From Chill to Thrill- Are Cold Showers Good for Your Skin?

You know whenever I feel tired or a bit low, I just take a shower. It helps me freshen up my mood and relax my body. Have you tried this thing? I am sure, many of you already have. Isn’t this an amazing trick?

Hot showers help in relaxing our muscles and body. Cold showers are more cooling and soothing. Both can be used for relaxation. So, which one should one choose? Actually, cold temperatures help improve circulation and hot temperatures help with muscle relaxation. Here, I’ll tell you about the cold showers.

You Should Know How to Take a Cold Shower

Since it is sometimes a shocker, try to gradually get in by moving the temperature from high to low so that your body doesn’t jerk suddenly. When you start with cold showers for the first time your body will not be able to take it for long. So, I suggest you start with smaller durations and eventually increase as the body adapts to the temperature.

Another hack is alternating between hot and cold showers, and repeating the cycle 2-3 times while ending it with cold.

I’ll Tell You the Benefits of a Cold Shower

You won’t believe that a cold shower can help you in several ways. I am telling you this from my personal experience.

1. Improving Circulation

You know that feeling when you step in for a cold shower. You feel chilly even before the first drop falls on you and you’re just mentally preparing yourself to step inside.

So, once you are under the cold water flowing down your body you feel a typical high. There is a plunge feeling that makes you get out of it as soon as possible. Do you know what that is?

Well, it’s the circulation that gets super pumped and increases the flow of blood throughout your body even all extremities. Earlier I used to have inflammation issues and my doctor suggested to take cold showers. And you know what, it helped. Not only inflammation, it also helps in cardiovascular diseases in people suffering from hypertension.

All you have to do now is resist the urge to step out quickly, stay a little longer enjoy the water, and let it improve your circulation.

The Icy Whiz team talked to Chris Smith, a Holistic Wellness Coach at Coldture, about various health benefits of cold showers and their impact on lifestyle. Here is what he said:

“It’s no wonder why daily cold exposure has gone viral over the past year. From improved mental resiliency, and enhanced recovery and sleep, to increased energy & well-being, something as simple as spending 3-minutes in a cold shower can have profound benefits.

These benefits aside, daily cold exposure is a great way to train the body and mind toward embracing difficulty and building grit. These traits carry over to increased confidence and a winning mentality that can last throughout the day.

As for my own experience, daily cold showers have helped me increase and sustain high training volume, in terms of the number of sessions per week, and absolute load per session.

For example, one day of training might consist of sprinting and plyometrics in the morning, followed by Olympic weightlifting and barbell strength training in the evening. It’s days like this where I benefit the most from incorporating cold showers into my routine.

After completing my morning training session, It’s not uncommon for me to feel tired and sore, my limbs to feel heavy, and to catch myself wondering “How am I going to complete a second session?”

These physical sensations and self-doubt are erased after I have at least 3-minutes of cold exposure.

My soreness goes away. The cold effectively reduces my inflammation. I feel incredibly refreshed and energized throughout the day to take on my second training session in the evening. It’s as if I hadn’t even trained in the morning. Ice baths provide me with a complete reset.

Research suggests that this has to do with the alternation between vasoconstriction and vasodilation during and after the cold exposure, which promotes better circulation, aiding in the flushing out of metabolic waste.”

2. Softer Skin and Shinier Hair

When I started having regular cold showers, I noticed changes in my hair and skin too. My hair became softer and shiner and my complexion was better and even more glossy. If you feel your skin is brittle or your hair is thinning a lot, then it is time to turn down the temperature of your shower.

Cold water basically closes your pores, thus preventing unwanted dust and bacteria from entering the skin. It also helps reduce inflammation and redness in the skin and gives it a healthy glow.

Hot water leads to the removal of the body’s natural lubricant that acts as protection for your skin and hair. But, washing your hair with cold water makes them stronger and healthier as it tightens the cuticles thus strengthening them.

3. Boost Weight Loss

The weight loss journey for everyone is a difficult path and we are always looking for some hacks that can help in making it a little easier.

So, cold showers are your answer. It is believed that cold showers help you in weight loss. I am not saying just for the sake of it. I have experienced the changes in my body. I started having cold showers regularly and believe me, I felt my gastrointestinal system was also healing.

I consulted this with my doctor. He explained to me giving an example- some fat cells like brown fat generate heat by burning fats, this is achieved when your body is exposed to cold showers. He said that taking regular cold showers at least 2 to 3 times a week reduces obesity.

Olivar Brandrup, Director of SEO at Neurogan, talked to the Icy Whiz team about the potential benefits of incorporating cold showers. Here is what he had to say:

“The supposed benefits of cold showers are debated at length. The jury’s always out on some of their proponents’ claimed benefits: better circulation and an enhanced immune system.

At Neurogan, where wellness is our mantra, we also do cold showers and have noted their potential benefits firsthand.

Cold showers, however painful they might be, are invigorating and can help with the body, perhaps with circulation since the blood would move to internal organs to maintain core body temperature.

The cold shower not only helps in flushing out toxins, but this type of reaction helps strengthen the vascular system.

Furthermore, it is believed that the cold water shock will boost the defense system by creating more white blood cells. We have found that taking cold showers every day has been good for us.

To keep myself healthy, I now take a cold shower first thing in the morning. It wakes me up and gives me more energy.”

4. Calms Itchy Skin

Obviously, the comfort of a hot shower can not be compared to that of a cold shower. That said I would like to state another benefit of cold showers. If your skin feels itchy, cold water helps you soothe it by reducing the itchy sensation and even for skin conditions like Eczema, cold water is preferred over hot water.

This is because hot water showers can wash off the protective bodily oils from the skin’s surface. Due to the high temperature, the flow to the dermis also increases which in turn affects the nerve endings that will increase the itchy sensation.

5. Boosting your Immune System and Improving Mental Health

This comes as a shocker, isn’t it? Cold showers are not just good for your skin but for your whole body internally and externally.

I feel a different level of energy after having a cold shower. Actually, you are invigorated this leads to an increase in your productivity and even your immune system. I’ll explain the science behind this,

• Cold showers are a sudden shock for the body in the morning this leads to vasoconstriction, which eventually leads to a sudden increase in the blood flow to all the organs and the skin.
• It helps you to breathe better and deeper, increasing the intake of oxygen in the process, and increasing heart rate and adrenaline release. This leads to increased energy, increased metabolism, and a clear lift in your mental sharpness.
• Increased blood circulation forces the lymph vessels to contract and release which pumps fluid at a higher rate and helps in the removal of toxins.
• It also increases the production of immune cells which help to fight off normal infections like colds and flu and basically kickstarts your immune system working as well as development.

We interviewed Shenella Karunaratne, Licensed Professional Counselor, OnlineMFTPrograms.com, on the mental health benefits of cold showers. Here is an excerpt from the interview:

“When it comes to the mental health benefits of showers, I think that just depends on the person more than anything else. I know some people who swear by cold showers because they help them to feel more alert and focused, helping mitigate feelings of depression or sadness.

I dislike cold showers because they make me physically jittery due to the cold which in turn makes me feel more anxious. So, it just depends on the person. It’s worth trying out to see if it’s something that benefits you.”

If you’re sick or you’re feeling cold it is clearly advised not to take a cold shower as this can worsen the situation. The cold water temperature will not help your body temperature to rise and you will feel more cold.

Otherwise, I suggest you start taking cold showers regularly to experience the above mentioned benefits.

Guest Author: Saket Kumar

Last Updated on May 27, 2024 by Pragya