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How often should you bathe/shower?
Replies
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Diatonic12 wrote: »If you work in a hospital situation and especially now, they use soap and water every day. They drop their clothes on the floor and make a run for the shower the minute they hit the door of their homes. They do it for their family. Some of them use betadine soap or something similar on a daily basis. Betadine is quite mild for most people in a medical professional situation.
I'm washing my hands with soap and water, I'm using soap in the shower. After I run errands, shopping and taking care of seniors, I drop my clothes at the door and run for the shower. I'm using soap from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. Your mileage may vary.
Wildlife, animals and birds have meticulous grooming habits. They're actually very clean. It's so sweet the way they look after one another.
I dont think anyone suggested not using soap for handwashing (unless you have an allergy, I guess ,and then you find a soap alternative)
and obviously hospital situation is different - thats basically what I said before - depends on your personal self and your personal circumstances; occupation, obviously being one such circumstance.
Your post, along with your previous Bill cartoon, seemed to be imply we should all do that so 'we do it for our family' - when, depending on ourselves and our circumstances, no, not neccesarily
One could also argue, in Australia like California and other places, that one should be water conservation aware for our family and our community.9 -
For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.1 -
For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.
If you need to shower to clean one of the areas I think you're talking about, I hope you clean your shower with bleach after every use.
Perhaps it's a difference in diet or gut biome, but personally I find toilet paper to be sufficient to remove any visible or smellable particles.5 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.
If you need to shower to clean one of the areas I think you're talking about, I hope you clean your shower with bleach after every use.
Perhaps it's a difference in diet or gut biome, but personally I find toilet paper to be sufficient to remove any visible or smellable particles.
Bleach? I'm not THAT stinky. 3 -
For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.
well, post is bit coy so not sure exactly where you are talking about
we are all adults so I am going to use clear language......
Ive never found people's genital areas (either my own or other people's when I used to shower people in the community who showered 2 or 3 times a week) to become stinky after not showering for one day.
If that is so, you might have an infection of some sort.
have also found wiping with toilet paper after bowel actions to be sufficient - I guess people with incontinence issues might not find that, but am assuming that is not most of us.
and anyway many of the non daily shower takers were still washing on the non shower days - what we used to call top and tail- ie your face and your genital and bottom area and probably under your arm pits.
You can do that without having a full shower or bath.
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paperpudding wrote: »For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.
well, post is bit coy so not sure exactly where you are talking about
we are all adults so I am going to use clear language......
Ive never found people's genital areas (either my own or other people's when I used to shower people in the community who showered 2 or 3 times a week) to become stinky after not showering for one day.
If that is so, you might have an infection of some sort.
have also found wiping with toilet paper after bowel actions to be sufficient - I guess people with incontinence issues might not find that, but am assuming that is not most of us.
and anyway many of the non daily shower takers were still washing on the non shower days - what we used to call top and tail- ie your face and your genital and bottom area and probably under your arm pits.
You can do that without having a full shower or bath.
LOL yeah. Basically the genitals and buttockular region.
I don't shower every day either. I use toilet tissue after both peeing and bms with the extra baby wipe since sometimes my bowel movements are a bit soft and hard to clean. Maybe I just don't feel "fresh" this way without the soap? I was actually wondering if you could use dry shampoo to help clean but a quick google search said no. 0 -
oh ok - and sure, if you feel cleaner showering daily, do so. Or use baby wipes or whatever.
As i said earlier I shower every morning too - with very rare exceptions.
No issues with that.
only issue was with the blanket type statements from some posters about what everyone should do.4 -
1-2 times per day for me. Usually depends on what activities I have going on.0
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I had to work with someone who didn't use soap or shampoo. They smelled like a gerbil at all times but didn't know it. Running water doesn't cut it for everyone. Our mileage will always vary.4
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For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.
There is no universal rule that says after 24 hours you suddenly start to smell so the idea of having a daily shower is completely arbitrary.
It is a bit like people who think their food in the fridge will go off on the strike of midnight on the "use by date".
But I think most of us who do not shower daily do actually wash on the other days, so you need to bear that factoid in mind.
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I wash up at the sink when I wake up, the "main utilities" as my mom calls it. I use a bidet, and usually shower fully every other day. I can assure you I don't smell in the slightest. My husband wouldn't be as enthusiastic to be all over me constantly if I did.5
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For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.
There is no universal rule that says after 24 hours you suddenly start to smell so the idea of having a daily shower is completely arbitrary.
It is a bit like people who think their food in the fridge will go off on the strike of midnight on the "use by date".
But I think most of us who do not shower daily do actually wash on the other days, so you need to bear that factoid in mind.
