65
votes
How frequently do you shower?
I'm interested to know how often people shower or bathe - but I'd also be interested on your thoughts about other people's frequency. Do you feel strongly about how often one should be cleaning themselves, and what factors go into this? I would certainly hope it's reasonably frequent for warm-climate athletes, for example.
Every 2-3 days on average. More if its really hot and I get sweaty.
Yep. For me, this is the baseline, and then it depends on how much sports I do and how warm it is. I shower after every workout, and sometimes in the summer just to cool myself down. So depending on the weather and activity, it can be every 2-3 days, or it can be 3 times in one day.
For context: I don't work a physically demanding job, I mostly work from home, and I don't sweat a lot.
I shower once per day as a baseline. For me, I need at least one in the morning because I typically sweat at night, both in summer and winter. If nothing else, my hair will be like a bird's nest in the morning, and as I'd need to wet it to regain control of it anyway, it would be silly not to just have a shower. I also don't feel clean without that morning shower, and will feel self conscious about it if it's missed.
The climate in the UK is rarely hot, but we do get weeks at a time where it is both hot (27 °C - 30 °C) and humid. During these hot weeks, I'll often have another shower before bed too. I will also have another one if I go out for a run (often I mitigate this by running before my morning shower).
I will often have a second shower later in the day if I'm going out in the evening too.
As a counterpoint, my son hates showering. He begrudgingly has one each evening after school - but I suspect as he moves toward teenagehood, that he will also need a morning shower. On the occasions I insist on a second shower for whatever reason, it provokes moral outrage and disgust.
I finally had to cave for my son and have him start using antiperspirant (vs simple deodorant) because it didn't matter how often he showered, he would smell BAD shortly after. Puberty is rough. The antiperspirant made all the different though. He no longer makes me gag. Lol.
The number of parents of small kids who have their kids shower once a week shocked me. If my kids go outside to play at the playground, or go to school, their odor is overwhelming to me when they come home. Everybody showers once per day here, usually the adults in the morning before work and the kids at night.
Getting my eight year old to shower more than twice a week is a real chore. She is a self-proclaimed "tom boy" though, and only really brushes her hair if we make her.
Part of this is attributable to the Montessori school she is in. Definitely a much wider spectrum of appearance and grooming standards than mainstream, and she falls into the middle of the pack there.
Also, during the very early pandemic, we instituted a "drop your clothes in the laundry room and shower whenever you come back in the house" routine which meant daily showers for her. Her pediatrician told us this was too often, and to cut it back to a few times a week. She has very sensitive skin that is prone to over drying.
My general theory is that as long as she's healthy, peer pressure will bring her to a higher grooming standard eventually, and if not, well, that is a choice she might make.
So, coming from this background, how do you wish the response would have been different?
At the risk of sounding defensive, I think maybe I've given you an incomplete view of my parenting strategy. My overarching goal is to make sure that eventually she is well-prepared to go out into the world as an independent, functioning adult. The strategy for getting there is giving her preparation and skills, and once she has developed them, as much age-appropriate freedom as she is ready for. That way she can (hopefully) learn from small mistakes instead of big ones.
However, we all have blind spots, and some of mine may be related to seeing the harm that being overly focused on the importance of appearance did to my sibling and others I grew up with. So I'm interested in hearing more if you're willing to share.
When you say it’s a “real chore” what do you mean? Does she break down crying and have hours-long screaming fits if you try to make her shower?
For us it’s just what the kids do before bedtime. Return from school, some downtime to decompress, homework, dinner, shower, brush, read, lights off at 8pm. A warm shower at bedtime will also help them get ready and fall asleep easier just like a cold plunge in the morning will wake you up for your day ahead (we don’t make the kids take a cold shower in the morning, though I do it myself).
Does lotion not help keep the skin from drying out?
It's probably a long post to explain her behavior, and reflecting on it has made me realize that it's partly tied up in parenting differences between me and my spouse, which I don't want to necessarily air here.
