Am I not washing properly?

[Washerg]

Inspired (worried!) following a poster today talking about buttocks washing.

I shower daily. By this I mean I stand under the shower and clean under my arms with water only, same down below. I let the water run all over me for a good ten or fifteen mins but don’t actually scrub or touch other parts of my body. On days I wash my hair (weekly), the soap will run down my body obviously but that’s the extent of any soap that runs over me.

I have from time to time used some shower gel but only if I feel like it. Haven’t for about a year or so and before then it would be some weeks not others. Just don’t feel the need I suppose... and when I do use it, again it would be under arms and definitely not a big body scrub. I don’t think I’ve ever ever washed my toes apart from when I’ve been on the beach or outside with no shoes on in summer. I do use deodorant and perfume.

I’m actually worried now that I’m some sort of disgusting person who doesn’t realise it!! It’s not something I’ve ever discussed with friends. Am I weird? Should I be scrubbing away?! I’ve NC.

@rubybarley it didn't occur to me either.

When DS was a baby he had eczema and when I was talking to the GP I expressed concern that I wasn't using anything to clean him apart from water, because I didn't want to aggregate the eczema. The GP replied that 70% of the world population only use water when washing.

Of course I went out and bought some very expensive organic baby bath wash, because I like to use products for washing.

I use shower gel to wash my arm pits and between my bottocks.

Especially my arm pits very often still stink if I only use water. I need to scrub them with shower gel or a soap.

I also use shower gel to wash the rest of my body, although I admit that's not strictly necessary

*I use soap on my pits and bits in my daily shower, but have honestly never washed my arms, legs, back, feet, stomach, neck etc in the shower. Why would I, they don’t get dirty and are rinsed by the shower water.
I smell good, am well groomed and a fully integrated member of naice society

Mumsnet is famous for its competitive shower hygiene, frequent laundering of towels and bedding, and children’s lack of dietary sugar. Meanwhile, in the real world..*

Meanwhile on the real world... people tend to use soap on their skin. It is not competitive cleanliness to wash (washing requires soap, otherwise it's just rinsing). Of course your neck gets dirty - the back of your neck is a prime spot for swearing especially if you've got hair that covers it, it's also a common place for skin build up, same goes for feet and don't even get me started on stomach, you must know you have to wash your belly button?

As for laundering towel, if you are drying unwashed arse cracks I truly hope the towels are being washed frequently!

Odd thread...esp as on most of MN you are "disgusting" if you don't launder your towels daily with dettol etc.

Curious to know how frequently those that bemoan the "MNers competition on towel washing" actually wash their towels? You don't have to be a Brainiac to understand that bacteria breeds in warm, moist conditions. What's the point in washing your body if you're just going to pat yourself dry with a dirty, bacteria ridden towel?

Don't even get me started on using a towel after you've "cleaned" your body with water only. Grim.

So since reading this thread I spent two weeks washing with soap all over my body and my skin broke out ins some places and was dry in others. I have now gone back to using soap on my pits only, and having a good scrub everywhere else with water. I thought I would test the theory that I'm not washing properly to give others on this thread the benefit of the doubt but have just proven to myself that different regimes are for different people I think! I am however going to try washing with a medicated emollient cream soap substitute for a couple of weeks and see what happens.... will report back

@katnyps Well soap is really drying on the skin. I don't think I even have any in the house! So I really wouldn't use soap to shower at all!

@MsHedgehog
Sorry I was using "soap" as a generic term as all body washes/shower creams /shower gels have a soap component; it was actually some fancy body wash I got for Xmas!

I dont really care what other people do tbh unless I have the misfortune to be stuck in a lift with some of you!
Personally, I would stink if I didnt wash all over with soap in the shower every day. Hth

@katnyps

So since reading this thread I spent two weeks washing with soap all over my body and my skin broke out ins some places and was dry in others. I have now gone back to using soap on my pits only, and having a good scrub everywhere else with water. I thought I would test the theory that I'm not washing properly to give others on this thread the benefit of the doubt but have just proven to myself that different regimes are for different people I think! I am however going to try washing with a medicated emollient cream soap substitute for a couple of weeks and see what happens.... will report back

Are you rinsing it off properly? You don’t need a lot, a fifty pence piece size blob on a buff will do your body, and then rinse it off well.

Otherwise try a sensitive one.

I’m with you, op! I actually can’t use soap due to very dry skin and eczema. My routine sounds exactly the same as yours.
I’m really shocked at how unkind some people are on here.
I can assure you I am hygienic and don’t smell!

What do you non-soap users do when you are on your period? Surely you wash with soap/shower gel then?!

Hi @Bluntness100 this is such a bizarre conversation but I will answer! I use a little less than a 50p size blob and wash off very thoroughly.