Oy vey. I don't shower daily. I use baby wipes on the days I don't. But there's still a smell. That's why I asked.1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.For the people who don't shower daily or nightly, how do you uh...not stink...in certain areas of your body that can't be talked about in mixed company.
I mean, I've tried baby wipes but they don't seem to help.
If you need to shower to clean one of the areas I think you're talking about, I hope you clean your shower with bleach after every use.
Perhaps it's a difference in diet or gut biome, but personally I find toilet paper to be sufficient to remove any visible or smellable particles.
Bleach? I'm not THAT stinky.
Bleach to clean the shower, as I said, not you. If you're using the shower to rinse off stool particles from your rectum, you're rinsing it on the floor of the shower. You don't want to be standing in that. What if you or the next person, if you share that shower, has a tiny cut on their foot? Personally, the idea of rinsing off stool particles that way and have them run down my leg seems a lot ickier, to use a technical term, than not showering every day. I don't think there's enough chlorine in my tap water to fix the potential problems.1 -
I shower every other day, unless I got particularly sweaty or dirty. I do freshen up other days, though.1
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I come from a tropical country and live in a hellhole (Mumbai) 😂 we don't get winters and I love to do hectic exercise in the evening. So, 2x a day for me😃4
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I workout every day and I shower every day.
Now, the following may get people all riled....the best thing about these USELESS FACE MASKS is, I don't have to smell the stinky public. Let the thumbs down commence. 7 -
It will probably depend on a number of factors besides personal preference. Some people can go a day or two without feeling the need to shower or without having breakouts or skin issues; others can't.
Personally, I'm in camp "can't". I try to shower once daily, usually before bed. Some days, I don't make it though. Depression is a *kitten*. Also, sometimes I just kinda forget.
My skin doesn't let me forget for too long, though. I usually get bad breakouts and my skin just feels gross if I were to skip more than two days.
But again, that's me. Some folks don't need to shower daily because they aren't engaging in activities that make them sweat, or have them getting dirty/sticky/etc. Just depends.3 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »The $600 water bill dictates how many showers I and family get a day or for how many minutes they are. It sucks.
What currency is that? My bill converts to about US$55.000 -
Though I have more modern habits (like daily when no pandemic), my parents (b. 1912, 1917) grew up in the era of mostly weekly baths, and "sponge baths" from a basin/sink in between as needed: Heating the water on the woodstove, in some cases even drawing it from a well or by hand-pump first, to fill the tin tub . . . that tends to make the baths happen less often. Less stink than you might imagine.
Norms change. The modern habits of daily bath/shower are pretty new, I think, in the general population . . . maybe around the last century-ish? (Running water, electricity, is a big deal.) Yeah, people have fewer lice, bedbugs, etc., than in the distant past. Bathing isn't the only reason.
I was raised on 'one bath a week' and I'm only 37 (but not from the US). I've seen the shift to (nearly) daily showers in society, though not as 'bad' as in the US. There seems to be a tendency in western society (led by North America) to consider any bodily smell as a bad smell.
Anyway, I refrain from telling people how much (little) I bathe/shower/wash, knowing the judgment will be instantaneous, even though they don't think I stink.
Reading this thread, I'm mostly shocked at the (IMO) excessive water consumption. Living in Belgium, you would think water isn't an issue, but climate change combined with too much urban land cover is wreaking havoc on our water table and water is getting more expensive too.
I'm fully convinced that showering (more than) daily is just cultural and not necessary for our health (or even detrimental). But this is a difficult topic to discuss, since most people will just go 'oh yuck' at the mere idea of showering less than daily.
But even if you feel the need to wash yourself once or several times a day, I'm a big fan of going old-school and just using a washcloth (I hate showering anyway, I much prefer taking a bath
)
I could not have agreed with this whole post more! I'm UK based, and I'd say that most people probably don't shower more than once a day, but it amazes me how many people do from reading this thread. How do you people find the time!?
What's different? Time is the same everywhere.0 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »The $600 water bill dictates how many showers I and family get a day or for how many minutes they are. It sucks.
What currency is that? My bill converts to about US$55.00
US. It is a two month bill.0 -
kittengirl88 wrote: »I wash up at the sink when I wake up, the "main utilities" as my mom calls it. I use a bidet, and usually shower fully every other day. I can assure you I don't smell in the slightest. My husband wouldn't be as enthusiastic to be all over me constantly if I did.
Glad you mentioned this. Every time I hear or read discussions like these, I wonder how people could indulge in husband and wife activities without being clean.1 -
My bed sheets are white. I shower at least daily before bed.
If I've done a two-a-day training, then I shower at least twice.
