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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How often should I shower?

999 replies

grosstonotshower · 12/01/2022 10:36

Ok so I'm having a few drinks with friends last night. We are all female a mix of parents and non parents. One friend mentions she is struggling to find time for o shower every day since she had her baby. I said "well I don't shower every day without a young baby," All of my friends looked at me in horror. Apparently even the ones with kids shower daily. Full disclosure I have two dd one under five and I work part time. I shower on work days plus one extra day so usually three times a week my days off usually consist of playing at home, walking dog, school run and maybe park. I would shower extra if exercising/having sex/on period etc. I bath my dc three times a week. My oh works out every week day so he does shower more than me. AIBD? (Disgusting 😂)

OP posts:
Earwigworries · 12/01/2022 11:26

Daily shower even if Ill just makes me feel better

irishfarmer · 12/01/2022 11:27

I shower every 2/3 days. Unless I am doing farm work then it is a every day!! My DH showers every day because he farms every day. We have a really old non electric shower though and it is such a hassle! I might start doing a quick body shower every morning when we get our electric shower.

Those that wash hair daily, is it in good condition? My hair I must say is in great condition and hairdressers are always very complimentary/ ask my what products I use.

Whatissleep79 · 12/01/2022 11:27

@GrendelsGrandma

I don't see how it's grim not to shower every day. It's just habit, and the body responds to washing with detergent (soap, shower gel etc) by making oil to replace the oil that is removed, so the more you wash the more greasy you will be.

I do shower every day, partly to have 5 mins away from my DC tbh! If I didn't shower every day, the odd spot wash of bits and pits would do the job. No one has dirty arms and legs after a day sitting at a desk, really!

DC (5 and 2) have a bath twice a week and we don't use soap or shampoo on them, just water. They're clean and don't smell.

I don't like the attitude that the body is some filthy thing that needs to be scrubbed. If you're in tune with your own body then you can tell when it needs a bit of a wash, and it's unlikely to be every 24 hours on the dot.

I just don’t get if your washing your pits and bits - just jump in the shower for a few minutes. I mean bed bath behaviours should be saved for when you’re bed bound surely ! It just seems lazy to me. People talking about the environment or dry skin. A five min shower a day isn’t going to make much difference. I’m sure a lot of people don’t even wash their pits and bits and no one can tell me they don’t get yuck if you only shower 3x a week , I mean come on - especially in summer ! Grim
Songoftheseas · 12/01/2022 11:28

I shower every other day, so approx four times per week. I do a quick wash of my pits and bits on the in-between days and use deodorant/perfume. People always comment on how nice I smell. I think how often you shower really depends on the individual and how dirty/smelly you get between showers. In an ideal world we would all shower everyday but it can be difficult to do that when you have kids and other responsibilities.

RaininSummer · 12/01/2022 11:28

I only have a full shower when I want to wash my hair so usually every other day unless extra hair wash needed. I do wash though and often use the shower for a pits and bits wash if not going the whole hog.

GettingStuffed · 12/01/2022 11:28

I rarely shower as I hate them. I bath three times a week and wash daily. Showering daily is a really recent thing. Once electricity prices rise that daily shower will be a noose especially if there are four or more in the household, think ,that's 28 showers a week 52weeks a year. A lot of power.

TunnelOfGoats · 12/01/2022 11:28

Twice a day every day for me, and three times if it's very hot or I've been doing gardening or sport

fromdownwest · 12/01/2022 11:29

Early morning Dog Walk, Coffee and Shower.

Do not speak to me before I have undertaken all three of the above!

WindInTheWillows7 · 12/01/2022 11:29

Showering everyday is unnatural, bad for your skin and also eliminates your body's self-cleaning system. Dermatologists do not recommend daily showering. The reason people are saying it's "grim" to not shower daily is because, once you start showering everyday, you do become sweatier and smellier when you skip days. But that's not how it's supposed to be. If you consistently shower just a few times a week you become naturally cleaner as your body restores its essential nutrients, barriers and lubricants. Showers reduce these.
Soapy showers deplete our bodies of vital bacteria which protect us from infection. It's also bad for your skin to exposed to so much chlorine everyday.

ancientgran · 12/01/2022 11:29

@DingDongDenny

Showering every day is the norm now, but when I was growing up very few people had a shower (70s, early 80s) everyone had a bath

Very few people had a bath every day, it was more like a few times a week, then wash the important bits with a facecloth.

