To reduce the number of showers I have each week

[Lov]

Let's be honest here. During lockdown probably most of us that worked from home rolled out of bed to their laptop and started the work day (in pjs)

I believe my need for showers daily took a nose dive. Don't get me wrong I went old school and did a daily clean with a flannel and yes still brush my teeth twice a day. I was showering twice a week.

Now back into the swing of things, working face to face (twice a week) I find my routine has stayed the same and the need for daily showers has gone. Obviously if I go work out I will do but I'm talking daily no.

What's other people's experience? Has everyone resumed normal life or are there people out there like me who are now content doing a flannel wash instead of a daily shower????

I am waiting for the gross comments but honestly I don't feel worse for it and my water bill has dropped!

If some MNers are apparently sensitive enough to sniff out how many hours it is since other people washed, I'm going to trust my own nose. (DS does have a sensitive nose, and it is something I experienced in pregnancy- not for bodies in particular)

I've got dry skin and tend to shower around my exercise habits (so normally later in the day). My hair is happy for 4 days, which is handy as it's thick and a pain to dry. Sometimes I'll body shower. Sometimes it's a quick, targeted flannel wash which is quicker than taking all clothes off for a body shower (t-shirt off, wet flannel, soap on corner, wipe off with unsoapy part, dry with towel, t-shirt on)

Showering does use resources, both domestically and the energy required to manage fresh water supplies (hence the water bill). Some people do need showering more than others which is fine, but shaming people who don't shower daily just because is encouraging wastefulness and just makes them look daft.

Where the cost of showers does add up especially if appilances/ heating systems are not efficient (as they so often aren't for people renting/ limited budgets), strip washes probably will make a return, especially if houses are getting colder in the winter.

Don't know about anyone else, but when I brush my teeth, I don't actually put them in the sink to do it...

And then what happens to the minging flannel?

Washing too often kills good bacteria on your skin, so disrupts the balance. It also removes the natural oils that protect your skin (and hair - I’d hate to see the hair of the poster showering 3x a day). Dermatologists advise showering every other day rather than every day for these reasons.
I splash my face with cold water in the sink, you don’t need to shower for that. In fact I don’t put my face under the shower at all because it makes me blotchy.

3 times a day with scrubbing is probably excessive but I can't accept that a daily shower is damaging to skin if that were the case, all the Brits who skip showers would have glowing skin and the rest of the work would look like an elephants knee, but that's not the case.

Re. Face my point is if you'd wash your face every day (I thought that's recommended, I remember reading for acne) then why not body?

I'm not particularly bothered either way what others do (curly hair here, washed less than average), and most people don't reek, but I'm not convinced there's any perceivable benefit to skin by not showering. Sure, oil build up keeps your skin and hair moisturised under a microscope, but in real life most aren't leaving it that long.

I don’t really mind what other people do.

I’m a sweaty peri menopausal mess overnight - I literally drip with sweat so always shower every morning. It also wakes me up. I turn it to cold at the end - feel much better afterwards.

I am also one of those weird people who shower before the gym. But I do have very quick showers so my 2 is probably equally to others one.

I also have DS2 who is a shower dodger and showers about twice a week. He doesn’t smell.

We’re all different.

You don’t have to take my word for it , there’s loads of advice online that says daily showering is suboptimal for skin health, eg www.health.harvard.edu/blog/showering-daily-is-it-necessary-2019062617193

Personally I wash my face (gently, with cold water and not with soap) because I put sun cream on my face most days which I need to wash off, but not on my body.

Maybe for white people? I come from a very poor country where many people don't even have running water and they will still line up for half a bucket of water to bathe daily. They all have better skin and hair than British skinfluencers. So does my 77 year old mum who has never gone a day without a shower.

That's exactly what I'm saying @Tabbouleh. There's other reasons not to shower like environmental but skin health? Nah. Daily washing is fine, people in Africa, Asia etc. have skin that is just fine.