But I appreciate a thoughtful response. It's made me realize it's something we need to discuss further, so I appreciate that.
And lotion does help, but only so much.
Yeah the skin problem is an issue for sure that we haven’t had to deal with anyway. But working in IT I know too many people who are smelly and can’t tell, and I do not want my kids to be like that. Go out and get dirty and sweaty playing that’s fine but… gotta clean up.
Haha. I already have it on standby, waiting for him to smell. Hopefully he'll take me up on it immediately otherwise, like many other boys of that age, it may take an off comment from someone outside the family to prompt the change.
Yeah, my son wouldn't listen to us about his smell, no matter how bad it was. He just hated showers and have us the hardest time about taking them . He's better now and the antiperspirant makes him not reek. Small wins.
There's nothing wrong with that. I generally shower daily (or more) for similar reasons as OP here. I like to take showers, I dislike feeling sweaty or greasy (especially right now that it's 40c with humidity and no air conditioning). I understand it's not meant to be a health thing, it's meant to be a feel thing!
That really depends. What kind of climate do you live in? If it's cold and dry, it might not be so bad.
But for people who live in hot and humid places like mine, a daily shower is necessary. You don't need to be doing anything sporty to be sweaty and smelly here. You just exist within the climate and it happens.
The bare minimum for people here is once a day, but it's very common for people to bathe twice a day as you sweat overnight and also after you've been out and about for the day.
I don't think there can be a blanket standard for everyone to follow. What works in a different climate doesn't work for others. Showers aren't necessarily just a cultural thing.
I can't find anything to support that claim.
Interestingly though, it seems that those that grow up as a child in colder climates have fewer sweat glands activated.
Shoot, I can only imagine how much more I'd sweat if I was from the south. I already deal with Hyperhidrosis - what's more sweat glands gonna do? Super Hyperhidrosis Championship Edition?
Reading the replies, I didn't realize there were so many French people on Tildes. Just a little joke, don't kill me.
I typically shower once a day. Twice, if needed due to exercise, the weather, social engagement, etc. For the people saying every two or more days, are you all working from home? In Alaska? Are you all single? No housemates or other regular human contact?
And does no one else think it's very weird that energy costs can have such influence on people's personal hygiene? Not being able to afford to shower has to be peak late stage capitalism. Even so, to me it would make more sense to change how you clean yourself (shorter showers, lower temperatures, turning the water off while lathering, baths instead of showers, even using a scoop and pail instead) rather than how often.
Don't get me wrong, when I worked from home I could go a few days without a shower if I got lazy because I wasn't leaving my place, so I get it. I recognize my own laziness there though.
I have to imagine that people saying they can't shower due to the expense are being hyperbolic. I'm with you - if you move with a purpose and turn the water off when you're lathering, it takes, what - 180 seconds of the hot water running?
I think how long depends on size and thoroughness. Bigger people have more area to cover and people with longer hair will take longer too. Also there's more than lathering like using conditioner or scrubbing off dead skin.
I lived in south Florida for 30 years, and my typical routine is to shower when my hair looks dirty. Usually about every two or three days, or if I did some rigorous physical activity. I never smelled bad. I was definitely in a lot of situations where someone would have told me. My husband once mentioned that he never actually smelled me smelling like anything other than soap or lotion until like, 15 years after we first met. I just don't sweat a lot, even when it's warm, and when I do my sweat doesn't have a very strong odor. I usually start to actually smell around day 4, and from asking close friends with good noses, I have a pretty accurate perception of my own smell.
It's not exactly a laziness thing for me, although I suppose that's a factor. It's mostly that I never really learned how to handle my hair. If it gets wet and I don't wash it, it will look nasty no matter how recently I've washed it, and if I wash it too often it dries out the length of it but makes the roots get oily really fast. Putting it up to keep it from getting wet always left it with weird marks from the hair tie or whatever that I couldn't get rid of without wetting it. So I just avoid the problem by not showering until my hair needs washing. A plus side is I can enjoy a nice long shower and not feel guilty.
