To not shower every day? And....

[connemarailoveyou]

I don't shower every day. Am I gross? I shower every other evening and on those days I have a proper wash including hair shampoo conditioner etc plus any shaving that needs to be done

Mornings I wash face teeth and put deo on. I think it's ok as I don't smell but wondered am I gross

Also on another entirely different subject, do some ppl never go to parents eve? And if u miss a few does it get mentioned

I don't shower every day, or worry about whether I do or not. I go to all the parents' evenings but that's because I'm a teacher.

I just shower when i feel like it or after cold swim which tbh is most days anyway.

Not every day but not quite every other day, it depends. I may shower after an exercise class Mon eve so not shower Tues at all then shower Wed morning. I would say 4 or 5 a week and I do a quick flannel wash if needed in between. I don't think I'm a sweaty person and would consider myself to be clean.

It's fine.

Toilet paper to wipe your bum after a poo is not the same as washing!! I think the old fashioned strip wash was more for when not many people had showers so the alternative of filling a bath was more costly.
To those who dont shower daily do you go out and use public toilets? Sit on the toilet seat that has been shared by others then not wash after?

I think your fandango and bum hole need a daily wash.

I stopped showering daily during Covid. I wfh, and if not going out (other than walking the dogs) I don't always shower. But I do if going out and seeing people. My clothes are always clean etc.
As for parents eve , the only one I missed was the last one in Y6. It was always the same thing with my DD. 'She's doing great but wish she'd speak up more'. Yawn.
Since Covid online so much better as it's limited to five minutes, no standing around and overhearing other parents. Anyway, she left school last year so no more need. My son it was the same thing over and over too, but more the opposite end of the spectrum ('he could talk a bit less').

Everyone just avoids the dirty bum situation here 😂

Nah, it’s fine. There’s been plenty of studies that show it’s better for you and your skin to not wash every day. Some people will stink if they miss a day of washing, others could go three days and not smell. As long as you’re content, then really it doesn’t matter at all. It doesn’t affect anyone else.

I used to shower (including hair) every day. It was exhausting tbh. These days, now I wfh 3 days a week, I’ll often miss a day, I’m not a stinky person and it’s fine.

I don't always shower but I do everyday if it's hot.

From a teaching perspective there are parents who never go to parents evenings. They are usually the parents you most want to talk to.

😆 me too, defo all the bits need a wash and a good old airing

It’s crazy!

I wish bidets were the norm in the UK. Or those Japanese toilet seats that have the water shooter.

Wash, yes twice a day: a strip was as has been pointed out. You get perfectly clean that way. Clean water is a precious resource and we take it too much for granted. Shower much less frequently- once you have a water meter or live where there’s little rain, you think differently about these things.

Every other day for me too, unless I get really hot and sweaty. Always attend parents evening though!

No it isn't easy to tell.

Some people will stink after 7 hours, some won't smell for 2 days.

You have absolutely no idea when that smelly person on the train at 4pm last showered. Might have been 8am, might have been 4 days ago... You really don't know. The only thing you do know is that they smell.

I don’t shower every day. I do always have a strip wash in the mornings. I have my showers or baths in the evening, but not every day. Unless it’s very hot.

I find the shower very “bitey” first thing in the morning so for me it’s not the same as a strip wash even if it takes the same time. In the evening (or even middle of the day) I’m fine with it but my body isn’t ready to be stood under water first thing.

I always go to parents’ evening.

Sorry I think people need to shower at least once a day

I hope none of the 'absolutely MUST shower EVERY day' brigade ever end up requiring social care at home or admission to a nursing home. Very sadly, a weekly shower may be deemed perfectly adequate, with strip washes in between, whether the person likes it or not. Each of my parents were sadly subjected to this regime even thought they previously would have showered daily. When people become very incapacitated and frail, being showered can actually become too much to cope with, and bed baths are the sensible option, I can understand that. It's the in between period that's so difficult - when the person would still like their daily shower, and be fit for it with assistance - but there's inadequate staff time and budget available. The loss of agency and dignity is very hard. So do what you like, when you like, as long as you are able! (From someone who chooses to shower almost every day - and feels blessed to be able to afford that luxury! - I fully realise that some of my fellow citizens here in the UK really are in the position that they have to do without hot water if there's no money left to put credit on the gas/electric meter - a fact which some on MN really seem incapable of comprehending!)

I shower every day but wash my hair every other day. The non hair wash showers take a maximum of 5 minutes, I use one of those African wash cloth/sponge things, it lathers up amazingly. Quickly soap all over then rinse and out. It doesn’t have to take long or be expensive. I always think if you’re going to have a wash, you’re as well just getting in the shower and having a 3 minute proper wash.

I just don’t get this strip wash malarkey, it must be so messy, how do you rinse your armpits and undercarriage at the sink? Surely it’s far easier to hop in the shower for a few minutes rather than standing at a sink washing your bits, it all sounds so awkward and messy.

I don’t really understand the flannel people, how do you put the soap on and then wash it off? I wouldn’t understand how to do it.

I hop in the shower everyday, usually very quickly. During covid I trained my hair to go three days between washes and it looks great.

Its just common sense honestly! I did care work and wasn't ever taught how to wash someone in bed, you just learn

Wet a flannel under hot water, wring out well, lather soap, wash. Rinse out flannel, wring out, wipe off soap. Repeat if soap still left
Some use a clean flannel for rinsing or one for top of body, one for bottom

I've had to do it multiple times for myself let alone work - broken ankle and was waiting for a waterproof cast cover, armpit wound that I had to wash around, stitches in my back and wasn't allowed to shower for 10 days

Another one here who usually showers just every other day. Definitely don't smell!

If I have been very active or doing an activity that makes me feel grubby or sweaty I will have a shower, regardless of how recently I last had one.

Has nobody these days heard of a strip wash?

When I was a child / teenager we didn't have central heating or constant hot water. Most nights my bedtime routine was to boil a kettle then use the hot water to wash myself all over, head to toes, at the sink.

I seem to recall there is something similar in Lark Rise to Candleford where it describes how the women will wait until they have the house to themselves and then wash down as far as possible and up as far as possible. The more ribald neighbours would enquire what poor old possible had done to be left out

Sweat can smell after a few hours. I can have freshly showered and smell sweaty after a day of sweating...

And someone who smelt that strongly likely hadn't washed for several days. Or their clothes were the issue. Some people have oily skin. It doesn't make then unclean ffs

You really can't. I bet you're by people who shower every other day all the time and don't even realise it. We're everywhere!

So you're reapplying deodorant to unwashed armpits? Surely if you're having a quick wash at the sink you do pits and bits and at least then apply deodorant to clean armpits. Ideally with a shower following that night.
I wouldn’t be ready to go out and face the day without at least a decent body wash. It's warm lately. I don't think a double swipe of deodorant on an unwashed armpit will be enough. Especially if you don't do a full proper wash I’m between. It's not hard and it doesn't take long.