How often should I shower?

[grosstonotshower]

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 😂)

I don't have the heating on though. PP is right. Not everyone can afford everything. I do have to choose. Sadly.

As demonstrated by this thread, the norm is to shower daily.
Have you added up the responses? In what country is it the norm?

@WaystarRoycoCEO

Personally I think 3 times a week is pretty grim, sorry. I am a shower everyday person. I can’t get going in the morning without one to be honest.

how the heck is it grim - unless OP does something really strenuous, or smells then its fine.

I'm a every other day unless going out/to the office

@Kanaloa people referring to other as gross and grim for not showering daily are abelist twats. So I am not grim or disgusting for not showering everyday but my dp is because he's not disabled? It's just cruel judgemental bullshit.

@Phrowzunn

Love these threads! Competitive over-washing. I have a 2yo and 4yo and shower twice a week. I’ve never showered every day, even before children. I forget to put on deodorant most days because it’s pretty rare that I actually sweat 😂 people are just different. You do you OP but people will get very uptight if you admit it! I honestly can’t fathom why they care so much about when or how often other people are washing their own bodies!

I mean op is the one who started a thread asking about how much people wash. She’s also the person who apparently started a conversation with her friends about how she only showers three times a week…

So it’s not really the daily washers who are so interested in how much other people wash, it’s the op.

@claracluck71

Each to their own, really.

Twice a day for me (three times when been to the gym or for a swim, etc). My husband is the same. I didn't think we were that unusual, tbh

twice three times a day??

what is it you are doing that makes you so dirty?? why do you need to shower again after the second shower if you are showing after exercise/swimming?

I have baths as opposed to showers given the choice. I personally bathe once a day, partly because I love it and find it a great stress reliever. I probably would anyway because I don't like the sensation of not being clean.

I think it probably depends a lot on your circumstances: I think if you're having regular sex and not cleaning before you have sex its a bit yuck. If you're not, not so much.

Also anyone who works in a customer facing or client facing job realistically has to bathe or shower once a day. I wouldn't feel comfortable having meetings if I hadn't had a bath or a shower and tbh I would probably lose business if I smelled.

If I lived on a remote place and saw few people, or if I was purely based from home, single and sexless I daresay it might be less of a priority.

I shower everyday. The only time I don't is when I'm so unwell I can't physically move, or if I'm having a depressive episode.

@Thebig3

I shower every day. I have 3 kids and have always showered everyday. It takes 2 mins!!

2 minutes? It takes me that long to wash my hair, and my hair is only shoulder length! I cannot shower without washing my hair as that makes me feel less clean!

Good on you, @grosstonotshower! YANBD! I don't think a shower is necessary every day and I think this is sensible for so many reasons - skin health - for you and your children - environmental, and for economising on heating water, products, etc. Whenever possible, I do the same, but definitely shower on the days I've exercised hard. I certainly think using a bidet/hose is good though, and to wash armpits if particularly smelly! I can't believe that people on here actually think putting dettol in a child's bath is a good idea! People are way too obsessional about what they consider to be 'good hygiene', when this can be damaging for skin's natural bacteria and our own immune systems. There has been a link between an overly clean environment and allergies, autoimmune diseases etc. I think we also all have a tendency to wash clothes etc way too often. If we all reduced our water and detergent use by showering and washing less frequently it would be a great idea. And we would get used to it, in the same way that people get used to other lifestyle changes.

@WindInTheWillows7

This thread really confirms some of the rampant eco-hypocrisy on MN!

Agreed, the amount of water and gas/electricity for a family to all shower every day?!? We don't even have a shower and I only bath twice a week. I clean my face twice a day, have a quick wash if I need it.

I think because hot water is so easily available people don't think about what they're using. We have to heat up a bloody immersion tank to have a bath so we're very aware.

If people are concerned about the cost of gas/electric shooting up or concerned about climate change then reducing the amount of showers they take could be a good place to start.

In an ideal world we would all shower everyday. but surely that's not necessarily true? If you don't smell and your hair doesn't need washing every day is it necessary to be wasting water and energy on showers on a daily basis? I suspect there's nothing health-wise that dictates daily showers are a must?

Interestingly, I had a similar conversation with DD (16) very recently. She doesn't shower every day (alternate days) and I've never noticed she smells less than fragrant!

Surely it's a personal thing as long as body odours are not an issue?

