Cold Shower Challenge

Buzzfeed posted this video a while back about a cold shower challenge that sparked my curiosity. The link is at the bottom of the page. In this challenge there was one man and one woman and they both had to take a cold shower for 30 days and recorded their experiences. After 30 days, they claimed they had more energy, their hair started looking better, skin looked better, and overall, they felt better. The man said that he started craving cold showers and the woman said that although she liked the results, she never got used to it.

After going deeper into others’ experiences, I noticed a pattern. Men loved it, Women didn’t. That was discouraging, however I was still inspired to try nonetheless! It’s kind of like climbing Mount Everest, not a fun experience but at least you get a story out of it! Ok not really like Mount Everest but when it's 20 degrees outside and you’re naked in a cold shower, it feels that miserable.

Men-having talked with several friends who practice this and after reading about other’s experiences, it seems that all guys end up loving the process in the end although the first few days are rough. My suggestion would be to give it a shot. They also all claimed to have better skin and more energy.

My discoveries.

Men love cold showers more than women because they don’t have to be in the shower as long as us.

Makes sense right? I mean washing our hair alone is usually double a man’s entire shower time. Then we have to shave our legs, armpits, and anywhere else excessive hair grows, all while cold wet hair is plastered against our backs. Then we typically loofa it up with fancy smelling soaps and make sure we are clean from top to bottom. Essentially-we have more tasks to do in the shower than men, exposing us to the cold water much longer.

"So, how do I do the challenge without hating my life?" You may ask...

If you’re washing off after a workout which is my go to move, dealing with the shock of

jumping into a cold shower is manageable. However, if you’re taking a real shower with a full hair washing cycle and shaving? You may want to modify as I did. If you don’t, you will slice your legs open from the mass amounts of goosebumps that block your razor.

Turn the water to lukewarm, right to where it's warm enough that you won’t get Goosebumps, but cold enough that turning the temperature down will not shock your system. Now is the time to shave your legs and wash your hair. Once you are as hairless as you desire, turn that water to cold and condition your hair, wash your body and then rinse off. You will still get the benefits of the cold shower while making it a fair deal more tolerable.

Did I actually see the benefits? For sure!

Cold showers definitely woke me up and gave me a burst of energy. That energy lasted maybe an hour or two but honestly it was enough to kick start my day and get me up and going. There were a couple of times i jumped in when I was really sleepy in the middle of the day or to wash off post workout and it did the trick. This part alone makes it worthwhile.

I’ve been having problems with my skin the last year due to hormonal imbalances and while the challenge did not necessarily help my facial acne, I found that the minor acne that would occur on my shoulders cleared up after a couple weeks.

Most women who completed this challenge, saw a change in their hair. I however did not BUT that may be because I try to only wash my hair as need. Excessive washing of your hair, or any skin for that matter, can strip it of its oils and triggers your body to produce more natural oil or “sebum.” I’ll write a post on excessive showering later. But since I only wash my hair 2ish times a week and use a deep conditioning treatment when I do, I may not be the best candidate to preach on the benefits of cold showering on your hair.

I would definitely suggest this challenge and several of my clients have reported back to me that they’ve been doing it and absolutely love it.

So if you’re feeling brave, go forth and cold shower!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl6uYZrBdW4

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