Today is the second of a two-part series on taking care of personal hygiene. This is an issue that a lot of young people, wanting to make a good impression on the world around them, need to know about. This last post, carrying on from where the team at Lifehacker left us yesterday, deals specifically with showering, oral hygiene and some other tidbits. Like yesterday, we hope you find them beneficial.

How to Shower Properly

Showers are ubiquitous because they are essential to both cleanliness and health. They’re also fairly straightforward: acquire soap, rub it on yourself under running water. Simple, right? Well, there are still a few other things to keep in mind. For starters, the order in which you wash yourself in can matter a lot. Start by allowing water to run over for a couple minutes. Warm water can make it easier to remove dirt and residue. Make sure it isn’t super hot, which can dry out your skin.

As we established earlier, you should do any shaving towards the end of your shower. Washing your face should also come towards the end, as this is the area that most benefits from being run under warm water. Of course, all this waiting around may start to feel comfortable, but don’t dawdle too long… Spending more than 10 to 15 minutes or so in the shower can start to strip away healthy oils and damage your skin more than it helps.

You also need to take care of your out-of-the-shower habits. As Women’s Health Magazine points out, you could be making things worse if you don’t clean your washcloth or loofah regularly:

Washcloths and loofahs can harbor bacteria, mold, and yeast, says dermatologist Joel Schlessinger, M.D. If you use a loofah, make sure you replace it at least once a month. Schlessinger says the best way to keep loofahs clean is to dry them completely between uses—even if that means storing it outside of the moisture-filled shower. If you prefer washcloths, grab a fresh one every day, and avoid using it on your face. This is very irritating to the skin and ends up causing dry areas, breakouts, and even sores, says Schlessinger, who recommends washing your face with your hands instead.

Your towels should get cleaned fairly regularly as well. In addition, try to experiment with different soaps, shampoos and conditioners to find the right ones for you.

How to Brush Your Teeth Correctly

Your teeth are more complex to clean than most parts of your body, and more painful if you don’t. Decaying teeth can be agonizing. It doesn’t take much time, but it’s easy to get it wrong. Just sliding a toothbrush over the outside of your teeth for ten seconds won’t help you much… You can divide your mouth into four sections (bottom left-right, and top left-right), and spend about 30 seconds on each.

You also need to follow up brushing your teeth with flossing. Flossing is the process of placing dental string between your teeth and dislodging any bits of food or gunk that may be stuck, as well as sliding it across your teeth to remove any residue on the surfaces.

  1. Wind: Wind 46 centimeters of floss around middle fingers of each hand. Pinch floss between thumbs and index fingers, leaving a two and a half to five centimetre length in between. Use thumbs to direct floss between upper teeth.
  2. Guide: Keep a two and a half to five centimeter length of floss taut between fingers. Use index fingers to guide floss between contacts of the lower teeth.
  3. Glide: Gently guide floss between the teeth by using a zig-zag motion. DO NOT SNAP FLOSS BETWEEN YOUR TEETH. Contour floss around the side of the tooth.
  4. Slide: Slide floss up and down against the tooth surface and under the gum line. Floss each tooth thoroughly with a clean section of floss.

Flossing isn’t just for those popcorn kernels between your teeth, either. In fact, it’s one of the best things you can do to fight bad breath (if that isn’t a motivator, I don’t know what is). While you’re at it, pay attention to your tongue too. The tongue is an often-neglected part of oral care, but your tongue houses bacteria that causes bad breath. Tongue scrapers can scrub the bacteria hiding on your tongue away and help reduce bad breath. Many cheap toothbrushes include tongue scrapers on the backs of their heads that you can use if you don’t want to buy yet another accessory.

The Miscellaneous Essentials

There’s almost no limit to the amount of extra stuff you can use on your body to keep it clean, smelling nice, or squeeze out that extra little bit of beauty. Some things are necessary, others are superfluous. Here are some of the things you should consider adding to your repertoire:

  • Deodorant: The basic function of deodorant is to combat the funk that your body starts to emit when too much bacteria builds up on your skin. Which brand you buy doesn’t matter much and they mostly only differ by scent. Though you may want to consider unscented deodorant, as your personal scent can actually be an important part in your romantic endeavors. For best effect, apply the antiperspirant at night.
  • Mouth wash: If you practice proper oral care, mouth wash shouldn’t totally be a necessity, but it can’t hurt. It helps to eliminate extra bacteria and can help fight cavities. Just make sure you don’t use it as a replacement for brushing or to mask bad breath. Only solving the underlying problems will actually help.
  • Perfume/cologne: Using an artificial scent is largely a matter of personal preference. For some it can be attractive, others can use too much and make it off putting. If you want to try experimenting with perfumes and colognes, start by learning how much is too much.

You can find all manner of ways to improve your appearance and hygiene if you look hard enough, but don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by fancy products or claims of super, scientifically-advanced chemicals that will make you more attractive. The basics are still the most important: clean yourself regularly, groom your hair neatly, and if you decide to augment your natural scent, do so lightly and with restraint.