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?

feelingverylazytoday Mon 03-Feb-20 16:31:37
I grew up in the '60s and '70s, my Mum made us get bathed every night, even though we were a poor family. It probably cost quite a bit to heat the water, she was a little bit obsessed with cleanliness though.
One over all wash per day is essential, IMO, be it bath , shower or strip wash at the sink as a last resort. In hot sweaty weather a second wash is needed, at the very least, face, armpits, under boobs etc. If you've got a shower it's just as easy to jump in there and get washed all over.
...
Quite right.

CharlotteJade - have you tried Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion? It's a miracle worker and easy to apply while still damp from a shower. There are many versions of it but the basic one is excellent.

Personally I have a shower every morning as soon as I wake up as I cannot start the day without it..it makes me feel fresh and energetic. Before bed I was my bits and if I had a really busy/tiring day I have another shower. I wash my hair every alternate days.
However I wouldn't judge anyone as this could be personal, everyone has their preferences and needs.

SoupDragon
A subtle soap scent is the smell of soap. It is not the smell of clean human
Okay, so how do you propose we clean humans without soap?
Don’t tell me with water alone..

Hi OP

Sorry haven't read the whole post but great question as I have thought of this before. I grew up with a bath 2 or 3 times a week. It wasn't until university that I realised most of the MC students were from backgrounds where having a shower every morning was the done thing. So like everyone else I conformed. And then have carried on ever since. But now I am active and sweaty and do wash with soap every day. Funny how it wasn't the norm back then but is now. Well for me I mean of course.

I'm not a fan of a strip wash, but if I use a flannel to wash bits and pits it takes barely any time at all and they're only a bit wet so takes not time at all to dry off. If I have a shower in the morning, it takes longer to dry. Not much difference, admittedly, but perhaps that's why some people strip wash in the mornings rather than have a full on shower?

Some people prefer to use unscented soap, deodorant etc. What do we reckon these people smell of if not clean human?

karencantobe Sat 01-Feb-20 17:47:10
@Elle7rose I always wear clothes in public. I wash my hands regularly. No other part of my body is touching surfaces to pick up cold viruses.

You'd be surprised- if you've touched a door handle and then touched your face, hair, ears etc. then they could well have viral particles on them (e.g. flu virus). If you've sat on a public loo then faecal bacteria and perhaps norovirus can transfer to your legs etc.

I shower every morning, but I don’t wash my hair every day. I don’t think children need cleaning every day. My two have baths everyday as part of their nighttime routine but they don’t have lots of soaps in with them

I think the change towards showering daily was in the 80s/90s?

We were a bit late on that front, I think we got a shower in the mid/late 90s. Before that it was baths. I still bloody love a bath and have one every week.

I shower everyday if I am going into work. I only wash my hair once a week as its so thick, it takes 20 - 30 minutes to blowdry and straighten. I'm exhausted and hot after!

If I showered every day I would crumble into a pile of skin.
I have very dry skin and hair and don’t sweat much.

In the 60's/70's my parents had a bucket bath. They bought a bucket for bathroom use only. They filled it up with hot water, poured water over themselves with with a small plastic jug & then lathered up. With the remaining water, they would shampoo and rinse off. So they had daily bucket washes which was cleaner than sitting in a bath of dirty water.

Then in the 80's my dad bought a manual shower head that you fitted onto the taps.

I live in a largely hot and humid climate and typically shower twice a day - once in the morning and once in the evening. Although I may only wash hair once every other day or every third day. I particularly like the evening shower, there is something I like about getting into bed clean.

If its cold then quite often just shower once a day - unless I have exercised, as would always shower first thing and then after exercise.

I do see it as an enjoyable ritual though, I listen to a podcast and have a whole routine of cleansing and moisturising.

I suspect it also has a lot to do with the climate where you live. I live somewhere pretty cold in winter, showering every day would result in painful sandpaper skin! I shower every three days and feel fresh and clean. Some weeks I have an extra shower in there if my gym days don't line up because I cannot not shower after sweating like that. Summer sometimes also requires an extra (cold) shower if it's particularly warm. I remember when I was in Malaysia for a few weeks I showered more often because the humidity sticks to the skin.

I don't get this strip wash thing. If you have a shower, and most people do, why mess around with flannels and sinks?

It’s quicker, and you don’t risk getting your hair wet. Even with a shower cap, my hair will always be a bit damp after a hot shower and I have to waste time styling it again.

In the 60's/70's my parents had a bucket bath. They bought a bucket for bathroom use only

Where I live it’s extremely hot and during the summer months most people have a bucket bath with water that’s been left to cool even when the waters come out of the cold tap. It’s the best kind of bathing and every year I say I’m going to have a bucket bath every day from now on in but I always end up going back to having showers.

My Gran was born in the 1920s and used to have daily baths so it wasn't everyone that had 'bath night'.

We havent got a shower just a bath,I have a bath every morning.If we had a shower I would use it twice a day.

If you have a shower, and most people do, why mess around with flannels and sinks?

It conserves water, for one thing.

I think bidets are wonderful things. If we had one I would shower every other day, rather than daily.

Once a day it's a good idea to daily wash your face, bum, feet,private parts underarms, and chest. Whatever age you are.
Anything less is asking for bacterial pongs to build up. I change my knickers and bra each day too.
I do not wash my hair every day, that is every other-2 days . I had pongy hair, a lot of people do not realise that their hair smells rancid if they do not wash it.
Me:
I shower in the morning and then shower attachment my nethers before bed unless I had a bedtime bath. I like my feet to be clean getting into bed too because I don't like the feel of my feet unless they are washed and body creamed.
My partner showers once a day, and washes his face and hands at bedtime he is not a very pongy person so this is fine.

I am disabled by firbromyalgia and often in a lot of pain, so my cleanliness routine can be marred by pain.

I meant I hate pongy hair...!
As a child we would bath twice a week and wash with a flannel all over morning and night. I remember putting my foot up to wash it! but when I asked Mum if I could bath every day she said yes.

You can get an add on for your toilet that's a bit like those Japanese water sprayers on amazon. DH went to S Korea recently and is now all for getting one!

You can get an add on for your toilet that's a bit like those Japanese water sprayers on amazon

Here at home they're affectionately known as a bum gun but in the summer we refer to the flame thrower.

I live in a hot climate.

I show after every work out (most days) and always before sex, but the only time I'll shower twice a day is if I've been for a swim after work and that's to rinse hair and clothes of salt water.

I'd go 2 days (or 36 hours) if I'm not working out and that suits me fine. I don't give a shit if people judge, and frankly anyone that does needs to get a life.

I’ve also noticed that it starts young, people give their children a bath every night. My daughter suffers from eczema which flares up if I wash her too regularly. So I give her two showers a week at best (she’s 6). I myself probably only shower 3 times a week. But I rarely sweat, work in a corporate environment so you’d never know. I’d never admit this however, as previous posters have said, it’s now not socially acceptable to not shower daily. Ironically the less I wash my hair, the less it needs washing.