To ask about basic personal hygiene?

[SteptoeAndDaughter]

I'm in my 40s and yet somehow don't feel like I've ever got a handle on this.

What times/how often do you brush & floss?

Shower?

Wash your face?

I know there are no 'right' answers to these questions but I'm trying to figure out what it means to be well-groomed and to look after myself properly. Feeling a bit lost. What does it mean to you?

The smell of dirty hair is unmistakable and very unpleasant. Several 40-plus and older men who use my local library have this problem. It's disgusting and I don't think there's any excuse. Goodness knows how often they get properly bathed/showered. I feel for the library staff .

Am I really the only person who thinks that the OP started this thread for seedy reasons?

Random I can assure you that's not the case! 40something mum of 2 small children sitting on the couch trying to get her life in order, have been snowed this weekend so not online much.

Ok, I apologise then.

it wouldn't be the first time someone started a thread for "seedy" reasons though

tights troll, anyone ?

No need to apologise Random, I must just be so pure of mind that it had hadn't occurred to me that my OP could be read like that - but it certainly could! Am not offended

Putting kids in bath now, followed by flossing my teeth

So, you've had a range from the SuperClean to the SlightlyGrubby

Where do you stand, OP ?

She stands in the bathroom, flossing her teeth

Also that women are increasingly likely to not remove facial hair, I've wondered if that is related to near sightedness?

No, it's related to sheer proliferation Suzanne. One of the many things "They" don't tell you - as most of our biological processes slow down with age, others take up the slack with a vengeance You'd be manacled to your tweezers every minute of every day! You have to develop facial hair blindness fro the sake of your sanity.

I only managed to read up to page 4 before wondering whether I can ever, ever try on clothes in a shop before I buy again. The idea of putting clothes on that other people have tried and haven't washed their body for a week makes me shudder.

AnyFucker it seems that I am average to slightly grubby

I shower anywhere from every day to every 2 days (depending on amount of sleep/schedule/small children's whims), wash face whenever I shower. Brush teeth every morning and not always in the evening (rank, I admit) as I am dead tired my bedtime.

Part of the reason I ask is that I have always been fairly low-maintenance but as I get older I notice that I now sweat more, and my hair needs more effort in order to look good. And the rest of me is falling apart pretty much

Basically, since having children I am struggling to keep up and had a bit of a wibble yesterday morning wondering how on earth others do things.

This thread is a big help though. I am going to get my act together before my children are old enough to remember what I'm like now.

I've just remembered another difference between the skanky poorly, aged me and my younger, cosmetically ideal, incarnation. I used only to wear natural fibres or hi-tech artificial ones. Polyester and its petroleum-based pals definitely make sweaty = smelly! It retains pongs, too, while natural fibres tend to 'air' more effectively.

I think microfibre behaves more like a natural fabric than other poly creations, but it still gets stale faster.

Brush teeth and wash face every morning and night, never floss.

Shower every other day, wash underarms every day. Shave underarms every time I shower, shave legs once a week.

Change knickers and socks every day.

Cleanse, tone and moisturise face twice a day, exfoliate twice a week. Monthly facial.

Shower at least once a day - twice if I go to the gym.

Brush / floss teeth twice a day.

Wash and blow dry hair every day. I have thick, shiney hair - clearly doing this this ain't bad for me. Hair treatment oil once a week.

Body lotion (or oil) every day - more if I have the second gym shower (so at least 4 times a week).

Bras are worn once before washing, ditto knickers. Changed before / after gym also. Clean clothes every day - tops worn once. Jeans twice before washing. Dresses, gym kit, socks, pjs worn once. Skirts twice.

Shave legs and armpits every other day - daily in summer. Bikini wax every 4 weeks. Eyebrows threaded fortnightly. Do my own nails weekly.

I'm a skank from the sounds of it. Do a pit stop wash daily but only shower and wash my hair twice a week. I don't feel the need to do it more often. Brush my teeth twice daily though sometimes forget the night brush.

People wear pants and pyjamas in bed??? Pants??? I'm amazed.

Teeth morning and evening. Dentist 2 x a year.