This is fairly accurate for my situation; I'm not in Alaska but I have AC.
2 days as a maximum, but if I got dirty or sweaty of course I'll shower sooner than that. I can't stand to sleep sweaty. I literally will not fall asleep.
I also like ridiculously long showers.
Once every 3 or so days (2 if I feel really icky), due to the cost of living crisis - the energy bills are too damn high.
I got curious about the cost of a shower, since I never really thought about it. It seems that while it varies, it's around 25 cents to 50 cents per shower, depending on the price of electricity, the price of water and the shower length.
There's more variables than that though. The flow rate of the shower and the type. At least here in the UK we have both electric showers that heat cold water at the point of showering, but also mixer showers that make use of stored hot water that is typically heated with gas.
OK. We don't use cents in the UK.
Edit: Or dollars.
I'm not sure what you are trying to say, but in case cents is confusing to you, here is a curency converter: https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/
Looking back, I don't know either. I remember looking at your answer, staring in mildly irritated confusion wondering why you were telling me that. Not enough sleep, if I had to guess, because my brain failed a few perception checks today. That's probably a good way to put it.
Haha, all good!
https://www.google.com/search?q=25+cents+USD+to+GBP
I shower every night because I hate sleeping dirty. If I'm going into the office or another activity that involves being around a lot of people I'll also shower in the morning.
Same here! It's gotten to the point where I refuse to sleep without as least a short shower.
This. I don't know what's up with all the people going to sleep without showering and bringing all that filth from their day into the bed with them. ... ick
It was always every day, until a year ago. We, as a family, decided it’s better for the environment to cut down on that. Energy prices going through the roof also played a part, it’s definitely what triggered the conversation.
I’ve dealt with excessive sweating, called hyperhidrosis, all my life. But I’ve had a very successful treatment some years ago. Before, it wouldn’t have been possible to shower any less, but now I’m proud to say it’s going great with only showering once every 2-3 days.
Interesting. We also reduced showering for environmental reasons, but - rather than reducing the frequency of showering - we reduced duration and temperature.
I am able to shower, thoroughly, within five or so minutes. This includes shampoo and conditioner. This is admittedly much easier as a man with reasonably short hair. Mostly it was a case of making showering purely functional rather than for enjoyment. I get in, get wet and immediately wash my hair, then my face and so on. I don't just stand under the water contemplating as I used to. I also turn off the water while I lather.
The Army taught me to shower in less than a minute and I'll be damned if I don't use that skill.
Granted, I like showers so I'll stretch them out a little... Two or three minutes tops though. Usually I'll put on a song that I know the length to and if I hear the end I know the shower is over.
Can you share the technique?? I can't lower my average to less than ten minutes and I really just do what I'm supposed to do there, I don't stay staring at the tile for minutes or anything.
No problem, just hire someone to scream at you!
In all seriousness, it's more of a pit-pit-groin-rinse and pray you got most of everything.
I have tried to be speedy but I have a very thorough process that my brain must follow and I can only get it down to 7-10 minutes.
I also have a process that doesn't feel wasteful in any way, and still 7-8 minutes is my fastest time.
Get in. Wet your hair. Shampoo. Rinse.
Condition then grab your soap bar. Scrub your whole body. Wash the soap off. Then rinse the conditioner out. Then you're done.
Hair, rinse, condition, soap, rinse, rinse. Six steps. The hardest part is getting over how nice it feels to just sit in the shower and cry instead of dealing with your life but power through and drive on and you'll be back to having to deal with things in no time.
I think you are spot on about using the shower to evade reality for a while. Thanks for sharing!
Honestly, between 3-4 days. Generally, I'm not terribly stinky; my antiperspirant keeps me smelling ok and my bidet keeps down under clean and smell free, so I generally only shower when my hair starts to ick me out or the front part of my southern reaches looks or smells nasty.
