Personal Hygiene Tips for a Healthy Environment

People ask us for personal hygiene tips. Here are some tips that may be helpful. We understand that nobody likes to hear that they don't smell good. Please understand that these tips are never to frustrate you. We share these tips with you with love and kindness and hope they help make the world a little bit happier. Many people tell us that the following tips have made their lives happier, that people enjoy their company more, and that their relationships, personal and professional, have improved significantly.

• Make sure all clothing is freshly washed and being worn for the first time after washing.
• Shower with great smelling soap or body wash, shampoo, and conditioner.
• When showering, shampoo your hair with your favorite shampoo and conditioner, and wash your entire body with your favorite soap or body wash.
• Use great smelling deodorant after showering (Guys: Old Spice Leyenda Épica is sold in Colombia and is one good option for deodorant).
• After every meal, use dental floss, brush teeth, and gargle with mouth wash (Guys and Girls: Listerine Cool Mint is sold in Colombia and is one good option for mouth wash).
• Bring a personal hygiene kit with you, including deodorant, dental floss, toothpaste, and mouth wash. In Colombia, it is perfectly normal to apply deodorant, floss and brush your teeth, use mouth wash, etc. in a public restroom. Just be considerate of others and leave the space, including sinks and mirrors, as clean or cleaner than you found them.
• Bring a change of shirt and/or other clothing as necessary for classes, especially classes longer than one hour, and for going out social dancing. This may be especially helpful if you are getting acclimated to Colombian weather and/or sweat a lot. If you change your shirt and/or other clothing during or between classes and/or when out for social dancing, please have a sweat resistant bag (e.g., plastic bag) on hand to put your sweaty clothing in, place your sweaty clothing in your plastic bag, and store your plastic bag in your personal bag.
• Consider grooming your body at least once a month. Yes, it is normal, especially in Latin countries, to trim or remove your body hair on your entire body, not just your head. One key to reducing and eliminating body odor is trimming or removing hair on your arms, legs, arm pits, pelvic region, etc. You can trim body hair personally using an electric body groomer and/or professionally, such as at a professional spa in your area (Guys and Girls: should you wish to purchase an electric body groomer, which we recommend, the Wahl brand offers some generally higher quality options). Don't forget that the more you trim, the more it may be necessary to use sunblock to avoid sun damage to your skin.
• If it's likely you will sweat, consider wearing a shirt and/or other clothing that is designed to repel, not absorb sweat (e.g., Dri-FIT clothing). Dri-FIT technology uses polyester fabric designed to help keep you dry. It basically repels sweat, while clothing made of purely cotton and other matierals may absorb sweat and become wet and unpleasant during fitness activity.
• Consider bringing a small, freshly cleaned personal hand towel to dry your forehead, neck and other parts of your body that may come into contact with others. A used hand towel should of course be stored on your body (e.g., some people hang a hand towel from their belt or similar) or in a sweat resistant bag inside your personal bag, as suggested for already used, sweaty clothing.
• If you already did all of the above and have been out and about for the day (sweating, eating, etc.), please plan ahead to repeat these steps as necessary before taking a class and/or going out social dancing.