In the western world we have grown accustomed to certain things in our daily lives.  One of them is, hot showers.  But recently  a common thread was noticed among those who last into their hundreds. They typically take cold showers or baths on a daily basis.  So what does this do to your skin and body exactly?

When cold water first hits your skin, capillaries near the surface open, this draws blood out from the deeper parts of your body into the extremities to warm them up. After about 5-7 minutes of exposure to the cold shower the capillaries will contract and the blood flows back into the deeper parts of your system. 9-11 minutes seems to be the approximate time level before this cold starts to have a negative impact on the health of your body. Of course, if you have are a CrossFitter, athlete, or an avid fitness professional, you could last longer without harmful effects.

As you know, tossing cold water on someone in bed quickly wakes up the senses.  Just splashing cold water on your face in the warning does this on a very small level. Along with the rush of blood comes a burst of heat which makes your skin rosy pink. You also save time because you take cold showers exponentially faster than hot ones! Here are some quick bullet points on the positive skin attributes this has:

• Rids the skin of toxins
• Keeps the pores of your skin tighter which prevents the absorption of soaps and chemicals from your shower products.
• It’s proven for anti-aging by keeping your skin tight, elastic and vibrant.
• When the skin’s oils are washed away, our body needs to produce more oil. Cold water flushes away toxins from the skin and results in improved skin tone, and can make our skin softer, radiant and smooth. This also reduces swelling and appearance of dark circles under the eyes.

So why not give a cold shower a try?  Shake up your morning routine and see the results in days!!