To wash everyday?

[Brodiebirdy]

I currently wash my hair every other day and on the days in between I just have a quick wash in the shower (I’m only in there for about 2 mins). I’m staying with my sister for the week and she says it’s a lot of water to use and that you don’t really need to wash every day- she says that every other day is fine. I just wondered if other people thought that washing everyday is too much? Thanks

Then you go out to work or to see friends or shop etc and you are exposed to traffic fumes, pathogens, viruses, public surfaces such as handles etc that have been touched by hundreds throughout the day. You are exposed to faecal or waste matter if people don’t clean up theirs dog poop, or if the toilet is flushed without the lid on it ( everything you flush still travels upwards in particles if the lid isn’t shut) then touch your face, hair arm etc.

Yes, and the human body has evolved over thousands of years to be able to deal with all of that without scrubbing it all off every 10 seconds. In fact it's all the washing and cleaning stuff that is causing us to be perhaps less resilient to this stuff.

If we don't sweat at night or do anything else that gets us dirty so we can leave the house without washing, why do we change our sheets?

My husband has a terrible sense of smell and can never smell my perfumes, even. So he could (in theory) sniff his armpits and be under the delusion he never sweats. Luckily, he showers every morning as a matter of course. What I am saying is, not being able to smell yourself does not mean you don't smell.

This thread explains why smelly people exist. They fall into two camps: those who don't realise they smell (shower less than 5 times a week/wash hair less than twice a week and only wash their clothes rarely) or don't care (the above plus probably wear jeans for 14 days straight). However it is unlikely that smelly people will be ever cured because people rarely tell them they smell so they carry on oblivious to the person behind them on the bus thinking "ewww her hair stinks!!!".

In fact it's all the washing and cleaning stuff that is causing us to be perhaps less resilient to this stuff.

Improved hygiene alone has accounted for most of the improved life expectancy and reduced childhood mortality.
I'll keep washing.

My husband has a terrible sense of smell and can never smell my perfumes, even. So he could (in theory) sniff his armpits and be under the delusion he never sweats. Luckily, he showers every morning as a matter of course. What I am saying is, not being able to smell yourself does not mean you don't smell.
Yes, I think this explains a lot of people who stink on public transport...oblivious to those squashed next to them trying not to gag.

Improved hygiene alone has accounted for most of the improved life expectancy and reduced childhood mortality.

Yes, but by 'improved hygiene' we are talking about being able to wash your hands at all after touching someone else's bodily fluids, or using gloves when necessary, or being able to sterilise surgical instruments thoroughly, use proper antiseptic, being able to disinfect a surface when necessary, having much better food hygiene.

It doesn't mean showering ever day rather than every second or even third day! That really isn't going to make any difference to that sort of 'hygiene'.

And it certainly doesn't mean disinfecting every single surface and thing that you touch or washing bed sheets daily, or using disinfectant in your daily laundry or whatever else people on here claim to do, cleaning everything so constantly and thoroughly that your own immune system may actually start to diminish through lack of exposure to pathogens.

I think being hygienic is not necessarily washing your arms, legs etc every day.
Its keeping the necessary bits mostly free from harmful bacteria.
Like most things these days, people have the idea that more is more.

Its keeping the necessary bits mostly free from harmful bacteria.

Well yes, but there is loads of evidence to suggest that overwashing your fanny can cause chaos down there, because it upsets the good bacteria balance as well. And as was discussed upthread, for a long time women have been made paranoid by marketing companies that their vaginas are 'gross' and need all manner of stuff (soaps, shower gels, scented fucking tampoms gah!) to ensure they stay 'fresh'.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3077911-Smelly-work-colleague

Many years ago there was a smelly colleague in our office. We all complained to management but it did not go well. Apparently the offending person refused to accept that she smelt. She had serious BO. I don't know what happened after that because I left but I clearly remember her carrying on as before. WTF does a manager do after that? Warning?

^ an interesting old thread about people who think they don't smell.

I did shower this morning, put on deodorant and freshly laundered clothes. But this thread has made me worried. I slept in sheets that weren't freshly laundered and dried myself with a tòwel that wasn't freshly laundered either. Oh god I'm a minger and I must stink to high heaven.

I can smell you from here!

But people who have terrible BO, whether they can smell themselves or not, either have some sort bacetrial issue, regularly go for days without showering, or don't wash their clothes and are putting sweat riddled clothes back on.

You just don't get that level of BO from showering every other day as opposed to every day! You just don't! If you did, you would only smell horrific every other day wouldn't you, and so it probably wouldn't be as much of an issue for your colleagues anyway?