Also, my best life affirming thoughts happen in the bathroom 🤷🏿♀️
Twice a day is my normal. Can't imagine people putting clean clothes on dirty skin to go to work or school in the morning, nor getting into a clean bed at night with dirty skin from the day just done.2 -
I don't shower every single day, but then again, I am mostly sedentary, so I'm not getting particularly sweaty. I use antiperspirant so my pits don't sweat much, and I rinse my groin at least once a day with warm water, because that's more comfortable than tissue, and pat dry. I change all my clothes every day, and sleep in clothing now that it's winter. My partners have never said anything about my intimate odor that wasn't complimentary, and they would if they had an issue. If I should get dirty, I won't hesitate to take a bath, but if I'm not, I'm not going to worry about it.3
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L1zardQueen wrote: »L1zardQueen wrote: »The $600 water bill dictates how many showers I and family get a day or for how many minutes they are. It sucks.
What currency is that? My bill converts to about US$55.00
US. It is a two month bill.
So $300.00 per month to my $55.00 - three people at two showers per day.0 -
L1zardQueen wrote: »L1zardQueen wrote: »The $600 water bill dictates how many showers I and family get a day or for how many minutes they are. It sucks.
What currency is that? My bill converts to about US$55.00
US. It is a two month bill.
So $300.00 per month to my $55.00 - three people at two showers per day.
Jealous❤️1 -
Though I have more modern habits (like daily when no pandemic), my parents (b. 1912, 1917) grew up in the era of mostly weekly baths, and "sponge baths" from a basin/sink in between as needed: Heating the water on the woodstove, in some cases even drawing it from a well or by hand-pump first, to fill the tin tub . . . that tends to make the baths happen less often. Less stink than you might imagine.
Norms change. The modern habits of daily bath/shower are pretty new, I think, in the general population . . . maybe around the last century-ish? (Running water, electricity, is a big deal.) Yeah, people have fewer lice, bedbugs, etc., than in the distant past. Bathing isn't the only reason.
I was raised on 'one bath a week' and I'm only 37 (but not from the US). I've seen the shift to (nearly) daily showers in society, though not as 'bad' as in the US. There seems to be a tendency in western society (led by North America) to consider any bodily smell as a bad smell.
Anyway, I refrain from telling people how much (little) I bathe/shower/wash, knowing the judgment will be instantaneous, even though they don't think I stink.
Reading this thread, I'm mostly shocked at the (IMO) excessive water consumption. Living in Belgium, you would think water isn't an issue, but climate change combined with too much urban land cover is wreaking havoc on our water table and water is getting more expensive too.
I'm fully convinced that showering (more than) daily is just cultural and not necessary for our health (or even detrimental). But this is a difficult topic to discuss, since most people will just go 'oh yuck' at the mere idea of showering less than daily.
But even if you feel the need to wash yourself once or several times a day, I'm a big fan of going old-school and just using a washcloth (I hate showering anyway, I much prefer taking a bath)
I could not have agreed with this whole post more! I'm UK based, and I'd say that most people probably don't shower more than once a day, but it amazes me how many people do from reading this thread. How do you people find the time!?
What's different? Time is the same everywhere.
I think you are conflating 2 separate parts of the sentence.
It reads to me: I am in UK and I'd say most people dont shower more than once a day.
and, separately - how do people find the time?
1 -
kittengirl88 wrote: »I wash up at the sink when I wake up, the "main utilities" as my mom calls it. I use a bidet, and usually shower fully every other day. I can assure you I don't smell in the slightest. My husband wouldn't be as enthusiastic to be all over me constantly if I did.
Glad you mentioned this. Every time I hear or read discussions like these, I wonder how people could indulge in husband and wife activities without being clean.
and yet most people in most of time in most of the world have managed to do so without showering twice a day - or without having running water or anything like our modern first world experience
15 -
My bed sheets are white. I shower at least daily before bed.
If I've done a two-a-day training, then I shower at least twice.
Also, my best life affirming thoughts happen in the bathroom 🤷🏿♀️
Twice a day is my normal. Can't imagine people putting clean clothes on dirty skin to go to work or school in the morning, nor getting into a clean bed at night with dirty skin from the day just done.
I'd say your imagination is very limited then - fair to say most people in most of the world (or even in our own little corner of the world) do not shower before putting on clean clothes in the morning AND before going to bed at night.
If you want to and you have time and it makes you feel better and water conservation is not an issue - sure, do so.
But I find it hard to imagine how somebody cannot see that is only their own normal - it isnt everyone's normal nor does it need to be.