If I'm doing physically demanding things day in and out, I'll shower more, but generally I don't get super sweaty.
Do you not feel it would be better to proactively prevent the ick/stink than wait for it to actually happen?
Likely, if you can smell yourself or give yourself "the ick", others have smelt you long before.
Nah, I'm not worried about that; my wife will tell me I stink long before you can actually smell me. Not to mention, I usually feel gross and shower before I actually smell.
Liking the way my husband smells and not knowing he smells are two different things. I often let my husband know that he has a scent that I'm enjoying but others might not.
My closest colleagues are currently 3 and 5 years old, I don't think they notice.
Every day. I work a physical and dirty job, and I come home smelling less than rosy. I generally bathe just before bed unless I'm particularly filthy.
Pretty much on an as-needed basis. My workout schedule means that's usually every two days. Ngl, I did have a stumble last time I went on holiday; with my usual cues gone, I got lazy, and aromatic.
My wife handing me a towel was the reminder I needed. Whoops.
Once a day - work isn't the cleanest, and I sweat a lot. On low activity days I might skip a day... But that's basically just weekends
Depends:
If I'm commuting on my bike: Daily.
If I'm not commuting on my bike but still need to go to the office: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and as needed.
If I'm not commuting on my bike and don't need to go to the office: As needed, when I end up leaving the house.
I think a general guideline should be to shower every other day in general. You should shower more if you get really gross for whatever reason (exercise, bonfire, etc) and if you shower less, you should ultimately cross your T's and dot your I's so that you're as clean as someone who showers every other day. Also, don't shower for too long
Depends on the season and what I’m doing, but generally about every other day. I have super dry skin and hate lotion, so that’s been working fairly well. Just switched to trying out nicer bar soaps from plastic body wash bottles, and I’m using a goat milk based one that seems to be going a decent job on the hydration front.
A very prominent wound care specialist taught me that traditional soap is terrible for skin, so you're definitely onto something. I took it to heart and stopped using it for a while and sure enough, my dry skin just resolved over a few months. Goat soap is the lesser of many evils but a soap-free cleanser that is slightly acidic won't ruin the skin barrier like soap will (regardless of how much nature-related imagery is on the bottle hahaha)
They don't foam up like usual soaps and are unscented, uncoloured etc which I think puts people off.
Could you are some recommendations in the soap-free cleanser area? Inhave a daughter with very dry skin, sounds like this might be something to try.
Dove soap doesn't dry my hands out as much as other soaps. Not sure if it counts as soap-free, but it's certainly not the same formula.
Sorry, only on here sporadically! I really like a brand called Dermaveen, which also has oatmeal. The other one I'd recommend is QV, though I'm unsure if these are widely available outside of Australia/NZ. Cetaphil is a good option also.
For me it's the hot water that makes my skin crap, but I'm not about to shower cold so...
Any specific recommendations? Color me intrigued.
I really like a brand called Dermaveen, which also has oatmeal. The other one I'd recommend is QV, though I'm unsure if these are widely available outside of Australia/NZ. Cetaphil is a good option also.
Huh, very interesting. I’m aware of Cetaphil and the cost is reasonable - the others definitely aren’t for sale locally in the US. At the moment, though, I’m still liking the goat milk soap, and it’s not in a plastic bottle - also trying to be more environmentally friendly where I can!
I agree. Perhaps a funny story? We always used that when I was growing up, to the point that people would comment about how my sister and I had great skin or super soft hands, etc. I used to semi-joke "it's Dove soap!".
Turns out we actually have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and the soft skin is (one of many) diagnostic criteria and what I view as the consolation prize for the pain and other repercussions.
I still like Dove soap. I'm of the "every 3 days school" mostly because of the EDS, lots of things are just exhausting, showers or baths included. I really like the older style soaps right now. I have a bar of Yardley Lavender right now that feels just like the soaps my grandmother used to have. I'm also constantly dehydrated and don't like lotion for sensory reasons, thus my bathing schedule. I have never had anyone complain or mention anything, from very honest family, to intimate partners, etc.