I know someone in real life who has absolutely terrible BO, she is a sort of friend/more acquaintance so I can't say anything. She always looks very presentable, seems quite normal, lovely clean house, but even if we have been out in the evening (at the sort of events that pretty much anyone would shower before) and she is dressed up, the smell is there. I can't really figure it out tbh, and I wonder if she has a medical issue that's not her fault. I highly doubt its because she showers every second day as opposed to every day.

Washing everyday is not needed but that is what we do since showers became the 'must have' in the bathroom. How many of us used to have a bath everyday. Even as children doubt that was the norm. Our skin doesn't need to be lathered in chemicals regularly, that certainly doesn't help maintain it's protective properties. Have a wash down or offer some contribution to cost.

Argy I shouldn't imagine she used them greatly as she is very concerned about the planet and is now strictly vegan but I think it was the fact that there may not have been any running water and they were advised to bring some by the organisation they were with

An alternative perspective on excessive cleanliness is that it could partly explain the increase in allergies

www.independent.co.uk/news/science/asthma-clean-water-allergies-hygiene-hypothesis-cleanliness-friendly-bacteria-yeast-a7586201.html

Or a more nuanced analysis
www.nature.com/articles/479S2a

I was highlighting how much we take our water and resources in the UK for granted

I've came the the conclusion that the vast majority of non daily showerers on here are who I could pick out of a line up by looks and smell, No grooming, skincare routine, don't tend to wear make up and probably don't iron their clothes either.

The is basic discipline which should be instilled into your children. As I said before I know children from a very professional family who stink, they pay for fancy lessons and the parents are very intelligent at the top of their profession, but it's vomit inducing sitting next to. Other adults notice and they will get bullied at school. I think what are these parents thinking, Chuck them in a bath, wash them and dress them nicely. How long does that take?, seriously!

Everybody is different, and individuals' bodies can change over time, too, due to hormone fluctuations, physical changes etc.

I think I have a pretty good sense of smell, but I really do not encounter smelly people very often. And I have a very long commute on public transport! I want to know where all these smelly people are. Almost everybody I encounter in everyday human interactions either smells of nothing at all or of perfume/aftershave/hair gel etc. Some smokers smell of stale smoke, some do not. I generally don't get close enough to people to smell their hair, even on the train or bus. I might do a Joe Biden and start creepily sniffing people's hair as they stand alongside me!

It is interesting how some people just naturally start to smell sooner than others and therefore need to wash more often. My mum has never been a daily showerer - when we were growing up, I believe she washed at the sink every day and had a weekly bath. Nowadays, I'm not sure, but I think she probably does a mix of shower and sink wash. She always smells clean and fresh and I get very close to her when I hug her!

When I'm not depressed and wallowing in my own filth and despair, I shower every day. I've never had a problem with armpit BO - daily washing and application of antiperspirant works well for me, even though I'm a sweaty person. However, my bladder is gone all sketchy on me, so I don't feel as fresh in the pants department as I used to do. What I tend to do is have a full shower in the morning and a half shower before bed where I stand in the bath and wash undercarriage and usually also under boobs and under bellyhang and rinse off with the shower head. In hot weather, I might have a full second shower. I'd love a bidet!

The long and the short of it is people are different. Some of us need a proper wash every day; some can get away with a lower frequency. I do think a sink wash can be perfectly adequate if done correctly, but is much less refreshing. I don't see what make-up, exfoliation and body hair removal have to do with hygiene, as per queenscot's post.

I shower every day, usually twice, but I'm buggered if I'm ironing anything.

Lweji

So showering every day rather than every other day helps prevent death now.... Ridiculous.

No grooming, skincare routine, don't tend to wear make up and probably don't iron their clothes either.

What has grooming to do with cleanliness? I iron everything but I never wear make-up or do anything to my hair beyond brushing it. I look neat and tidy. Why does exfoliating or putting on make-up come into it?

I'm not for excessive hygiene or rather excessive cleaning either. I don't use any anti-bacterial stuff and certainly don't wash my vagina, just the external bits.

My previous post related to the idea that our current hygiene levels (normal ones) cause less resilience to germs, as if our health suffered. The opposite is true, because history shows that people used to die a lot or have illnesses that we can prevent by hygiene.

Excessive hygiene can cause problems, yes, by removing harmless bacteria and it seems by removing non deadly parasites that would normally modulate our immune systems, and thereby indirectly leading to an increase in allergies and autoimmunity. But those are separate problems from resilience to germs.

These non showering wouldn't get many a job. Does the army not ensure you're showered daily, was it not part of national service? As for my profession I require full face of make up and I must be clean. I've heard stories of schools showering children as parents are oblivious to their smell. So do we all agree brushing teeth everyday twice a day is a good idea or do you think your mouth smells sweet after 3 days? It's due to hygiene that people are keeping their teeth longer.

So showering every day rather than every other day helps prevent death now.... Ridiculous.

Yes, it's ridiculous that you concluded that from my post.