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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not shower everyday?

382 replies

Zwills · 19/09/2021 15:46

Especially if you don't work full time or leave the house everyday. Sometimes I prefer to shower in the evenings so I feel fresh before going to bed, other days if I'm going out I will have a shower in the morning or If I wake up earlier before the kids i have one then. I don't always wash my hair I don't always shower everyday if I am just at home and exhausted. Just wondering how honest everyone will be or do people literally shower everyday/twice a day without fail even if they don't leave their home. Obviously excluding when the weather the hot.

OP posts:
IcedPurple · 19/09/2021 19:21

@NuffSaidSam

My mum likes a strip wash because she doesn't like showers, so bathes but in between that goes for a sink-based strip wash. She's outside of Mumsnet, so that's 1. I imagine they're most popular amongst the older community who would have been having them 50 years ago. Maybe if you ask around that age group in real life you'll be able to meet a real life strip-washer?

Also, do you know the intimate washing habits of all the people in your real life? Because I find that absolutely fascinating! How soon into the relationship do you ask?!

No, I don't go around asking people, but I'm confident that nobody I know stands in front of a sink on a cold winter's night faffing about with flannels and splashing water all over the bathroom floor when they could be using the custom built shower a metre away.
NuffSaidSam · 19/09/2021 19:27

'No, I don't go around asking people, but I'm confident that nobody I know stands in front of a sink on a cold winter's night faffing about with flannels and splashing water all over the bathroom floor when they could be using the custom built shower a metre away.'

So you don't know then, you just think you know. Because it doesn't appeal to you, no-one else would do it. Then you encounter Mumsnet where people discuss these things, you hear people do it and come to believe it's only on mumsnet. It's not though.

And just FYI, I don't know how but my mum does it without getting water all over the floor. I think she stands on a bathmat! Each to their own really isn't it?!

GoWalkabout · 19/09/2021 19:32

I don't need to, sometimes its quite nice to. I think it's one of those vicious cycle things you need to do more if you strip natural protection down more by washing frequently. And because companies in our consumer society make products that are based on profit not effectiveness (so shower gel makes you smellier than soap, hair products that mean you have to wash hair more frequently etc)

IcedPurple · 19/09/2021 19:37

So you don't know then, you just think you know. Because it doesn't appeal to you, no-one else would do it. Then you encounter Mumsnet where people discuss these things, you hear people do it and come to believe it's only on mumsnet. It's not though.

I'm not going to get into a back and forth with you. I do think very few able bodied people choose to stand at a sink and scrub away with a flannel when there's a nice hot shower right next to them, but maybe I live a sheltered life away from that whole 'strip wash' thing.

NuffSaidSam · 19/09/2021 19:43

@IcedPurple

So you don't know then, you just think you know. Because it doesn't appeal to you, no-one else would do it. Then you encounter Mumsnet where people discuss these things, you hear people do it and come to believe it's only on mumsnet. It's not though.

I'm not going to get into a back and forth with you. I do think very few able bodied people choose to stand at a sink and scrub away with a flannel when there's a nice hot shower right next to them, but maybe I live a sheltered life away from that whole 'strip wash' thing.

I agree that it's a minority washing choice, certainly.

But I think it's problematic to assume that people don't like something/do something because you personally don't like it/do it. Thought it was worth pointing out. You never really know what other people are doing.

Charlene91 · 19/09/2021 19:50

This is going to sound awful, so I apologise in advance. I'm a little overweight, so I find that I need to shower everyday to prevent me from smelling. I feel that if someone is overweight they may need to shower more. Then again, everyone is different 🤷‍♀️

Having said that, showering everyday isn't necessarily a good thing as it dries out your skin.

Roominmyhouse · 19/09/2021 19:56

I always feel groggy and a bit sweaty when I wake up. I need a shower to freshen up! It really doesn’t take long especially if you don’t need wash to wash your hair everyday. I do though because I have fine hair and again I like the feeling of clean hair.

Sweettea1 · 19/09/2021 20:07

Shower every morning but that's because it helps wake me up for the day.

AndStand · 19/09/2021 20:57

@roolz

Yup, sink washes are silly IMO. Maybe they were useful 50 years ago. Now there's really no need. Easier and more pleasant to just hop in the shower
@roolz You may think a sink wash is silly, but there is a need if a house doesn't actually HAVE a shower. What makes you think all houses have them? We've only had a shower in this house for the last couple of years. Before then it was either a sink wash or fill an enormous bath which took about half an hour to fill with our crap water pressure. You say "there's really no need" - I beg to differ.
grey12 · 19/09/2021 21:01

I used to shower everyday religiously! My parents were born and raised in a hot country and that was their culture.

