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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how often you shower

357 replies

yesterdayisinthepast · 14/10/2021 22:21

Inspired by a lot of comments posted in a recent thread on here! (Apologies if there is already a thread on here as I'm not too sure how to navigate MN fully yet.)

How often do you shower/have a bath? Twice a day, daily, couple times a week, weekly etc. If you don't shower daily, do you just have a quick sink wash on the days you don't shower or do you simply brush your teeth and straight out of the door? I'm intrigued to know and hoping people will be a bit more honest as it's an anonymous forumWink

On this recent thread, a poster had made several comments saying they don't understand how people only wash themselves with their hands and not a flannel or sponge. AIBU to think that using your hands to wash is quite common and seems to be done by the majority?

There was also a comment by another poster about not washing their legs in the shower as soap and hot water runs down them so no need to focus on these areas specifically.
Quite a random topic but I'm intrigued to hear from other people on here

OP posts:
LovelyLupins · 15/10/2021 16:28

Shower every morning, twice a day in hot weather. Use natural soap and my hands to wash pit and bits, never wash arms, legs etc. May wash feet if they are dirty from barefoot or flip flops in summer. Wash hair every other day, shave once a week. Moisturise body once in a blue moon.

Gonnagetgoing · 15/10/2021 16:28

@yesterdayisinthepast

To the people who have commented saying there's many threads on this topic/this topic comes up every fortnight etc. I'm hardly on MN as I'm so busy but I came on today and read a similar thread which inspired this one. I did apologise in case there were any threads on this topic but seems some people can't help themselves!

I also shower every morning but I think it's more of a psychological thing (similar to what a pp said.) I feel as if my day can't start unless I've had a shower!😂 once showered I feel ready to start the day.
Due to my hair type I only have to wash my hair about once a month as it's always in a protective style such as braids or a wig

See you washing your hair once a month is disgusting to me. More so than me not using a bidet.
martingrowler · 15/10/2021 16:30

Almost daily... there's usually a day a week where I miss a shower/bath. I find it an absolute chore so if I don't smell/haven't done much I'll skip it.

I don't use a flannel or anything, just hands

raymondanddebra · 15/10/2021 16:31

Every evening before bed and do hair most might too. Don't wash legs apart from every other day when they get shaved. Don't do feet unless summer time. Mornings it's just teeth and go as I'm clean from the night before

Original poster
yesterdayisinthepast · 15/10/2021 16:37

See you washing your hair once a month is disgusting to me. More so than me not using a bidet.

I'm black and have 4C hair, we don't have the type of hair that you wash daily or even weekly. That would actually dry out our hair and cause it to break because it'll make it damaged.

As I said my natural hair is always in a protective style such as braids or under a wig. If I had my natural hair out and dealt with it daily I'd wash it every two weeks. Anything more frequent then that will damage our hair.
I'm sure you've seen that black and caucasian hair are usually completely different hence it's handled differently
@Gonnagetgoing

OP posts:
NotMyCat · 15/10/2021 16:47

@yesterdayisinthepast

See you washing your hair once a month is disgusting to me. More so than me not using a bidet.

I'm black and have 4C hair, we don't have the type of hair that you wash daily or even weekly. That would actually dry out our hair and cause it to break because it'll make it damaged.

As I said my natural hair is always in a protective style such as braids or under a wig. If I had my natural hair out and dealt with it daily I'd wash it every two weeks. Anything more frequent then that will damage our hair.
I'm sure you've seen that black and caucasian hair are usually completely different hence it's handled differently
@Gonnagetgoing

Yep. I'm white with curly hair (my great great grandad was black and my cousins have much tighter curls than me) and my hair hates being washed too often It doesn't get greasy, and I will cover it at night and if cooking. It's usually best rinsed with water and product added rather than a full rewash plus the drying time is ridiculous
WoodchipNightmares · 15/10/2021 16:48

Every morning

miltonj · 15/10/2021 17:09

Shower everyday, even if I'm not particularly 'dirty', I would just prefer to feel fresh and rinse the film of sleep away haha. Honestly don't I'm understand people who don't but each to their own

CounsellorTroi · 15/10/2021 17:28

A lot of Muslims always use the example of, 'if there was poo on your hand would you wipe it off with tissue or wash your hands? Most would wash their hands to ensure it's all gone. Why won't you do the same with your bum?'

If I used my bum for anything that I use my hands for I would agree.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 15/10/2021 17:35

I shower every morning and after I've done exercise. I perspire quite a lot.

Never have a bath, I don't like them.

Hair washed every other day, my hair is flat and fine so looks greasy very quickly.

SunsetStyle · 15/10/2021 17:42

These threads always make me laugh.
Most people are perfectly hygienic and healthy. Occasionally you come across someone who is unaware of their own BO, but I've never met a person who smells of shit in my daily comings and goings.
I work in elderly care and most are fine with a daily strip wash and a weekly shower or bath.
Personally, I like to shower daily, but will wash at the sink with a clean flannel if short of time.
Really no need for all this fuss!

