During the weeks between baths, the Victorian lady would wash off with a sponge soaked in cool water and vinegar. Women were advised to dilute pure ammonia in warm water and then massage it through the scalp and hair, like modern shampoo.

Other hair-washing methods included vinegar, rosemary water, nettles, mint, thyme and several other herbs. During the Renaissance period, women in Italy washed their hair with lye soap, and then used bacon fat and licorice to condition their hair.

Great Britain has the lowest rate of showering per week, at 83 percent. However, the English do love their baths: they have the most baths out of every country, with 32 percent of people bathing each week. Germany comes at a far second, at just 20 percent.

The same study showed Brazilians, on average, shower for 10.3 minutes a time. Americans spend 9.9 minutes under the water, us Brits 9.6 minutes, and the Germans half a minute less….

“Humans tend to perspire at night,” Dr. Goldenberg said. “When you wake up in the morning, there’s all this sweat and bacteria from the sheets that’s just kind of sitting there on your skin.” So take a quick shower in the morning, he said, “to wash all of that gunk and sweat off that you’ve been sleeping in all night.”

“Some adults who go longer than 3-4 days between showers run the risk of accumulating patches of dark, scaly skin, especially in oily areas, and an accumulation of ‘bad’ bacteria which can lead to fungal or bacterial infections,” adds Dr.

Luckily, our body remarkably withholds its own secret: the innate ability to cleanse itself. Due to the high concentrations of chlorine in water, lengthy showers produce an unhealthy drying effect which irritates your supple skin.

The benefit of a water rinse is that your skin won’t dry out, and this can help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, says Kally Papantoniou, MD, a New York-based dermatologist. Try washing with a mild cleanser in the evening to remove your makeup and simply splashing your face with water in the mornings.)

eye

Here are seven areas of your body that don’t need to be cleaned as often as you think, according to experts.

• Ear Canal. Ashley Batz/Bustle. Most people use cotton swabs to clean out their ears, but the consensus of physicians is that this act can cause more harm than good.
• Eyes. SolisImages/fotolia.
• Colon. petzshadow/fotolia.

• Dirty State Index: 14.13. Oregon. iStock.
• Dirty State Index: 15.91. Nevada. Shutterstock.
• Dirty State Index: 18.19. Hawaii. Shutterstock.
• Dirty State Index: 20.27. Washington. Shutterstock.
• Dirty State Index: 22.29. Arizona.
• Dirty State Index: 24.10. Connecticut.
• Dirty State Index: 26.65. Alaska.
• Dirty State Index: 34.43. North Carolina.