Once per day in the morning. If I don't shower I make enough grease to lubricate an aircraft carrier, and I feel disgusting without a shower.
Prior to the pandemic I showered every morning. I was commuting into the office every day and found it was a nice way to wake up. It became a habit so I'd shower in the mornings on weekends, too.
Since the pandemic, and now that I work from home 100% of the time, I find that I shower every other day, usually in the evening. I'm not a morning person so I prefer to sleep in and shower/bathe before bed as a way of unwinding.
I'm the same way. I don't sweat at night, so I don't need to shower in the morning. I only shower more than every other day if I need to. Like when I excersize or do yard work.
I shower every morning. I will shower again after workouts on gym days.
I live in the American northeast.
I think everyone should bathe at least once a day.
I agree. I understand not shampooing every day, or even particularly often, but not at least soaping your pits and bits is nasty. Exceptions can be made if you are not leaving the house. But even still, more than 48 hours starts to get not just gross but disgusting. Although I'll admit that I probably used to do 72 hours from time to time over the weekend. I run too much for that, now.
Years ago I went to a festival, where one of the speakers said he did not bathe. Supposedly his diet, and the natural bacteria on his skin ( that would otherwise be killed with soap ) kept him clean enough to only bathe occasionally. Nobody sat close to him in the cafeteria. :-)
At least once a day, sometimes more if I'm feeling especially rough or went on a bike ride.
Once a day, but I only wash my hair every 3-4 because it easily gets dry and frizzy after a wash.
I exercise every morning, and shower immediately afterwards. I will also shower again later in the day if I wind up doing something that makes me sweat again. I sweat a lot.
I work inside. I shower somewhere between daily and once every three days. This is fully contingent on how sweaty or gross I feel. I wash my hair every day though, and wash it in the sink if it's not a shower day.
Similar for me, anywhere from 2x a day to every 3 days.
If Im at home and sedentary: every 1 to 3 days (though 3 days is pushing it for me) and either put my hair up or wash in the sink.
Going to the office or out socially? Shower first.
Exerise or outdoor work? Shower after.
Do you mean you wet your hair or do the full shampoo/conditioner cycle? If the latter, our schedules are precisely backwards haha.
From what I've heard (and my logical (possibly incorrect) conclusions), it doesn't really matter if you have short hair. Is this wrong?
Why do you think it would be bristly? My hair is actually quite soft.
Yup, full shampoo and conditioner lol
I'm a little weird. And I shower twice per day, in the morning and at night. My kids shower at least every other day (if they'd do it without argument, I'd have them shower every day). ngl I'm a little grossed out when I learn someone doesn't shower relatively frequently, but generally don't care much besides not wanting to smell or touch them (or things they've touched).
So just by the being told, not because of any actual visual/odor problems?
I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Are you grossed out if I tell you I don’t wash my hands after using the restroom?
Yes, you definitely should wash your hands every time you use the bathroom, and I think the majority of people would be grossed out if you told them you don’t. You’re touching an area that is rife with bacteria, not to mention incidentally touching places where lots of other people touch theirs.
It really is gross. Sure, that’s a subjective opinion but I think most would agree there.
How come nobody around me ever smells like that then? This is nonsense
No it's not. Have you ever smelled underwear? It's very distinct from the sweat one does occasionally smell on hot days.
But also, most days aren't hot days or exercise days. If you don't have an excess sweating problem, you don't smell after you started off clean and used a normal amount of deodorant in the morning and then sat mostly still for 48 hours or more. Smell doesn't just magically appear, it has a cause.
