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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To shower twice a week

103 replies

minimisemyshowers · 27/01/2015 16:12

This post is perhaps more about hair washing than anything else.

I used to be a staunch shower-every-morning sort of person, including hair wash and blow dry. However, recent events meant I left it two days and my hair was so glossy and gleaming after I washed it that I'm keen to try again!

I'm not a particularly active person and don't get very sweaty but will freshen up particularly "smelly" areas Grin

Is this where madness lies ... Or does anybody else shower fairly infrequently? Both my parents were of the once a week persuasion!

OP posts:
ShatnersBassoon · 27/01/2015 17:03

Depends how clarted your undercarriage is likely to get

Oceanpurple · 27/01/2015 17:05

If your hair feels/looks better only washing it twice a week then go for it. I tried for 4 months washing my hair only once a week, but it was so lank and greasy I just gave up. I wash my hair every other day otherwise it looks and feels rubbish! It never used to be like that, but since I was 14 I've been getting blonde highlights/dyeing it blonde and I think that's changed it...
V envious that your hair looks better for not washing it! Smile

WowserBowser · 27/01/2015 17:10

I shower every day if I am doing something, can't be arsed if I m just milling around the house. I also have to wash it every day as is very greasy.

But I don't shower for an age like some people do.

You can't really smell yourself so I like to pre empt that with a quick shower.

minimisemyshowers · 27/01/2015 17:15

Oh, it doesn't look better when I don't wash it, it's just that if I leave a bit of a gap then wash it, it really is lovely Blush sorry! Sound so big headed.

I don't spend that long in the shower, maybe my skin is just sensitive? I hate tying my hair up and bundling it up under a shower cap anyway as it gets tangled and messy.

OP posts:
humlebee7 · 27/01/2015 17:16

I shower every few days inc wash hair, sometimes jump in to rinse body in between. But only dirty people need to wash... It's such a waste of water and time to shower every day unless you go to gym etc. Plus it strips your hair of moisture and makes it even greasier than if you left it - or dries it out. I have a friend who must shower and wash hair every day without fail - no wonder her hair is like bleached straw. DH is just the same - I think he washed his hair so much it have up and fell out. But who cares? It's no one else's business surely Unless you have BO of course.

Summerisle1 · 27/01/2015 17:17

I shower every day. I don't wash my hair every day because it'd get horrendously dry and basically, it doesn't need daily washing. I have fairly long hair too and I've never had a problem with bunging it up in a pony tail for the time it takes me to have a shower. No kinks remain!

ZombieApocalypse · 27/01/2015 17:27

theboody Yes, definitely. The trick is just to spray a very light, quick spray on your roots and at the sides, leave for 2 mins then brush out.

Too much and you'll look like you have dandruff but it's great for a freshen up between washes. Batiste do coloured ones too, i.e. blonde, redhead, brunette etc.

I definitely could not leave the house without having a shower.

ZombieApocalypse · 27/01/2015 17:28

Also, I think some people aren't realising that even if you don't actually smell of BO or are sticky, you do still smell.

Most people smell stale after a night in bed and your clothes would quickly take on that unwashed aroma I reckon.

Leontine · 27/01/2015 17:33

Regarding hair washing, I leave it as long as possibly can. It's not unheard of for me to only wash it twice a week. I have long, bleached hair and whenever I go to the hairdresser they're shocked by how good the condition is as when I first started bleaching it about 6 years ago, I was warned that if I wanted to achieve the white blonde look that I was after then I'd have to get a pixie cut as any hair longer than that would just snap off. I'm convinced that the reason I've been able to keep my hair like this for so long is my lax attitude to hair washing lets the natural oils work their magic.

eltsihT · 27/01/2015 17:33

I shower and wash my hair every 2 -3 days.

But I do wash on the other days. Face, armpits and down below.

Yanbu to shower every few days but you do need to wash

MyNeighbourIsHorrid · 27/01/2015 17:35

Every other night for me, and never at weekends, so 3 times a week. And I don't smell!

