Daily showering/not showering discussion (Loose Women)

[Mothership4two]

That MN perennial favourite 'showering' was under discussion on today's show and it made me smile because it seems to come up all the time on here. They said a daily shower is not necessary contraversial and two to three times a week is fine: their point was that daily showering is expensive, not great for the environment, might not be good for you as dries out skin and hair. They all were in agreement but Nadia said she likes a daily shower "not to do with being dirty" but as she likes water. I assume a well done to one of their researchers may be in order?

After all the 'heated debates' I have witnessed it just tickled me. A bit like someone you know appearing on TV 😆

Have also made a duplicate post (in Telly Addicts) which I know irritates some posters. Wasn't sure where to put it. The do you/don't you shower generally gets plonked in AIBU but I don't have a question so that would be pointless.

Child of the 70s/80s here when weekly baths were the norm and people didn't honk any more then that they do now and TBH don't notice smelly ppl that much now but no longer wedge myself on public transport

Yes, people don’t realise daily bathing has not always been a thing. My grandparents washed weekly as when they were growing up it was literally carrying in the bath from outside and manually heating water to fill it. They had large families and they would cram as many little ones in as possible after adults. Same water for all with and quite soupy (and very cold) by the end so bath time was more like a punishment for kids🤣. So, even when houses had indoor bathrooms they just kept up with a once a week routine as it was what was familiar. They didn’t smell.

When I was at uni, we had some atrocious student digs. They all had outside bathrooms and toilets back then. Needless to say come cold weather (or rainy weather) our showers became quite infrequent. Hair washing even less so for those of us with long hair!

If I don't shower daily, I smell. I have a very physical job and sweat a lot. I sometimes need to shower twice a day.

I have tried just washing pits and bits but it's not enough unfortunately.

I don't wash my hair every day. Usually once or twice a week.

Brits need to shower more not less.

I think the opposite!

In mainland Europe (Germany, Austria etc) most people do not shower every day. It's just not necessary.

I'm a dog walker so definitely need to shower everyday 😂

Do you have evidence for that statement?

I shower most days, sometimes every other when I'm WFH and not exercising that day
But I do a full shower when I do, so in between toes, back brush, legs, the lot and double wash - that seems to keep me fresher

I live with someone who only showers every two or three weeks. Great for my bills but I won't tell you she doesn't pong, because she does.

This is what I remember too. Was great fun being a child back then!

As for daily showering. I don't think it's necessary for everyone and is dependent on various factors. I partly WFH, don't sweat much and am on a tight budget. Therefore there are days when I skip a shower and do a face, bits & pits type wash with a flannel. I don't wash all my clothes after one wear either (from a previous thread) apart from knickers and socks. No one has ever told me that I smell bad, but I have been told that I smell nice 🤷‍♀️
I think the recent obsession with uber-cleanliness is crazy.

How often do other great apes shower?

Why are we the only animal that feels the need to shower daily with soap?

Humans have survived for all but a fraction of our history with neither showers nor soap. There are plenty of humans who still do.

We certainly don't need a daily shower or bath imo.

End of discussion then. There’s no arguing with that.

What about all your crevices especially down below! What if you're on your period? Takes 2 mins to have a thorough soap down and rinse. Why wouldn't you?

I don't shower every day. I shower every day I am in the office, and after going to the gym but I have shit skin and it doesn't appreciate it.

I may have a run of showring every day depending on WFH / gym pattern but if I am WFH for the week and not exercising every other day is plenty.

As far as a know, apes don't have access to a hot power shower and a bottle of Radox!

My preference is a daily shower, but just a very quick one on non-hair-washing days. But I disagree entirely with the very many MN posters who claim people smell without a daily wash. Where are all these smelly people? It's vanishingly rare for me to encounter someone who smells unpleasant. I don't live in London though, so don't experience the tube, if that makes a difference.

I shower every day, not because I necessarily need to, but because I love it. It makes me feel more awake and refreshed in the morning and sets me up for the day. The odd day that I don't I just feel a bit sluggish all day.

As far as a know, apes don't have access to a hot power shower and a bottle of Radox!

They don't but some monkeys DO like a hot bath! I feel if they had access to soap, they'd defo sud up

Humans have survived for all but a fraction of our history with neither showers nor soap. There are plenty of humans who still do.

I mean, you're not wrong, but poor hygiene, disease and infection were also the reasons why so many people died at such a young age too.

There are monkeys in Japan who absolutely love a bath in the natural hot springs - I bet they'd use a shower if they had one

My hair is greasy if not washed every day and yes I've tried not washing it, I don't on my days off if I'm only walking the dogs, shopping etc and by the end of the second day it looks like I haven't had a shower in a week and feels itchy and horrible. I have very fine hair and it's a light colour so it's noticeable, it looks lank and unkempt.

I've tried dry shampoo and I don't use conditioner except on the ends because using it at the top means it looks greasy by the end of the day, never mind the next morning.

I also work somewhere that serves food, so it's clean clothes and hair washed every day so I don't smell like stale food as well. I have to look and smell clean when I'm serving other people's food.

I can get away with a wash for body odour that comes from me, but as I have to get rid of the greasy mop & smelling like old fish & chips (seaside venue) then I have to shower every day regardless.

My grandparents bathed once a week, my nan washed every day, and had a 'face' and 'bum' flannel, my grandad changed his shirt twice a week and splashed water at his pits. You didn't sit next to him on a Saturday night 🤣 well I did because I didn't care because he was the best person in the world, but he did pong even I have to admit.

If I didn't do anything all day then chances are I wouldn't need to shower every day, my mum's now retired and post menopausal and she used to bathe every day, she doesn't now but doesn't smell either.

It's such a personal thing and there really is no right or wrong. Dh can go 3 days without a shower and genuinely doesn't smell. I need to shower daily or I smell down there. I exercise and am menopausal so this makes me sweat more. Plus I like feeling clean. I think shower as often as you personally need to avoid smelling

My foof gets fruity without a daily shower.

Off topic slightly but I never wash/scrub my back! I have good skin, but maybe I should be doing. Can anyone recommend any methods/products/gadgets?

I use a salux cloth or a back brush

amzn.eu/d/f3kGyGN

I bow to the social historian Ruth Goodman on this. She has done several stints of living ‘as’ various different in time.

She says (in ‘How to be a Tudor’) and elsewhere that depending on the fibres unwashed clothes can stink fairly quickly. Unwashed bodies not nearly so much.

I also use a wooden back scrubbing brush. If I don't I get the odd spot on my back. I'm not spotty anywhere else.

H&S Body Brush Back Scrubber from Amazon - it's quite a firm one

I rarely wash my legs!