Shower three times a week, hair wash each time. Eyebrows when stuck in traffic - keep tweezers in car for this very purpose.

Deodorant of course. But never perfume

Shave legs and pits summer months only. Trim pubic hair when its long enough to be put in rollers.

Never wash or clean face - have naturally lovely skin and don't wear make up.

Clean socks and pants daily but no pants in bed - nada in bed tbh

Never moisturise.

Now fear I'm skanky slob and will upgrade my efforts in fear that unknown to me, my colleagues all think i smell.

I wear clean clothes daily and also don't wash my face like you MJA though I do wear make up. I just use baby wipes to take it off and leave it at that, no other skincare. I have very clear skin.

MrsJack I wear pants in bed when I wear pyjamas. I usually wear the PJs 2 or 3 nights in a row, so having undies on means that they stay fresh IYSWIM.

Am I the only person who doesn't shower every day? I shower or bath every two days, unless it is hot weather, and so do the kids. Wash face daily, use cotton wool and cleanser at night. Brush twice a day.

I don't shower daily unless done some really dirty housework or similar (or been to my storage unit) as it makes my skin red and flare up....just pure water can do this...I think it's the chlorine (never got it when staying in Australia where water was purer)
I am much fussier about clean hair than clean body. I don't get sweaty but my hair gets lank quickly

I clean my teeth twice a day. Rarely ever floss but use mouthwash several times a week.
Cleanse and moisturise my face twice a day.
Shower or bath daily.
Wear clean pants and socks every day. Jeans/ trousers I wear several times before washing. Tops I change daily.
Wash hair around every 3/4 days.

Why amazed Mrs Jack?! I wear pants and a vest top in bed. Don't like pj's at they ride up my legs but hate sleeping naked. I have massive boobs and they need containing somehow! If I wore pyjamas in bed I would wear pants with them so they'd be 'fresh' to wear another night.

Face - never wash it! I use a cleanser/toner/moisturiser before or after wearing make up but if not then I just don't wash my face (unless it's been a really sweltering day and I've been a bit sweaty) because if I do then it gets really spotty and dry/flaky. The more I leave my face alone, the better it is!

Hands - after visiting the loo and before preparing food

Teeth - every morning after breakfast, most evenings before bed (sometimes I forget!). I very very rarely floss as my teeth are squeezed very closely together and it's very difficult to actually squeeze the floss in there. I visit the dentist once a year and hygienist once a year (used to be every 6 months but apparently my teeth are impeccable so I only need to go once a year now )

Shower - every other day. My skin dries out too much if I shower every day. I wash my hair each time and will shave my armpits every month or so as they don't really grow very much at all. Legs get done when they are likely to have an airing in public. Bikini line has been laser-removed so don't need to do that.

Bras get worn two or three times, except sports bras which get worn once.

Pants/socks/tights changed daily.

PJs get worn for 2 days in the winter. Don't usually wear any the rest of the year.

Jeans and skirts get washed after about 3 or 4 wears, tops and other trousers get worn after 2 wears. Wool stuff gets washed when I think it needs it. Running gear and horse riding stuff washed after each use.

Bedding - kids stuff probably only gets washed every 6 weeks or so and even then it still doesn't smell. Our own bedding gets washed every fortnight, but lots more often in the summer.

No-one has ever told me that we smell - quite the opposite! My sister often tells me that she can follow me around with her eyes closed by the smell of fabric conditioner

I think I'm clean, but not obsessively so. I think too much cleanliness can destroy the body's own flora and fauna and so I go by how I think rather than what other people think. Some people would be horrified to not shower every day!

Shower or bath once a day. Teeth twice a day, floss every morning. Wash face and remove makeup in evening. Wash hands after using the loo, before cooking, eating, coming into houe or after seeing clients.

Change underwear and tops every day, other clothes after a couple of days unless dirty or I have cooked in them.

I see - pants either as 'undies to PJs' or as 'vest and pants' combo. makes sense

What a huge amount of washing is going on.

How often do you folks wash your towels and sheets then?

Towels -when they whiff
Sheets - every solstice and equinox but don't have a sex life