Personal Hygiene For Teens

Personal Hygiene is important for everyone. When you are old or young.

When you are very young, your caregiver will take care of your hygiene needs such as changing your nappy, bathing you and helping you to brush your teeth.

As you get older and start to grow up, you will do this more for yourself without your carer helping you.

It is important to keep yourself clean for lots of reasons; it helps to keep you healthy, helps to prevent illness and generally makes you feel better and more confident.

As you grow into a teenager you may notice that your body gets more sweaty, your hair may get greasy and you will need to shower and wash your hair more frequently.

Here is a checklist to follow every day.

• Clean your teeth twice every day. You may have an electric toothbrush or prefer to use a non-electric toothbrush. Apply toothpaste and clean your teeth in the morning, it would be better to clean them after you have eaten your breakfast.
• Clean again at night time just before you go to bed.
• Keeping your teeth clean will help you to have fresh clean breath and help to reduce cavities and plaque.
• It is important to take a shower or bath once a day, you may need to do this twice a day as you grow into a teenager.
• Wash your whole body – you can use a sponge or flannel to help you reach all the body parts.
• Make showering or taking a bath part of your daily routine and enjoy it.
• A warm bath or shower before going to bed may help you to relax and sleep better.
• Make sure you pay more attention to washing the areas of your body that can get sweaty and smelly.
• Wash underneath your armpits, wash your bottom and genitals using a gentle soap. Don’t forget to wash your feet and between your toes and dry yourself thoroughly afterwards.

You may have hair that needs to be washed more frequently – either daily or every 2-3 days. Use a shampoo that suits your hair type, and a conditioner to help keep your hair in good condition or to help with tangles.