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Original poster

The price of personal hygiene

147 replies

BrainInAJar · 09/12/2023 10:52

Hi all,

I know this is not exactly breaking news but OMFG the cost of living!

I have a decent job and a modest lifestyle in terms of financial outgoings so relatively comfortable. And I'm pretty low-maintenance in terms of personal care (I don't spend a lot on hairdressing, nails, tweakments etc).

HOWEVER, I'm finding the cost of just BASIC hygiene noticeably growing ridiculous.

I buy cans of 250ml spray deoderant in my weekly shop. With clubcard discount that is £2.50. It lasts 2 weeks for me when applied once daily. In summer etc that would only last a week! I'm pretty sure the cans used to be bigger, last longer and be far cheaper!

My other basics: shampoo, conditioner, bars of soap, basic moisturiser, cotton wool, toothpaste. None of them fancy but the cost really does add up.

Coupled with the cost of having an actual shower, it's bloody ridiculous. It's like something out of the 19th century for a person to be thinking that they need to think about the cost of keeping their body clean!

Thanks for listening to my rant!

OP posts:
cardibach · 10/12/2023 16:19

FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 09/12/2023 17:59

I take home nearly 3k a month so middle income ish, or maybe still a bit low? Everything has gone up loads. Mortgage up 300 quid since fixed rate ended, electric up a good 50% food costs 50% more. Home/ car insurance/ petrol all up. Kids activities are more expensive. Costs of getting anything fixed is higher.

I’ve actually increased my income by 600 quid a month but comparable costs are £800 more a month than they were 2 years ago. It’s a lot of wiggle room to have had in your budget.

Show quote history

Take home 3k a month? And you think that might be lower than middle?
I have been a teacher for 35 years, I’ve been head of a core subject. I’ve never been near 3k take home.

Confused38246 · 10/12/2023 16:22

cardibach · 10/12/2023 16:19

Take home 3k a month? And you think that might be lower than middle?
I have been a teacher for 35 years, I’ve been head of a core subject. I’ve never been near 3k take home.

Show quote history

£3k take home is c.60k so would be upper middle earner.

FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 10/12/2023 16:27

cardibach · 10/12/2023 16:19

Take home 3k a month? And you think that might be lower than middle?
I have been a teacher for 35 years, I’ve been head of a core subject. I’ve never been near 3k take home.

Show quote history

Yeah but as a single income household. Financially be much better off as a dual income household.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General style & beauty
cardibach · 10/12/2023 16:28

FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 10/12/2023 16:27

Yeah but as a single income household. Financially be much better off as a dual income household.

Show quote history

I’m a single income household.

FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 10/12/2023 16:30

FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 10/12/2023 16:27

Yeah but as a single income household. Financially be much better off as a dual income household.

Show quote history

Also included child benefit and child maintenance in there. I earn about £2.3k so sadly not on £60k mark.

Peacheroo · 10/12/2023 16:40

LambriniBobinIsleworth · 10/12/2023 15:43

To everyone saying about using a roll on... I would smell really very bad without using an aerosol deodorant- in winter but especially in summer. I've tried every permutation, including "crystal" deodorants of various brands and tried lots of different brands of roll ons, creams and that one you use so often for a week or so and then supposedly only use once a week. None of them work on me. And I'm not dirty, it's not an old sweat build up... I use antibacterial soap under my arms at least once a day and don't come out of the shower smelling. So some of us do need aerosol deodorants, I'm afraid. If I couldn't afford them I'd be very stinky! @BrainInAJar you have my sympathy.

Glad you've said this. I was thinking I was odd. I 100% need an aerosol.

Confused38246 · 10/12/2023 16:43

FuckinghellthatsUnbelievable · 10/12/2023 16:30

Also included child benefit and child maintenance in there. I earn about £2.3k so sadly not on £60k mark.

Show quote history

2.3k take home is c.45k add in all the benefits and yes your pre tax equivalent would need to be c.60k to take home what you have each month.

LaurieStrode · 10/12/2023 16:46

Shower gel is just horrid petrochemicals and dyes that don't really clean you. Use inexpensive bar soap.

Spray deodorant in this day and age is abominable waste of the planet's resources. There are plenty of clinical-strength or medical-grade stick and cremes that work. Some even are in plastic-free packaging.

Shampoo bars and conditioner bars last a long time. Try Etsy instead of the supermarket.

A glass jar of coconut oil has myriad uses around the house. It doesn't go rancid and can be used for makeup remover, face and body moisturizing, hair conditioner/masque. I also use it as wood furniture polish, and in place of WD40 for squeaky things, to clean the dogs' faces (when I had dogs), lip balm, etc. etc.

Sodium bicarb mixed with coconut oil and a few drops of peppermint oil or whatever flavouring you like makes a good toothpaste. Sodium bicarb and water or oil also makes a good hand and face scrub. And it's what I use in place of harsh cleansers for scrubbing sinks and tubs.

I buy one jar of vaseline every other year or so and decant with a clean spatula into small re-used jars or tins as lip balm, hand creme etc. on bedside table, next to kitchen sink, etc.

Use flannels or loo roll to remove makeup.

None of the above is onerous or deprived. We really don't have to succumb to marketing if we don't want to. There are always frugal eco-friendly alternatives.

