The average American spends 16 minutes in the shower. Dermatologists say five to ten is the max. An environmental scientist says three. No one will agree on this article.According to a Harris Poll survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults, Americans average 16.1 minutes per shower, and Gen Z stretches that to 21 minutes. A third of Americans regularly stay in for more than 15 minutes. Dr. Nada Elbuluk, a professor of clinical dermatology at the University of Southern California, told HuffPost that five to ten minutes in warm water is enough for most people, and those with dry skin or eczema should aim closer to five. Long, hot showers strip away natural oils and can mess with the skin’s microbiome, so the thing that feels great at the end of a long day is also the thing your skin would very much like you to stop doing.Environmental scientist Dr. Pablo Pereira-Doel is even less generous. He told the Daily Mail that three minutes is enough for washing your body, with another two if you’re doing your hair.The Ideal Shower Length Is Much Shorter Than Most Americans ThinkHis research also gets at why people stay in there so long in the first place. “Over four in 10 showers in our sample were taken for reasons unrelated to hygiene—relaxation, self-care, warming up on a cold morning,” he said. “When a shower is doing that job, its length isn’t a decision anyone is consciously making.” That feels a lot closer to reality than pretending everyone is in there conducting an efficient hygiene operation. For many people, the shower is where the phone is gone, nobody’s talking to you, and the door is closed. Sixteen minutes of bliss.Water quality matters, too. Pereira-Doel found that people in soft-water areas stayed in the shower about 20% longer. His theory is a simple one. Shampoo lathers better, rinses more easily, and the shower just feels nicer. Low water pressure can keep people in there for the opposite reason because rinsing takes forever. Evening and weekend showers also usually go longer than morning ones, when most people are trying to get out the door.Medical experts generally recommend focusing soap on the places that need it most: armpits, groin, feet, and face. The rest of the body usually doesn’t need as much scrubbing. Research also suggests a second shampoo isn’t necessary every time, though people with oily hair, heavy product buildup, or a first wash that barely lathers might find it helps.Most Americans probably aren’t getting their shower down to three minutes. Five might even be ambitious. But cutting a few minutes off 16 might not be an insane idea. The post This Is How Long Your Shower Should Actually Be, According to Experts appeared first on VICE.