I don't shower everyday because it's bad for my skin. Water and products are extremely drying to eczema prone skin.

I'm pretty much housebound, and unable to do much in the house either, so I really don't feel the need to shower every single day. 3 or 4 times a week is more than enough unless it's a very warm or I've managed to get out for a bit. I don't smell.

I think many people nowadays are paranoid about showering. Shower if you need to. It's very wasteful and, if your shower is electric like ours, it's all adding to the already expensive bills that are about to get even dearer.

@Phrowzunn

Love these threads! Competitive over-washing. I have a 2yo and 4yo and shower twice a week. I’ve never showered every day, even before children. I forget to put on deodorant most days because it’s pretty rare that I actually sweat 😂 people are just different. You do you OP but people will get very uptight if you admit it! I honestly can’t fathom why they care so much about when or how often other people are washing their own bodies!

The op started a thread asking for people’s opinions?! Tbh there’s seems to be far more judgey comments towards those of us that shower daily than the other way round! So you could say the same goes

I shower daily. Before kids it was 2 x a day. No way I would be able to be out and about all day and then get into bed with dust and grime on my skin. Similarly can't sleep all night and then get up and dressed to start my day.

Now I tend to have a wash in the mornings and shower in the evenings and even that makes me feel a bit grim

In reality, this is absolutely fine. Some people smell more than others. Like you, I don't smell if I have missed a day of not showering (assuming no sweat inducing activity!). Of this I am totally confident as I have a keen sense of smell. I appreciate some like to shower more frequently as it makes them feel good/clean etc but likewise it's not in any way dangerous or 'gross' to choose not to do so. In fact, it's so much better for the skin, the environment, your bills to be modest in the frequency of your showering. I've reached the age of 43 and have managed this far (with roughly three/four showers a week) without any negative effects!

I shower twice daily, occasionally three times if need be.
I don’t want to put clean clothes on a dirty body
I smell nice
It wakes me up
I like feeling clean
Since covid and getting told how long to wash my hands for to remove germs, I want a clean bod too.
I think it’s a bit grim not to shower once a day (sorry).

It’s really up to you.

I shower twice a day, once in the morning and once after exercise (I exercise 6 days a week).

I think it's pretty gross to not watch armpits and crotch daily.

I shower pretty much every day, particularly if going out of the house, or sweating.
But I never felt the need to watch my armpits, let alone my crotch, every day. What are we supposed to watch for? Growing mould?

BTW, I do notice that if I shave my armits, they smell a lot less. I can get away with not washing them for a day.
As for crotch, unless I have diarrhea, my period, or sex, it can easily last 48 hours without a wash.

Shower every morning, hair wash every other day. Shower at nighttime I'd say, 5 days out of 7? Love the post shower feeling ❤️ but since having a baby sometimes I just want to get into bed at night after falling asleep on the sofa haha

It depends whether you wash the pits and bits in between showering. If you do, YANBU.

I cant 'just jump in the shower' every day. I have lymphodema in my legs. Its managed, but I have to put compression toe gloves and then knee high compression stockings on before I even get out of bed. Cant even go down to the toilet and have a wee without them on or in those 15 mins they will begin to swell and risk causing skin damage.
I cannot stand in a shower, so can only have baths last thing at night before bed. Twice a week. If I tried a bath in the morning I wouldnt be able to get these stockings on with damp feet/legs.

With this condition skin hygiene and integrity is paramount - you run risk of thinks like infections and athletes foot, especially as you are wearing thick tight non natural things on your feet/legs. Every time I go to clinic they comment that my skin moisture is great and I have never had athletes foot, despite my apparent 'grossness' of not showering every day and not using any other moisturisers, etc.

And yes, wash underarms, under boobs, bits and pieces inbetween.

The people who shower daily and think anything else is disgusting just presumes everyone else sweats as much as they do.
I shower once every two days on average in the winter and I just don’t sweat much at all. I’m quite petite and I’m always cold. I’ve had dp check and he agrees that I still smell ‘nice’. If I feel I’ve sweated in the night then I’ll have a shower, I don’t stick to a rigid 2 day routine, I’m happy to shower every day if I need to.
I actually showered twice a day for 4 months after ds was born because I was so sweaty and covered in milk, they were quick showers with ds in the bouncer next to me haha.
I don’t get why people assume everyone needs to shower as regularly as each other?

I think there is a cultural divide here. We shower daily 👍🏾