FluffyKitty007 · 10/12/2023 16:48

All the toiletries last me ages but I do shower a lot in the gym (shower gel provided) and I don't use huge amounts, just enough to get clean!

Probably the gym saves me a lot on water too if I shower there 4 times a week on good weeks.

Also the Diva Cup saved me loads since I got it in 2016/2017!

LaurieStrode · 10/12/2023 16:49

NonanteNeuf · 09/12/2023 10:55

I was buying sanitary pads for myself and DD yesterday and I got very angry that women have to pay for this essential care product FFS.

Really??

Do you get angry that men have to pay for razors?

It's called life.

And it's easy enough to purchase and re-use washable menstrual products if it bothers you so much. You are buying disposables for convenience but that's your optional personal choice.

cattygorically · 10/12/2023 17:17

Ok I agree here but have been able to cut down the prices slightly

  • Mouthwash alcohol free 80p in Aldi
  • Colgate toothpaste £1 in aldi too
  • I bulkbuy John Frieda shampoo off the Superdrug website - recently came to £2,50 each a bottle but share an order with my mum so we get delivery free
  • Who gives a crap/cheeky panda are good value loo rolls with a discount code
  • I bought a home IPL machine a few years ago (got £100 off the sale thanks to a voucher I won on mumsnet actually!) barely ever shave my legs/down below/underarms now and it's about 5 years on. Also had had laser previously and never will need it again, nor waxes
  • Mobile hairdresser = £30 for a home haircut, salon was over double the price
  • Reusable washable make up wipes - great investment and eco friendly
  • When travelling I use bar shampoo and conditioner so I don't waste money on the mini shampoo/conditioner bottles. Oh and bamboo toothbrushes from tiger are £1 and great!
  • Used to pay for ear suctioning but bought a home camera off Amazon and was taught how to use it by an ENT friend
  • Mooncup £16 from Sainsburys has saved me a fortune in tampons. They were expensive!
  • Eyeliner I've used natural collection since I was about 13, only a few pounds and it's always fine the trick
SoapCollector · 10/12/2023 19:10

Brilliant post @LaurieStrode especially regarding the coconut oil, it can also be used to make an effective deodorant balm/paste when mixed with bicarbonate of soda and arrowroot powder. There are lots of recipes online, the deodorant paste can be stored in a jar and can last for months (please note it's not an antiperspirant). I never thought to use coconut oil as furniture polish, great idea!

Do you have a brand of shampoo and conditioner bars that you would recommend?

UndertheCedartree · 10/12/2023 19:52

MsPloddingBottom · 09/12/2023 12:11

You know not everyone has 2 quid for tampons don’t you?

We're just taking the most extreme scenario and applying it to 50% of the Uk? That £2 lasts you three cycles - so 66p a month. Most people can indeed afford that.

It wouldn't last me 3 cycles plus I need pads for nighttime.

Pigsinpainauchocolat · 10/12/2023 19:52

WinterDeWinter · 09/12/2023 13:44

It feels like lots of posters are missing the OP's point, which is:

It's insane that in one of the richest countries in the world, middle-income people are now wondering whether they can afford to shower every day.

I agree - it IS insane and god knows the stress that lower-income families are under.

It doesn't have to be like this - most of it is the result of Tory policy - and I hope that at the next election we all show that we know that.

Well summed up!

NoEffingWay · 10/12/2023 20:35

I do a combination of Home Bargains and Savers, once a month and top up the supplies. Mitchum is the only deodorant which works for me, and it's usually on offer somewhere. I also use soap with a bit of shower gel to make me smell nice!

Moonshine5 · 10/12/2023 20:36

Soap lasts longer than shower gel and personally to me I feel cleaner

LaurieStrode · 10/12/2023 20:53

Moonshine5 · 10/12/2023 20:36

Soap lasts longer than shower gel and personally to me I feel cleaner

Yes. You can get a year's worth of good, mild but effective olive oil soap on Amazon for less than 10 quid. And there are myriad vendors on Etsy, if one doesn't like the chemical-laden, scented supermarket soaps.

And no more plastic packaging to end up in the stomachs of marine life or polluting our land.

AvengedQuince · 10/12/2023 20:58

I use roll on that lasts months. DS uses spray that lasts a lot longer than two weeks, it's got to be a month or two. Bar soap lasts forever. Shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste are about a quid. I don't find it adds up to much compared with the cost of food!

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 10/12/2023 21:48

I use reusable san pro. Will never go back to horrible disposable pads. Also use reusable skincare pads and I got some for my 10 yr old too. I do use cerave which isn't cheap but it lasts a couple of months. Roll on deodorant lasts a while as well. Biggest outlay is toothpaste at £5

Deathraystare · 11/12/2023 09:05

@NonanteNeuf

I have to buy incontinence pants, pads and bed pads very regularly and of course unlike periods I have to use them every day! Ok the bed pads are washable but I have to go to the launderette regularly. Those pants that are supposed to work for periods and incontinence are no good. Ok if you merely tinkle but with me it is a tsunami!

Deathraystare · 11/12/2023 09:07

I can remember when I was jobless it was hard to afford sanitary towels. The cheap ones were small and thin. I used my Boots reward card (and begrudged doing so!)

HolidayAtNight · 13/12/2023 19:06

@BrainInAJar Thank you - I really like Faith in Nature products so I will give their soap a go!

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