To ask how often you need to wash yourself to be clean?

[Goldencurtain]

I have a shower every other day but wouldn't admit that publicly because fear I would be shamed for being dirty. When my mum was growing up it was standard to have a bath once a week, no shame attached at all to that. Indeed it's probably only been fairly recently there has been an expectation of a daily/twice daily shower.

When did social attitudes start to change on what 'dirty' meant and what do you do?

I think daily showering is a product of modern consumerism, to get you to buy more soap / shampoo/ shower gel / hair dryers etc etc. I used to shower daily as my hair got so greasy, then started using dry shampoo. Now shower every other day unless particularly pongy.

I don’t think it’s normal to smell unless you’ve been working out and the sweat has gone stale. High sugar diets can make your sweat smell.
I shower/ bath daily at the moment but I’m breast feeding, I don’t use soap on my face just water and it wouldn’t bother me to wash every other or once every two days. Call me old fashioned.

Washing clothes after one wear, apart from underwear and tops in really hot weather, is horrendous for the planet. Wasteful of water, energy, and the clothes have to be replaced more often because of all the washing.

When I was a kid (80s) we had a bath on Sunday nights. Sometimes took it in turns to use the water too! No shower in that house and a very old and dodgy water system.

When I was about 10 we moved to a house with 2 bathrooms and each of those had a shower in. It was then that I started having more, possibly 2 a week.

From about 16 ish was when I started having daily showers.

Since having kids I’ve gone down to every other day as I find it hard to juggle. I’m sure when ds is a little older and doesn’t freak out the second my boobs are out of reach, I’ll go back to daily showers again.

Wow great reminiscing .

I grew up on the one bath a week as i became a teenager i needed to bath everyday...

I usually have a quick shower in the morning. I use bar soap and only wash my hair twice a week so that saves time. I find it quicker to lather up & rinse off instead of having a sink wash.

In the summer months I'll shower once I get home if it's particularly hot. I'll definitely wash my hands, face & feet when I get home.

I've also got a Japanese style toilet shower hose so I'll wash after using the toilet. So I'd say I'm pretty clean & it doesn't matter if I skip a shower one day.

I haven't rtft so apologies if someone has already made this point but I think it's a bit like the smoking ban.

I never used to walk into pubs and think "omg this stinks of fags", it was just what you expected. Presumably in the 70s the smell of two day old sweat was expected in the office and possibly masked somewhat by the aforementioned stinky fag smoke

I don't know about your houses, but our hot water takes a while to get going. a strip wash is often quicker (and more pleasant) than standing under the cold shower.

As a child I remember being bathed in a tin bath once a week, if that, in front of the kitchen fire, as we did not have a bathroom. I presume my mother must have washed us at the sink on other days. When we moved to a council house with a bathroom it was still a bath once a week, as my parents were worried about the cost of hot water, and the water was shared. Hair wash over the kitchen sink once a week. Strip wash other days. I didn't know of anyone who had a shower.
When I left home and went to college I realised that other people had much more frequent bathing habits, and went along with that, especially if we were seeing boys! Still, there were no showers installed in college bathrooms.
Then I lived in the tropics for a few years and showers twice a day were necessary.
These days I don't feel clean unless I shower every day, usually in the morning. It's as quick, if not quicker than a wash, and I feel good afterwards.

I can remember a family who lived near us on our council estate, who bathed their children every day. My mother thought they were very weird. This was in the 1950s.

things were different years ago but no one noticed smells because we all smelt similar, bath 1x per wk, strip wash every morning at sink. . now I will not go out of the house without a shower/bath, esp at a certain time of the month and in Summer when you sweat more.. I can sometimes smell periods on people, (strong sense of smell) so me personally I shower every morning and bath most nights which also helps me to relax. I expect my partner to get into bed clean too. Most of my friends are similar.

Everyone has their own smell. Some more offensive / pleasant than others. I have a very sensitive nose. I can tell who's showered in the morning and who's left it a day or more.
Strip washing takes longer than a quick rinse in the shower, is less clean and more of a faff.
My dd has pretty severe eczema and was told by her specialist to shower at least twice a day to remove the staphylococcus bacteria that causes skin infections. Since she has her skin is much improved she's now 8 and has been doing this for 2/3 years. If she misses a shower sure enough her eczema flares sometimes necessitating antibiotic and oral steroids.
I shower at least once a day. Usually twice. hair daily. A good conditioner will prevent hair drying out.
Bedding changed weekly for all of us. Vests, pants and socks at least once a day. Clothing worn away from the skin daily or every second use. Towels twice a week.
It's grim to not shower daily imo.
Start the day clean. Yes. You can and do get used to your own natural smell so those who shower every 2/3 data strip wash or not you are kidding yourself if you think you don't smell to others, even if you think you don't sweat.

I bath a week until I was a teenager, then a bath every day, then moved to daily showers when showers became the norm. I was born in 1957. We shared the same water, heated by an immersion heater, when I was little (family of 6). Friday night was bath night. My Dad might have had fresh water, and had his bath last. I can remember laying in bed in clean pyjamas between clean bed sheets (gorgeous feeling!) Listening to my dad singing in the bathroom, a song he made up about Friday night bath night at (our address).

Most days but sometimes I skip one and I often don't wash my hair for a few days. If I don't shower then obviously I have a good strip wash. I'm lucky in that I don't have smelly sweat. It's pretty unusual but it's like i just sweat water. Seriously I'm not in denial - Google it. Lol I've always been the same and assumed it was normal and it was people who didn't wash who had BO. Lol

Sigh. Not this nonsense again? When will MN ever learn? www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/08/shower-once-a-week-polluting-environment

Lady Macbeth would say never.

I think it's from the Americanisation of our culture - TV, books, films. During the 80s, I guess? Which mainly came from LA/Hollywood or Dallas where it's hot and people showered more often. When I grew up it was a bath a week with washes of bits inbetween, then hormones kicked in and showers a bit more often. I don't think showering everyday is good for the skin let alone the planet .

Every morning but that's mainly to wake me up! I don't feel awake till I've had a coffee and a shower.

Standing under a hot shower is bad for your face, neck and chest from an ageing point of view.

Everyone's different.
My exh did not smell,he might get a slight sweat smell if he did extended,strenuous work in hot weather but otherwise nothing.
I shower mainly in the morning if working but don't bother if I'm at home just was bits and pits.
My comment about a quick shower using gel is because shower gel doesn't clean well.I know a lot if people who shower daily who are not as fragrant as they think.
And although people on here shower regularly do you wash your hands enough?
A lot of people rarely shower but they won't be answering this post and you wouldn't know if you met them.

I have a very sensitive nose. I can tell who's showered in the morning and who's left it a day or more.

How? Presumably you’re not so rude as to ask people when they last washed. How, then, do you know you’re correct?

Fascinating. I definitely do not shower every day. But I am a very dry person who hardly sweats and has few secretions, oily or mucousy. I don't even wash my face every day (don't wear make-up regularly), but am very strict on hands and teeth.
I have lived at very close quarters in various communal settings where shared facilities and certain ecological implications meant that people were not able to shower or bathe daily, but I can't say that anyone smelled particularly bad for going a day or two without.
DP has oily Mediterranean skin and never goes a day without at least one shower or bath. His bedding also actually needs changing on changing day, whereas mine and the DCs is still crisp and fresh.

I live by myself, I shower every2 or 3 dasy and I'm clean. Somedays I don't see anyone so it doesn't matter.