
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Warm water bath opens skin pores
When we soak in warm water, our skin pores will broaden and open up, facilitating easier detoxification for the body. On the contrary, as it becomes easier for toxins to be cleansed from the body, pore enlargement also makes it easy for outside toxins to enter the body. So, after bathing with warm water, it is best to wash our body with cool water afterwards to prevent toxins to enter through skin pores.
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Dissolves natural oils on the skin
Warm water can also cleanse the oils which are naturally secreted from our body through the skin, enabling more effective cleansing for the body. Yet, the body will still need these oils to a certain amunt to keep it from wrinkles and dryness.
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Impact on Sensitive Skin
For some people with sensitive skin, sometimes bathing with warm water can also result in red spots on their skin duet o their body responding to the water’s temperature being different to their normal skin temperature.
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Affecting Blood Flow
Warm water for bathing can improve blood flows in our body. But for some people with low blood pressure, bathing with warm water less frequently will be better as it will enlarge blood vessels around the skin and even lowers blood pressure. This is also true for people with high blood pressure as warm water bath can increase the heart’s work in pumping out blood.
In reality, although being comfortable and fun, warm water bath can also have some negative effects for our health. For safer warm water baths, use the right temperatured water, around 40 degree Celcius, do not bathe longer than 15 minutes, and wash the body with cool water after soaking. Even better, do not bathe with warm water daily.