So, all these “you must use soap/shower gel or you’ll stink” posters: have you actually tried not using soap?

I would be interested to know if anyone has tried it - using soap for armpits only for example, ie just places where there is a product to wash off - and then asked their partner to give an honest answer on whether they smell.

Or are you all just assuming you will smell without soap, but you don’t in fact know , because you’ve never tried?

@minipie

So, all these “you must use soap/shower gel or you’ll stink” posters: have you actually tried not using soap?

I would be interested to know if anyone has tried it - using soap for armpits only for example, ie just places where there is a product to wash off - and then asked their partner to give an honest answer on whether they smell.

Or are you all just assuming you will smell without soap, but you don’t in fact know , because you’ve never tried?

But we don't want to try ! We like using shower gel and being clean

@LynetteScavo

When DS was a baby he had eczema and when I was talking to the GP I expressed concern that I wasn't using anything to clean him apart from water, because I didn't want to aggregate the eczema. The GP replied that 70% of the world population only use water when washing.

Of course I went out and bought some very expensive organic baby bath wash, because I like to use products for washing.

What country is your GP originally from?

What of the main differences between 1st and 3rd world countries (I understand those terms aren't PC anymore) is hygiene. Basically what separates 1st and 3rd world is hygiene, infrastructure and rule of law.

I mean really why would you aspire to have the hygiene of 3rd world country? And why is your GP (presumably in UK) telling you to aspire to that standard? Ridiculous.

@Jsnn
Hmmm, are people in developing countries blankedly dirty? That's an oddly racist thing to say I think...!? If you want to back that up with some kind of evidence? I understand things like cholera outbreaks are going to happen in places where there aren't well developed sewerage systems (or developed countries which suffer natural disasters which contaminate the drinking water supply) but I'm sure that has nothing to do with whether or not the general population is using soap or not to wash their pits.

PS. @Jsnn the official guidance from the NHS is to wash babies with water only to start with

@minipie

So, all these “you must use soap/shower gel or you’ll stink” posters: have you actually tried not using soap?

I would be interested to know if anyone has tried it - using soap for armpits only for example, ie just places where there is a product to wash off - and then asked their partner to give an honest answer on whether they smell.

Or are you all just assuming you will smell without soap, but you don’t in fact know , because you’ve never tried?

I'll stick my head above the parapet and answer this.

Since I've gone through the menopause my skin is extremely dry and shower gel or soap or anything makes it worse. (HRT not an option) So now I only shower with water but I do use soap on my armpits and bum and face wash on my face. I genuinely don't smell (and I have a teenage DD who would be brutally honest if I did).

candace I’m the same as you. Always have been. I don’t smell.

And yet, there are so many posters on this thread who are adamant that we absolutely must use soap or body wash all over or we will smell. But they have never tried it. So how the hell do they know? Surely those of us who don’t use soap everywhere, and have been assured by our nearest and dearest that we don’t smell, are in a better position to know?

It astounds me how many people will stick rigidly to a habit simply because it’s what they’ve always done, and will even criticise others with different habits, based on zero evidence.

[quote katnyps]@Jsnn
Hmmm, are people in developing countries blankedly dirty? That's an oddly racist thing to say I think...!? If you want to back that up with some kind of evidence? I understand things like cholera outbreaks are going to happen in places where there aren't well developed sewerage systems (or developed countries which suffer natural disasters which contaminate the drinking water supply) but I'm sure that has nothing to do with whether or not the general population is using soap or not to wash their pits.[/quote]
You made a very very bold claim calling my post racist.

Can you please explain to me what race people in 3rd world countries are?

As far as I know there are people of every race in 3rd world countries so I don't understand how my statement could be racist.

Do you not agree that hygiene is a critical issue in developing countries?

www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation

Can you please do some reading from WHO about low-income countries and hygiene and sanitation.

@Jsnn
I'm sorry if I misinterpreted your comments but I inferred from the question "what country is your GP originally from?" that you considered they might have some implied bias based on their country of origin. I know it wouldn't stand up in court but it is a forum and I think those kinds of comments should be challenged - as it is your right to defend them.
Thanks for the link but checking out the guidelines pdf www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/guidelines-on-sanitation-and-health/en/
.. I see no reference to the fact that you must wash your body with soap. There were lots of references to handwashing with soap, which I'm sure the majority here will agree with, and - as I pointed out in my other comment - a focus on water sanitation (proper sewerage management and access to clean water).

I used to nurse in a dermatology clinic and in the waiting room there was a massive poster saying that shower gel should never be used, soap was for hands and armpits only, and that careful washing with water was best for all hygiene purposes.