I much prefer a shower every day, takes 2mins if I don't wash my hair, but I don't think it's necessary, or that you are dirty or smelly if you don't

Things do change don't they. I was born in the 50s, we didn't have a shower, we didn't have a bathroom, the toilet was at the top of the yard. People still washed.
Whatissleep79 · 12/01/2022 11:30

@Songoftheseas

I shower every other day, so approx four times per week. I do a quick wash of my pits and bits on the in-between days and use deodorant/perfume. People always comment on how nice I smell. I think how often you shower really depends on the individual and how dirty/smelly you get between showers. In an ideal world we would all shower everyday but it can be difficult to do that when you have kids and other responsibilities.
It really isn’t ! If you can manage to brush your hair or teeth or have food, you can manage a shower. I have a newborn and toddler and manage it. Guess it’s whether you view it as important or not
ancientgran · 12/01/2022 11:30

@WindInTheWillows7

Showering everyday is unnatural, bad for your skin and also eliminates your body's self-cleaning system. Dermatologists do not recommend daily showering. The reason people are saying it's "grim" to not shower daily is because, once you start showering everyday, you do become sweatier and smellier when you skip days. But that's not how it's supposed to be. If you consistently shower just a few times a week you become naturally cleaner as your body restores its essential nutrients, barriers and lubricants. Showers reduce these. Soapy showers deplete our bodies of vital bacteria which protect us from infection. It's also bad for your skin to exposed to so much chlorine everyday.
That's really interesting. Thank you.
LittleGwyneth · 12/01/2022 11:31

I shower every 36-48 hours as I vary between morning and evening, and I don't see any issue with that. Honestly I think some people wash too much.

Spudlet · 12/01/2022 11:32

How do posters on here know how often other people shower? Saying things like 'everyone they know showers every day' (I'm paraphrasing but that's the gist of a fair few posts) - but how do they know? I have no idea how often anyone I know showers - not even DH, as I've never taken the time to notice. So how can people be so confident that they know the showering habits of casual acquaintances and the like? Did I miss a memo or something?

AllThePogs · 12/01/2022 11:32

If you have skin problems, reducing showering is often advised.

Gonnagetgoing · 12/01/2022 11:32

@Sakura7

Generations before us didn't have showers including my parents.

Generations before us didn't have plumbing, central heating, modern medicine, electricity. Do we want to go backwards on those life improvements too?

@Sakura7 - depends how wealthy you were - one of my grandparents growing up in Germany told me they always had showers in their bathrooms as well as baths but they did live in a big house for a long time which actually did have one of the first posh showers (the owner was very rich though) and they were very rich too. Later on when he moved to England he didn't have showers apart from in the army.
Whatissleep79 · 12/01/2022 11:32

Hiding this thread now as making me feel queasy, a bit like those that don’t wash hands after the toilet thread, I was on once.
Be clean people - your poor partners !

BusterGonad · 12/01/2022 11:33

I never knew people still had dettol baths! What is that all about?
I grew up without a shower, I bathed once or twice a week. I've never smelt bad at all. Now I'm pretty much the same. I only shower to wash my hair, probably once a week, it doesn't need it more often. It's thick, and not greasy, in fact it looks its best a few days after it's been washed. I have a bath once a week too. I think people who think it's disgusting are either natural quite smelly or just clean freaks really. Obviously I bathe more if I'm doing physical work, on period etc but other than that I look and smell perfectly fine. I hate to think of how much water and electric is wasted, I'm guessing a lot of the once or twice a day washers also wear their clothes once?

NatashaBedwouldbenice · 12/01/2022 11:34

The only thing I would say is you need to wash with water after a poo, period etc.

What??

ravenmum · 12/01/2022 11:34

I said "well I don't shower every day without a young baby," All of my friends looked at me in horror.
So they had no clue, i.e. you are not smelly or dirty looking as you wash with water from the sink instead of water from the shower. It's the same water, works just as well, and there's less waste.
Which news outlet do you work for?

MaryAndGerryLivingInDerry · 12/01/2022 11:35

Why are people washing their children in dettol???

ImNotDancing · 12/01/2022 11:35

@TulipVictory

Everyday !!! Eww bet you have smelly pants 🤢🤣
Didn’t know we had 12 year olds on here!
Theoldcuriosityshop · 12/01/2022 11:35

You have to remember that we didn't have constant hot water, we had emersion heaters that took hours to heat up and then ran out after one person had a bath. I was born in the 40s, no showers at all, unheard of. We had a bath and hair wash on Sunday evenings, that was it and a wash on the other days.
You really have no idea what it was like back then. It's all very well turning your noses up at people who don't shower or bath every day but for a large proportion of the population it was normal back then. I honestly don't remember people smelling either. This went on until the 70s as well.

Gonnagetgoing · 12/01/2022 11:36

@NatashaBedwouldbenice

The only thing I would say is you need to wash with water after a poo, period etc.

What??

@NatashaBedwouldbenice - of course....

I don't have one but a bidet cleans the areas which are hard to reach.

also don't people find it easier and cleaner to use a flannel/sponge to wash e.g. pubic hair with period blood etc in it? You can wipe a lot off with toilet paper but first thing in the morning I always preferred a shower.

MrsBerthaRochester · 12/01/2022 11:36

Three times a week here to. People did NOT have baths every day when I was young and no we werent smelly.