If you really care about skin health, wear sun cream everyday and doing go out in full sun. Not showering is not making any kind of difference.

Yes, the fact you thought I was actually serious tells me a lot too.

@Tabbouleh There's definitely a huge element of truth in that. Culturally there really isn't any debate or discussion to be had about showering where I'm from. It's a given that you shower at least once a day; in the same way it's a given that night follows day. University was definitely an eye-opener for me. Even on MN whenever the subject of washing meat and chicken come up someone will helpfully post the link to NHS guidance about not washing chicken. Anyway I find it very bizarre that this topic can have so many varying opinions - to me it's like debating whether people should eat vegetables

Why would it be minging? Just goes in the washer surely? Unless people don't wipe their arse properly there is no need for a flannel to be 'minging'

I just use my hand and soap to do pits and bits at the sink most mornings and give no fucks what anyone thinks about it.
The shower makes my hair frizzy and unless I need to wash my hair, I hate it. I'll wash my hair 2 or 3 times a week and scrub everything then, usually soak in the bath once a week before my shower and hair wash too.
I shave my pits daily and always use deodorant, no one has ever complained or avoided hugging/sitting near me so far....

The thing is you will stink if you don’t wash daily? I mean what will you smell like down below and how can you go out with that dirty feeling,or perhaps certain people just don’t feel dirty when they are ? Pits you could wash with a flannel and then deodorant yes but what will you do wipe a flannel over your minge and spray some deo down there too ? It’s less time to have a shower just don’t wash your hair?

It really is grosse sorry.

The rose gel is quite polluting.

Just plain rainwater is better.

Human women smell great. Much better than perfumed soap.

Stop the obsession with cleaning.

You're really wrong. And offensive and a twat. Sorry

As long as you wash somehow, it doesn't matter
I have washed people who haven't been able to shower or bath for years and they still smell fine as they're washed properly
Soap, very hot water and a flannel or sponge and some elbow grease rather than just waving a bit of shower gel over

How on earth is it comfortable to use your hand and soap to wash your genitals every morning at the sink? How are you rinsing properly? Is it really so much quicker than a shower? I’d feel a bit miserable standing at the sink splashing water and soap on my bum with my hand.

I've definitely started showering less since lockdown - i'd often shower and wash my hair twice a day, once in the morning before work and again in the evening after the gym. Now I'm finding my hair can go two days without washing if it's not been sweaty (although last night I went running and didn't wash it because i'm WFH today) and i try to just wash it after the gym in an evening. The rising price of electricity means I'm also aiming to use the gym showers as much as possible!

We're still animals who sweat and excrete. Without being judgemental, we still need to bathe at some point. Women smell less but bodies do smell after a while, especially armpits and genitals, especially in this kind of weather.

I did once have a boyfriend who showered rarely but never smelt bad. It was weird but true.
As far as I'm concerned, I really don't mind what other people do as long as they don't smell offensive near me then I'm a bit annoyed.
I shower every day. I'm not sure that I would actually smell to others without one but I don't feel right without it and, weirdly, I would rather not wash at all (apart from hands and nails) than bits and pits as as the contrast makes me feel worse somehow! All or nothing. Lol.

I am quite annoyed when people neglect hand hygiene though.

I wash my bits twice a day in the shower with a handheld and wash my hair once (dry shampoo it) sometimes twice a week; over the bath. Wipe my armpits everyday with a flannel. That’s about it. I don’t smell but don’t sweat that much and my hair is thick so doesn’t get overly greasy. Only get naked for a full shower once a week. Whatever works for you is fine OP!

Like I said, I don't care what other people do but I'm curious as to why you don't just wash everywhere considering you're in there and doing your bits.
I'd just think might as well do everywhere now I'm here.

Daily showers are just totally unnecessary. Always have been regardless of lockdown.

I shower in 4 minutes.
The flannel option is messy water running down your legs, by the time you soap rinse and dry one area you'd be done in the shower.