I'm not saying that you can go without indefinitely, but daily is excessive (for your skin, for resource usage) if all you did is sit in an office. After sports or a hot car, yeah basically you can shower immediately, that would make sense
My mom always smells this stuff way before anyone else. Nobody has noticed anything yet when she notices the neighbors dumped plastic into the hearth again (or whatever it is they burn) and it's time to close the windows, or perfumes she always complains are too strong and occasionally make her light-headed. She also thinks it beneficial to let me know when I smell (mainly when I was still growing up obviously, but it can still happen), which made me notice that, if I pay attention, yeah I can also smell it myself when she does. So now I know what level of smell there has to be for someone who, in my perception, has a good nose.
Public transport here in Germany and the Netherlands almost never smells that way on an average day. Dunno where you're from, maybe a country with a hot climate?
Yeah, just being told will trigger me, in addition to any obvious signs I can see or smell. :/
It's... not? Most people whose schedule I know shower every other day (Edit: and don't have odor issues.)
Maybe the climate is different where you live?
Dare I say that, instead, people smell bad when they get dirty? (Which can be one's own sweat, don't get me wrong.) Based on the reactions to my comment above, I'm not sure a rational conversation can be had on this topic ._.
I shower once a day since the weather is usually pretty mild where I live now. When I went to university in Illinois, I'd shower twice a day both in the summer and winter. In the summer, showering multiple times a day felt necessary because the sweat would just make me feel gross and sticky. In the winter, it was a nice way of just relaxing and warming up before I went to sleep. I know it's not the healthiest for my skin but man did it feel good.
Man that sounds terrible. I got super lucky with my uni dorm shower experience. I originally went to Arizona State University and most of the dorm buildings there have bathrooms that are private and attached to the dorm rooms directly. Each bathroom would be between two dorm rooms so there'd be either 2 or 4 people sharing a single bathroom. Since I had a single room, I only shared my bathroom with one other person. The person I shared the bathroom with stopped showering and became a shut in about 2 months into our first year so I essentially had the bathroom all to myself.
The flip-flops in the shower is specifically because communal bathing environments are filthy. I'm not saying you don't need a separate pair that's exclusively for shower use, but you absolutely should bring footwear to public showers.
I shower once a day for most of the year when it isn't cold or overcast but in winter, when temperatures drop beneath 15 degrees Celsius I often shower once every 2 or even 3 days in a cold front because I'm not very physically active and won't really sweat in cold weather unless I do some more serious physical activity than the typical walking to the bus stop and then to my classroom. In summer I really feel the need to shower because it can reach 30 degrees where I live and I can sweat even at home while doing nothing, but I still don't do it more than once a day out of habit honestly.
I honestly think shower frequency discourse has to take the climate of the person that's showering into account, because half the point of showering is body sweat, which is temperate and humidity dependent. How much the water bill costs and how much energy it consumes also matter, but so does climate too.
In the summer, I'll shower daily as it's really hot and humid here. I'm sweaty and greasy by mid-day. Sometimes, I'll jump in a second time for a quick, cold water rinse if I'm feeling particularly gross.
In the winter, closer to every other day, sometimes 2-3 days if I've been particularly inactive and haven't left the house.
Spring and Autumn are very much "when I feel I need to shower", but generally no less than every 2 days.
Just as important though, the bedsheets get changed every other week minimum.
If someone asks me in person I'd say 4-5 times per week. In reality it's probably closer to every 2-5 days. More in the summer, less in the winter. I've asked around a lot and I've (almost) never been told I smell, even if I get pretty sweaty. 5 days is pushing it, this is kinda gross but I've found my testicle area starts to hurt around day 5 of no shower, the hair gets all like matted with sweat and grime and it will feel like it's getting pulled when I walk and I'll develop a minor rash. Ideally I'd like to shower every 2-3 days, but I don't enjoy showering and it just feels like a time waste if I don't feel gross or smell gross.
Other than the ball thing my hair is usually what causes me to shower. It gets oily, I've found 1-2 days after showering it looks best, then it gets increasingly worse.
Haha, I know some people think that way, which is why I don't mention it. But I don't smell (and I know you're thinking I do, just no one tells me, but I'm 100% sure that's not true) and it doesn't bother me really, plus I feel better conserving water. My girlfriend for example knows and she's OK with it. And the ball rash thing is like a 4-5 times a year, not a weekly thing.
