MIL bathing habits

[Bitesize89]

My in laws come to stay with us pretty frequently and I've noticed over time that mil never bathes when she comes. She can be here 3-4 days without a shower or bath. It recently was revealed that she only ever uses baths and no soap in her bath. This came up after she bagged my DD and didn't use any soap on her and she said well there was bubble bath in the water, I was shocked as I don't think that's a proper way to bathe and she said when she bathes she doesn't use soap and only bubble bath. So not only does she not bathe for days on and but when she bathes she just has a bubble bath and no soap.im really grossed out.

Well, stop reading and posting as it just keeps it 'trending' and bringing it higher up the forum @CurlewKate

Agreed. I've said it a few times too.

It makes me think that a bath with bubble bath is no more “grim” or “stinky” (or any other of the hysterical adjectives on this thread), than a shower with shower gel that so many of the “I shower 17 times a day” posters are advocating.

I use shower gel when it’s a “freshen up in the shower” shower. But I use real soap when I have got sweaty from exercise or whatever. I also bathe with just bubble bath when it’s a “bath for a treat” bath, not a bath to get clean bath iykwim.

Isn't it just pedantics though? Shower gel and bubble bath are both detergents, as is liquid hand wash, they clean skin effectively, just as washing up liquid is a detergent that cleans dishes effectively.
Yes, shower gel does not have the exact same chemical composition as soap and is therefore technically not "soap", but it still does exactly the same job.
There is anecdotal evidence that bar soap gets you cleaner than a detergent gel - if this is true, I would query why hospitals used detergent based washes rather than soap based ones.

@outofofficeagain

unless ill or otherwise unable, we need to be having daily showers. It’s a pretty basic thing

I don't think a bath with bubble bath in general is grim or stinky either, but it's not really a proper wash. Bubble bath is designed to lather more though, and that actually irriates my skin more than showergel does.

I just wanted to point out to all the clean freaks claiming that you need a wash with soap aren’t actually using soap. And they are deriding bubble bath as inadequate when it’s exactly what they are using in the shower.

I know I feel cleaner when I use soap but as you say that’s just anecdotal.

@happyLittleAG

unwashed hair does smell unpleasant. If you’re washing it less than once a week it’s going to smell unpleasant.

DC bubblebath washes them too though I do use children's shampoo on their hair. DM has often said they only had a proper bath once a week when she was younger.

Eh, how do you know people aren't usung soap?

Just a guess - because most people don’t. I’m prepared to be corrected by every single person who’s accused the OP’s MIL of being stinking, filthy and grim that they use soap. To quote those annoying instagram reels, I’ll wait.

There’s no underlying odors; I use the shea oil to moisturize, and I like the way the essential oils smell, so I add them in. They make me happy.

The unwashed hair.

I mean, there’s neutral smelling, clean hair that hasn’t been washed in a few days, and there’s people who may have been sweating or worked dirty jobs or in a fast food restaurant or something that imparts a smell... Generally strong odors are more likely to come from people’s bodies (armpits, groin, feet, etc.) and their clothing rather than their hair. It doesn’t have to smell like the artificial fragrance in shampoo to be clean, even if you don’t like the way it smells.

There are also different hair types, some of which stay healthier with more time between shampooing than others. If I were to wash mine every day, it would feel like straw. In between wash days, it smells like a normal scalp.

No unwashed hair smells 'neutral', as already stated.

I wash my hair around every 3 days. It doesn’t need to smell like artificial fragrance to be clean; it just smells like hair.

That sounds like a ‘you’ problem if you can’t handle perfectly normal smells. Maybe you ought to wear a face mask with febreze sprayed on whenever you leave home if you are so bothered by them and need to be olfactorily assaulted by fragrance constantly.

I’ve often smelled people’s unwashed greasy hair and scalp in a shop for example, and it really isn’t a nice smell

Perhaps you are standing too close if tjis happens often.

No, other people not washing/bathing is definitely a them problem.
Putting perfumed smells over it just makes it worse, as already stated.

Or perhaps they just don't realise they smell.

@helpfulperson

no, not close at all so it must have been pretty strong smelling! 🤢

I use actual soap because I feel cleaner for longer with it
on my feet, underarms etc then a shower gel on my drier bits

Only bathing once every 5 days is 🤮

Bubble bath same as soap. No need for both.