public showers

[rahjama]

Got into a debate recently with a friend over the showers at our local gym. We go to the gym together a lot of the time and both always shower after.

Given the prices of everything going up, the cost of living being more expensive, and the fact that the gym membership itself isn't cheap, every time I go I take full advantage of the 'free' hot shower. I always take shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a razor, face scrub/wash and generally everything I use in a shower as if I were at home.

I do not wash my hair every day at home, I save that for when I use the gym showers roughly 3x a week. And yes I shower daily but only wash my body , in my shower at home for 5 minutes max. And yes DH and DC all shower normally at home, I just thought saving water where we can is smart.

Friend saw my razor and was mortified that I shave in the public showers. I don't personally think it's dirty and I don't mind the thought of someone else also shaving in them. I'm only talking legs and armpits, no pubic hair as I get a wax, maybe that's tmi, but I think if I didn't get a wax then maybe I would do my pubic hairs as well??

Friend just made me feel really dirty and unhygienic and I wanted others opinions on it?? I didn't realise it was so disgusting

I'm not being awkward. The facility doesn't exist in most gyms. If it does in yours, that's lovely for you. I don't know why naming the gym is such a huge issue but in most gyms it's not an option.

If your gym has cubicles where the bottom is open, it's still grim to spray your mess around. But I'm sure they're completely isolated cubicles

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It's a private cubicle, no water or spray can touch anybody else using the shower.

People will also be at risk of catching hiv from a potential tiny razor cut.

I work at a pool and we have also banned shaving. It blocks the drains and just as many customers tend to throw their discarded Shampoo bottles in the floor, we also get those who do shave leaving their razors on the floor.

I can’t say it would really bother me. My gym has proper individual shower cubicles with adjustable shower heads.

However it also has a sign up saying no shaving, so presumably they have an issue with it

My partner is a HGV tramper away all week. He has a shave when he parks up near the gym when he showers post workout. One of the bonuses for him of the gym membership is the ability to have a proper shower!

HIV from what? People are showering alone. Where is the HIV risk?

The main limitation to doing this in my pool showers are that 1) you'd keep people waiting and 2) they are fucking useless

Lots of men shave at my gym at the sinks, I’m yet to see stubble splashed everywhere, walls covered in hair, or people showering in stubble. I do however see hairs from peoples heads in the shower sometimes, yet weirdly washing your hair isn’t vile, disgusting, selfish or vomit inducing.

People will also be at risk of catching hiv from a potential tiny razor cut.

I don't see the issue personally but I'm not easily grossed out.

I think they’re taking the piss out of the poster on page two who actually suggested if someone shaved at the gym they would be putting others at risk of contracting HIV.

It’s fine. Everything is rinsed away by the shower water. I do full soap, shampoo and shave every other day when I go swimming (cubicle). Like most others I wear sliders and never touch the floor or walls with bare hands/feet.

I’m impressed that not a single hair falls off your head when you shower or use the gym.

they are cubicles

@girlmom21

Clifford's gym in long Eaton Derbyshire has removable shower heads in the gym. Booya!

I think it's a bit intimate but then I don't like seeing people put their makeup on the bus!

My local gym has removable shower heads. It's not a chain, it's a small independent one so I'm not going to name it.

Would like to confirm that there is no signs saying please don't shave. Obviously if there was then I wouldn't.

Also they are cubicles.

Yes my hairs are TINY not that it seems to matter to anyone. No adjustable shower heads but I do make sure everything is washed down before i leave.

The fact that they are cubicles makes it marginally less offensive but it’s still not the done thing.

I don’t understand why you think this is worth it? Armpits take about 10 seconds per pit. How much money do you think you are saving by not doing it at home?

Not if you don’t have HIV! Honestly, what a bunch of drama queens. Tiny bit of someone else’s armpit stubble isn’t going to hurt anyone!

Yes, hair does come off my head when I shower @Simonjt. And I gather it up in my hand and put it into the compost bin. In my own house.

I'm guessing you and the OP have never cleaned bathrooms for a living. I have. It's grim when people shave in them. And no, no one ever gets rid of all the tiny hairs.

Take your skanky ways home with you. If you can afford gym membership, you can afford to shave in your shower.

We go camping all the time and use the shared showers. I shave in them all the time - they’re our bathroom for the duration - and presumably so does everyone else. I’ve never once noticed a shaving-related issue, or heard of one, nor had it crossed my mind that it’s grim. What do people think light happen?!

I do think it’s a (little) bit cheeky though. I think if everyone starts to pass the cost of living increases on to other services by using their ‘free’ energy, we are going to see more cost increases and vastly fewer free services. Some of those campsites have hot water limited showers, and they are no bloody fun!

Take your skanky ways home with you. If you can afford gym membership, you can afford to shave in your shower

I knew someone who lived in a tiny bedsit, and was only a member of the local gym so they could use the shower facilities.

This is truly mental. I assume OP lets the water run for a while when she’s finished shaving and has the basic common sense to look around to make sure there’s no stubble everywhere. This is yet another of those things where I cannot, even trying hard, feel any sort of disgust or horror at the thought of the person ahead of me using a shower for a perfectly normal shower thing. How is it gross? Even if some hair was left there, once I’d switched the shower on and got in, it would be gone. That’s the beauty of hot running water.