Developing good personal hygiene habits helps you stay clean and minimize perspiration and body odor. Washing your hands properly helps prevent infection and illness, explains the MayoClinic.com. Taking care of your teeth and gums reduces your risk of developing cavities and gingivitis. Teaching children to pay attention to their personal hygiene from a young age can help encourage healthy habits throughout their teen years and adult lives.
Step 1
Shower daily. Wash your body with a mild soap, paying close attention to areas that have a tendency to perspire a lot, such as your underarms, feet and groin.
Step 2
Wash your hair with warm water. Lather the shampoo on your scalp with your fingertips. If you have dry hair, you may only need to shampoo every other day or even less.
Step 3
Apply an antiperspirant or deodorant to your underarms if you have a tendency to sweat or if you notice body odor. Antiperspirants help block the sweat glands, while deodorants minimize the smell. Some products contain both an antiperspirant and a deodorant.
Step 4
Wear clean clothes to minimize body odor and bacteria on your skin. Loose clothes made of natural fibers, such as cotton, help absorb sweat and reduce body odor, explains Kids Health.
Step 5
Wash your hands with soap and warm running water after cooking, eating, using the bathroom, touching an animal, treating a wound or touching garbage or anything that might harbor germs, such as a sick person’s bedding, explains the MayoClinic.com.
Lather your hands for at least 20 seconds. Make sure to wash all the way up to your wrists and under your fingernails.
Step 6
Brush your teeth at least twice a day with a toothpaste that contains fluoride to help prevent cavities, recommends Kids Health. It is best to brush after every meal if possible. Brush the inside and outside of your teeth, as well as your gums, tongue and the roof of your mouth. You should brush for two to three minutes, according to Kids Health.
Step 7
Floss your teeth at least twice a day after brushing to clean between your teeth and remove any stuck food particles. Insert the floss carefully in each space between your teeth. Use a back-and-forth motion to clean them, recommends Kids Health. Floss along the backside of your teeth by curving the floss around while between your teeth.
Things You'll Need
- Mild soap
- Shampoo
- Antiperspirant/deodorant
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrush
- Floss
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