Eeiliethya · 15/10/2021 18:09

The thought of washing my hair and going through the drying & straightening (curly) rigmarole every day makes me shiver.

I wash my hair once a week. My hair is dry, never looks greasy.

I shower 3 times a week. Wash in the sink daily.

Biff smells fine.

icedcoffees · 15/10/2021 18:12

The thought of washing my hair and going through the drying & straightening (curly) rigmarole every day makes me shiver.

Well, none of that is actually necessary, though.

My hair is curly but I've probably not used straighteners on it in 18 months or more. I just let it dry naturally or style it when wet.

Eeiliethya · 15/10/2021 18:13

Also, showering really sucks the moisture out of my skin. I would be like a walking skin flake if I showered every day.

Baths - hate them. They always appeal to me, I imagine myself soaking in a nice hot bath with candles and wine.

The reality is much different. My 4 yo will barge in for a shite or I get too hot.

I also like my showers cool. Even in winter. If my showers are too hot it makes me feel breathless! Weirdly, I go to a spa once every 6 weeks and am quite happy sat in the sauna 🤷🏼‍♀️.

tiredanddangerous · 15/10/2021 18:14

Every morning. In hot weather I'll shower again after work.

Eeiliethya · 15/10/2021 18:16

@icedcoffees

The thought of washing my hair and going through the drying & straightening (curly) rigmarole every day makes me shiver.

Well, none of that is actually necessary, though.

My hair is curly but I've probably not used straighteners on it in 18 months or more. I just let it dry naturally or style it when wet.

Yes but I look like Worzel Gummidge if I don't style it.

I've spent years trying to hunt down the perfect curly products but it's not happened for me yet. The closest I got was coconut oil and plopping with a T-shirt. It's just got a halo of frizz and looks terrible.

schoolsoutforever · 15/10/2021 18:17

Nearly every day. If it’s a Sunday and I’m doing nothing sometimes I skip a day but otherwise once a day, sometimes twice for a hair wash the night before.

FlipFlops4Me · 15/10/2021 18:17

Shower every day but usually late afternoon. Wash my hair every four or five days (any more often wrecks it). I don't use soap - I use Diprobase, especially on my face and fanny. All soaps burn dreadfully. I use one of the pretty scratchy netty balls for my body, but flannel for face and hands for fanny.

In the hot sweaty summers (I live in the extreme south west) I'll shower twice daily and soak my hair but leave it wet.

icedcoffees · 15/10/2021 18:21

Yes but I look like Worzel Gummidge if I don't style it.

Meh, so I do Grin

Luckily I work outdoors and with animals so it really doesn't matter what it looks like! I appreciate it's different for others but even when I worked in retail I just styled it when wet and used clips/spray to keep it tidy.

Kb2942 · 15/10/2021 18:24

Shower once a day, always. But sometimes I fancy a bath in the evenings after showering in the mornings.. yet generally one shower a day, usually in the morning. I have a wash in the evening before bed. I don't get particularly dirty during the day. I love a good shower though.

AnnieSnap · 15/10/2021 19:22

[quote NotMyCat]@AnnieSnap medical condition, I need to use hibiscrub on affected areas which is my armpits [/quote]
Oh I see. Sorry to have assumed it was OTT, but hopefully, you will agree that it would be for someone without that problem and you didn’t specify.

NotMyCat · 15/10/2021 19:42

@AnnieSnap yeah I get abscesses so have to use either hibiscrub or an antibac soap like dettol. I usually go for the soap as it smells nicer Grin but I'm using up hibiscrub at the minute!

NalPolishRemover · 16/10/2021 09:42

You absolutely can tell when someone doesn't wash often enough. I used to work with someone like this. She was married with 2 primary aged kids & she did not smell good .
Over the course of a day her odour would fill the office. It was a fusty, unaired much worn clothing smell mixed with sweat some days (she favoured acrylic & it did her no favours) & oily unwashed hair most days.

If I left the office & came back in it would hit me like a wall. I kept the window open a lot & always worried people would think it was me!

She had odd ideas about deodorant being bad for you, that washing her hair frequently was too arduous, that washing clothes frequently was not needed. In her case it most certainly was needed

I often wondered what her house / husband/ kids smelt like...

TheBlackArt · 16/10/2021 09:45

@CounsellorTroi

A lot of Muslims always use the example of, 'if there was poo on your hand would you wipe it off with tissue or wash your hands? Most would wash their hands to ensure it's all gone. Why won't you do the same with your bum?'

If I used my bum for anything that I use my hands for I would agree.

😂
Lulu1919 · 16/10/2021 09:56

Daily