In case you’ve been living in a Hobbit hole, it’s hotter than a jalapeño’s armpit outside.
(If you have been living in a Hobbit hole, can we come over for elevensies?)
Things tend to get sticky when it’s hot: ice cream cones, leather car seats, your kid’s hands, the rice that always seems to burn to the bottom of the pot…
People also get sticky when it’s hot. Even if you don’t feel like you’re working that hard doing your normal daily activities, the heat plus increased humidity in the air make it more difficult for our sweat to evaporate and it ends up staying stuck to our skin. This sticky sweat traps skin’s natural bacteria, dirt, oils and other little odor-causing particulates we might not even notice. Sneaky little buggers! We don’t try to be sticky icky, it’s just molecular chemistry in action!
(Today’s science lesson brought to you by hydrogen bonding and EQ).
We’re not asking you to stop being active or doing your sporty thing, in fact many of our treatment plans encourage physical activity and include exercises. We’re just asking for a little bit of good hygiene and allowing yourself the time to clean up before your appointment if you’ve worked up a sweat.
If you can’t dip into the MAC club locker room before coming in (I heard they have some pretty nice shampoo in there), even a little “Backpacker’s shower,” using baby wipes, shows your provider a lot of courtesy.
Since we're awkwardly talking about bathing, you may be wondering "But what should I bathe in?"
While you may still love the scent of Acqua di Gio (I’m nostalgic for 1996 just thinking about it) many folks have allergies or sensitivities to strong fragrances, so we'd like to suggest something a little blander, a little more beige. We clean our treatment rooms and tables between every patient, but sometimes those scents will linger longer than a Midwestern Goodbye. Like your grandma said, “everything in moderation.” Taking Nana’s advice is better than using her perfume.
We strive to create a welcoming and comfortable experience for ALL our patients, and really appreciate your help in making this possible.
The TL;DR version:
Bathing with soap and water before appointments: Great!
Bathing in cologne before appointments: Not so great.