Look at it this way, it's not a waste of time if it keeps your balls from hurting.
I find that's a good motivator in most things in life.
People are being kinda judgey but I'm with you. My hair and genital areas are the indicators I look to for a shower and, of course, if I feel uncomfortable due to sweating.
How I love Tildes, I mean you can have a serious conversation about showering, a topic nobody will bring up out of politeness or even interest.
As for myself and showering, if I'm not heading out at all, I'd do the shower once in 2-3 days until I find myself smelling bad. Showering too often rids us of our natural odour which isn't necessarily as off-putting without sweat. It sounds weird but people I've been intimate with have mentioned that they like my 'smell'.
I live in the tropics but I'm also usually indoors in a cool air-conditioned room. And I luckily have that Asian gene that reduces body odor 😂 so I can get away with not showering for a few days, or wearing clothes several times without washing, even when working out regularly. And I just use BHA as my deodorant.
My hair can get greasy though, so I prefer to shower at least every other day. (The greasiness was greatly reduced though when I switched to a silicone-free clarifying shampoo, yay!)
Handwashing is a different story, I'm a chronic handwasher who needs to wash their hands sooo many times every day, after touching anything that I feel is "dirty" (doorknobs, money, anything that's been on the floor, etc), before and after eating, etc.
Re. other people's frequency. If they don't stink then I don't care :)
Daily during the workweek, then I usually skip one on Saturday.
I usually only shampoo and condition every other shower, which most often means Tues., Thurs., and Sun. are hair-washing days. My dandruff and breakouts along my hairline have lessened dramatically since I went to the every other shower regimen. Don't know exactly why.
None of this is hard and fast though. I'll shower and shampoo twice in a day if I feel like it.
Between 2-4 times per day. I go to the gym a lot (often 3x/day), and I don’t want to stink when I’m training with people so I have to shower before the gym, but I sometimes sweat out about 2-4 lbs of water at the gym so I absolutely need to shower afterwards. Also, I don’t want a staph infection.
I live in Florida so, unless I don't leave the house at all, I shower every day.
I bathe strictly two days a week. I hate the sensation of water droplets splashing on my skin, so the way I bathe has evolved over the years to minimize that happening:
I used to go on more days without bathing, but my partner did not like how I'd start smelling, so we came up with a schedule that accommodates both my need to minimize unpleasant experience and his need to minimize unpleasant experience.
I shower once a day in the week and usually have a long peaceful bath on the weekend, sometimes skipping a weekend day when it's not too warm and I haven't had much activity
Usually once a day, in the evenings either after the gym or if I don't workout, then before I go to bed. If I don't workout and it gets to be super late, I'll make up for it in the morning.
Every day. It's part of turning my brain on each morning (except for when I delay the shower until the afternoon to accommodate exercise). When I lived by the ocean, often twice a day: once in the morning to wake up and once before dinner to rinse off the seawater after swimming.
Twice every day, at the morning just after getting off bed and one at night after work or just before dinner. Also if there is any event in the afternoon I take a shower to get dressed. (btw brazil here)
When I worked in an office: every day, in the morning (first thing), usually no shower at night.
Now that I work from home, it's once a day, usually mid-day. I want to get back in the habit of doing it in the mornings since its a great way to start the day, but I got lazy and started waking up late.
In summer in NYC, with the heat, and especially with how hot the subways are, days where I go outside for a while are two shower days: once in the morning/mid-day, then once again at night after coming home, drenched in sweat.
This is completely different depending on factors. For a start, I'm in England, UK. The weather here ranges from -8c in winter to about 35c in summer.
I have to shower at least once a day. I opt for a night shower. My wife is the same except she opts for a morning shower.
In the summer months I will also have a full strip wash if I'm hot or a shower morning and night, sometimes a middle of the day cooling shower should I need it. That afternoon one isn't necessarily for hygiene reasons, just that I need to cool down as I run hot at the best of times.