16 -
paperpudding wrote: »Though I have more modern habits (like daily when no pandemic), my parents (b. 1912, 1917) grew up in the era of mostly weekly baths, and "sponge baths" from a basin/sink in between as needed: Heating the water on the woodstove, in some cases even drawing it from a well or by hand-pump first, to fill the tin tub . . . that tends to make the baths happen less often. Less stink than you might imagine.
Norms change. The modern habits of daily bath/shower are pretty new, I think, in the general population . . . maybe around the last century-ish? (Running water, electricity, is a big deal.) Yeah, people have fewer lice, bedbugs, etc., than in the distant past. Bathing isn't the only reason.
I was raised on 'one bath a week' and I'm only 37 (but not from the US). I've seen the shift to (nearly) daily showers in society, though not as 'bad' as in the US. There seems to be a tendency in western society (led by North America) to consider any bodily smell as a bad smell.
Anyway, I refrain from telling people how much (little) I bathe/shower/wash, knowing the judgment will be instantaneous, even though they don't think I stink.
Reading this thread, I'm mostly shocked at the (IMO) excessive water consumption. Living in Belgium, you would think water isn't an issue, but climate change combined with too much urban land cover is wreaking havoc on our water table and water is getting more expensive too.
I'm fully convinced that showering (more than) daily is just cultural and not necessary for our health (or even detrimental). But this is a difficult topic to discuss, since most people will just go 'oh yuck' at the mere idea of showering less than daily.
But even if you feel the need to wash yourself once or several times a day, I'm a big fan of going old-school and just using a washcloth (I hate showering anyway, I much prefer taking a bath)
I could not have agreed with this whole post more! I'm UK based, and I'd say that most people probably don't shower more than once a day, but it amazes me how many people do from reading this thread. How do you people find the time!?
What's different? Time is the same everywhere.
I think you are conflating 2 separate parts of the sentence.
It reads to me: I am in UK and I'd say most people dont shower more than once a day.
and, separately - how do people find the time?paperpudding wrote: »Though I have more modern habits (like daily when no pandemic), my parents (b. 1912, 1917) grew up in the era of mostly weekly baths, and "sponge baths" from a basin/sink in between as needed: Heating the water on the woodstove, in some cases even drawing it from a well or by hand-pump first, to fill the tin tub . . . that tends to make the baths happen less often. Less stink than you might imagine.
Norms change. The modern habits of daily bath/shower are pretty new, I think, in the general population . . . maybe around the last century-ish? (Running water, electricity, is a big deal.) Yeah, people have fewer lice, bedbugs, etc., than in the distant past. Bathing isn't the only reason.
I was raised on 'one bath a week' and I'm only 37 (but not from the US). I've seen the shift to (nearly) daily showers in society, though not as 'bad' as in the US. There seems to be a tendency in western society (led by North America) to consider any bodily smell as a bad smell.
Anyway, I refrain from telling people how much (little) I bathe/shower/wash, knowing the judgment will be instantaneous, even though they don't think I stink.
Reading this thread, I'm mostly shocked at the (IMO) excessive water consumption. Living in Belgium, you would think water isn't an issue, but climate change combined with too much urban land cover is wreaking havoc on our water table and water is getting more expensive too.
I'm fully convinced that showering (more than) daily is just cultural and not necessary for our health (or even detrimental). But this is a difficult topic to discuss, since most people will just go 'oh yuck' at the mere idea of showering less than daily.
But even if you feel the need to wash yourself once or several times a day, I'm a big fan of going old-school and just using a washcloth (I hate showering anyway, I much prefer taking a bath)
I could not have agreed with this whole post more! I'm UK based, and I'd say that most people probably don't shower more than once a day, but it amazes me how many people do from reading this thread. How do you people find the time!?
What's different? Time is the same everywhere.
I think you are conflating 2 separate parts of the sentence.
It reads to me: I am in UK and I'd say most people dont shower more than once a day.
and, separately - how do people find the time?
The post appeared to be questioning how would people find enough time to shower twice a day. For me it's just part of the daily routine. Out of bed, into the shower, eat breakfast, dress for work. Then it's home from work, undress, shower, eat, sleep. Approximately that.3 -
paperpudding wrote: »kittengirl88 wrote: »I wash up at the sink when I wake up, the "main utilities" as my mom calls it. I use a bidet, and usually shower fully every other day. I can assure you I don't smell in the slightest. My husband wouldn't be as enthusiastic to be all over me constantly if I did.
Glad you mentioned this. Every time I hear or read discussions like these, I wonder how people could indulge in husband and wife activities without being clean.
and yet most people in most of time in most of the world have managed to do so without showering twice a day - or without having running water or anything like our modern first world experience
Natural instinct I suppose, but the trained modern mind rejects uncleanness.1
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