Why do steam rooms add moisture to your skin / body but hot showers dry you out?
I think we can hold temperature constant assuming that is a factor, especially since a cold(er) shower won’t dry you out as much. Pretty sure steam rooms and the hot showers that would dry you out are in the same neighborhood, temp wise.
My skin is always glowing, plump, radiant after a good steam session but super dry after a similarly-temperatured hot shower.
In: Biology
The difference is soap.
Try showering without soap/shampoo for a week or two. I did it once, and after a couple of days feeling disgusting, things got much better. Skin and hair were as moist as ever. No creams or anything involved. Just water and deodorant.
I eventually gave in to my desire for a good soapy cleaning, and I haven’t tried again since. But I’m not sure why.
A hot shower will wash away the moisturizing oils in your skin through the (relatively) large volumes of water flowing over your skin. A steam room/sauna doesn’t interact with the oils like that, so you get the heat treatment without the washing effect.
Latest Answers