Since having kids, I don't have the time to shower everyday........

Washing hair, is actually not good for you to do every day (unless chlorine, salt, sweat). I do it once a week (could do with every 5/6 days but ponytail instead Grin)

LimitIsUp · 19/09/2021 22:23

I don't like to shower everyday, but if I don't I sometimes catch a whiff of myself and it's a sour smell - so it's better that I do quite frankly, even though it's a faff

MusicTeacherSussex · 19/09/2021 22:27

Tbh I do shower every morning even if it's a quickie. My hair can wait as it's a long curly full time job that takes hours and too much electricity to dry presentably but I have to shower soon as I'm up and scrub pits and bits. Especially if you sleep next to a man who is a human radiator.

Ameanstreakamilewide · 20/09/2021 16:13

I do some of my best thinking while I'm in the shower.

Not thinking about work, etc, clearly helps me focus. 👍

CounsellorTroi · 20/09/2021 16:18

I shower 9 days out of 10 but on the odd day I will have a sink wash if I want to speed things up. It does take me longer to get dry when I’ve had a shower.

AnnieSnap · 20/09/2021 16:21

I don’t shower daily and wash my hair about once every 5 days. Better for skin and hair! Shock, horror eh?

BippityBoppity87 · 20/09/2021 16:23

No I don't. Usually every couple of days. Sometimes gone 3/4 days and have been perfectly fine. Not smelled or anything. I thought it would be bad for your skin washing it everyday anyway. Unless like you say, you're very active and sweat a lot, but I really don't think it's necessary

irregularegular · 20/09/2021 16:26

I do. I don't feel awake if I don't shower first thing. I don't think about it, it's the first thing I do when I get up. Then I get dressed and have breakfast. Every day. It saves thinking! Plus my thick, curly hair sticks up all over the place if not given a good soaking!

But I don't think it is necessary for cleanliness. I didn't shower every day in my teens/early 20s. It won't necessarily mean you smell or are unhygienic. It's purely a preference.

AnnieSnap · 20/09/2021 16:36

@GoWalkabout

I don't need to, sometimes its quite nice to. I think it's one of those vicious cycle things you need to do more if you strip natural protection down more by washing frequently. And because companies in our consumer society make products that are based on profit not effectiveness (so shower gel makes you smellier than soap, hair products that mean you have to wash hair more frequently etc)
This ☝️ It hadn’t occurred to me before, but perhaps the twice a day showerers would smell if they missed a shower because they have messed up the natural chemical balance of their skin 🤷‍♀️
zingally · 20/09/2021 16:53

I don't.

I shower every other day/every 3rd day.

In the height of summer, or if I've been out in the city all day, I'll have a shower. But otherwise, no.

I like an evening shower - just that sense of "wash the day away".

MereDintofPandiculation · 20/09/2021 17:03

I'm not going to get into a back and forth with you. I do think very few able bodied people choose to stand at a sink and scrub away with a flannel when there's a nice hot shower right next to them, but maybe I live a sheltered life away from that whole 'strip wash' thing

All very well talking about a "nice warm shower," but if your bathroom is cold enough for a sink wash to be uncomfortable, a shower is going to be even colder - the bits under the shower at any one time will be warm, but one side of you is going to be wet but in the cold air because you're concentrating on the other side of you. In a cold bathroom, the warmest way to wash is to uncover one bit of you at a time and give it a good wash.

catfunk · 20/09/2021 17:08

I do because I genuinely smell bad if I don't

CiaoForNiao · 20/09/2021 17:08

@IcedPurple

So you don't know then, you just think you know. Because it doesn't appeal to you, no-one else would do it. Then you encounter Mumsnet where people discuss these things, you hear people do it and come to believe it's only on mumsnet. It's not though.

I'm not going to get into a back and forth with you. I do think very few able bodied people choose to stand at a sink and scrub away with a flannel when there's a nice hot shower right next to them, but maybe I live a sheltered life away from that whole 'strip wash' thing.

I don't have a shower so a strip wash is definitely quicker and easier than a bath.

And yes for those who like to cross reference posters comments. I've previously referred to having showers on this thread. I was using "shower" to mean shower or bath. IE a "proper" wash.

HalzTangz · 20/09/2021 17:09

I shower every other day Inc washing my hair

NotMyCat · 20/09/2021 17:12

I shower every other day. Wash hair every 4 days
I smell fine. If I was hot or sweaty or smelled, I would shower

Daphnise · 20/09/2021 17:15

The Australians always say the British don't wash- and in the OP's case it seems they would be right!

I suppose it's OK if a person just wants to slob around in their own filth, and are miserly with soap, water, towels etc.