LancashireTea · 27/01/2015 17:42

Shower every day or every other day if having a particularly lazy time. However I only wash my hair once, maybe twice a week (god love my trusty morrisons shower cap). It takes days for my locks to get greasy and seen as I wear my hair up for work I see it as being easier to manage and hope it'll be even less desirable for nits from the kids than when it is lovely and down and "clean". Plus it is very long, thick and because I don't use a hairdryer very often, it takes hours to dry. But every time I have it down or get it cut I only get compliments.

Jollyphonics · 27/01/2015 17:54

I know I will be slated for saying this, but I am absolutely certain that people who only wash every couple of days do smell. No one thinks they smell as you can't really smell yourself. In my job I examine people all day, and people smell, a lot.

Sallystyle · 27/01/2015 17:59

I don't see the problem with it.

I wash my hair once a week because it goes dry or frizzy.

I don't bath/shower every single day either. Sometimes I just wipe any smelly bits with a cloth.

I know I don't smell. I have many people in my house who would soon tell me if I do.

And my kids don't bath/shower daily either, except for one teen who smells so he needs to.

Moher · 27/01/2015 17:59

I never understand people who only wash pits and bits, surely it's quicker and more pleasant/less messy to just have a shower?

minimisemyshowers · 27/01/2015 18:01

My mum and dad didn't Jolly. Conversely, I know people who do shower daily and still smell a bit!

OP posts:
Sallystyle · 27/01/2015 18:01

I hate having a shower.

ShatnersBassoon · 27/01/2015 18:01

people smell, a lot.

I agree. It's part of being a mammal. We're smelly by design. It's up to you if you wash often enough to keep the odour undetectable by others.

Carriemoo · 27/01/2015 18:03

I shower every day but wash my hair once a week. I have thick curly hair and it tends to go like this:
Day 1: perfect curls
day 2: not so perfect but still intact
day 3: starts to go frizzy
day 4: starts to look like a birds nest... at this point I tie it up
day 5: more birds nest a like
Day 6: the dreadlocks start to form

About this point I know it needs washing as once dreadlocks form I can't get them out.

Hatespiders · 27/01/2015 18:04

I never shower, I hate the blooming things. I bath about every 3-4 days, when I wash my hair too. My hair is thick and shiny.
I do not smell. My nethers don't either. But I've never been a sweaty type, and my feet are odourless. I have a super-excellent sense of smell, so would notice straight away if I wasn't fresh!

Jollyphonics · 27/01/2015 18:07

Washing every 2 days is the same as changing underwear every 2 days. The body's secretions are on the skin instead of the material, that's the only difference.

minimisemyshowers · 27/01/2015 18:11

I don't change my bra every day.

I have also been known to wear a top I've slept in the next day Shock

OP posts:
velourvoyageur · 27/01/2015 18:16

I love showers....they're such a treat. I could spend hours in there. I've only recently stopped the habit of taking a book with me Blush

I think the only thing is avoiding smelliness. In the community we live in it makes sense for us to have social rules and for everyone to follow them more or less whether you don't particularly agree or not. Not being smelly is one of them. But otherwise it's no one else's business.

Leontine · 27/01/2015 18:18

@minimismemyshowers some people actually wear a different bra every day? Shock

ChippingInLatteLover · 27/01/2015 18:22

Carriemoo. I hate to ask, but why don't you just wash it more often?

I shower twice a day, most days, sometimes more often if I get hot & sweaty in between. Every morning without fail, most evenings. In winter I wash my hair most mornings, sometimes missing a day. Summer, every day. I hardly ever wash it at night in the winter, but generally rinse it at night in the summer. It's long & in great condition.

I think anyone who is going to be physically examined should shower if they are able to. I know sometimes it's just too much effort for some people who aren't well or are disabled.

I think some people are more 'smelly' than others and/or are more smelly at different times in their lives.

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