Where people live dictates sweat quantities, plus types of jobs. My job means I sit most of the day, I'd imagine a bricklayer out in the sun would go two times a day for a shower, maybe even throw in a bath to relax those aching muscles.
Like a lot of other people here, I'm a laborer, so I shower after work. My particular job has skewed my sense of what "dirty" is to the point that I simply don't feel a need to shower unless I have a particular reason to.
I do change my shirt and unders on a daily basis though
I shower every day for a while, and then every couple days for a while, it also depends how death I get
I had depression in 2011andwent 3 or 4months with out showering once, I had these huge pimple to devolope behind my ears, and I had a dog wedge its face In to my crotch once, I must have smelt smelly to it, lmao
I shower every night, but avoid soap on most of my body. I use a body wash on my navel and perianal regions, Cetaphil on my neck/face/ears, and regular shampoo on my scalp (which has always been oily.)
If I'm not working out, water and friction is sufficient to remove perspiration and control everyday odors. Underarm deodorant in the morning (not antiperspirant) is sufficient to prevent the usual BO.
Why strip the oils from your skin if you're just going to have to put them back in with lotion, at great expense? My skin has never been healthier.
I shower once a day on my two days off and twice on all of my five workdays. Once before and once after. I work at a gym so I have to pick up weights people leave behind plus going around and cleaning/maintaining the entire 40,000 square foot building. Lots of potential for sweating.
On my days off I'll do any chores and grasscutting etc then shower and be good for the day. I hate feeling dirty so this system hasn't failed me yet.
Twice a day. Every morning so that I can start the day feeling fresh, and after I exercise (just to rinse sweat off, no soap) - which is most days (recently that means an hour in the gym followed by an hour cycling outside). I don't sweat a ton and live in a very mild climate, but I don't want to be less than clean at any given time. As far as wastefulness goes - I don't generally take tremendously long showers. It only takes a few minutes to get clean. I remember people telling me they'd take 30-40 minute showers. If you do that every other day it's less wasteful to take two 5 minute showers per day.
I also just generally enjoy the experience of bathing, so wouldn't want to miss out on it.
Every day. Sometimes twice a day if I get sweaty.
4 or 5 times a day. It's hot here.
2-3 times a week. I go to the swimming pool so that's where I shower. I don't use shampoo so hair looks crispy all the time, even after 3 days. I also shower whenever I'm going out, if I did not go swimming that day. I feel clean and don't sweat much, so that's fine for me.
Once a day in the evening; getting in bed without taking a shower feels kinda gross and makes my morning prep take less time. I'm bald so showers are pretty quick, 5-10 minutes depending on if I have to shave or not.
Every day in the morning. I also shampoo and condition my hair every time. I know many people think that is way too often to wash hair. I have tried going longer without washing and it just does not work for me at all.
That really just sounds like washing my hair with extra steps. Also my scalp gets unbearably itchy long before I could remove grease from my hair. I would rather just have a clean head than mess around with that.
Every morning since my hair turns to oil overnight. So it's either shower or look like I just smeared oil in my hair. If I do something that makes me sweat too much I'll take a shower at the end of the day too.
Depends on the time of year. In the summer It's usually every day, because I sweat a lot.
In the winter I'll go a day or sometimes two between showers.
Every other night.
Between once and twice a day to every other day on average. I also regularly take baths if I have the option of a nice big tub. I don't like feeling dirty and I find that I do if I'm not showering often. I'm not terribly smelly as a human being so I could get away with longer time between but I'll feel the difference. I also mainly just use soap for the really important bits. I definitely shower more if I'm sharing a bed with someone than when it's just me. I also have fairly naturally oily hair and since it's quite long these days I have to wash it every day or so or it will be noticeably greasy. When it's short I can get away with washing it twice a week or so.
I get that regularly showering is a cultural thing but anyone who's had to give a body search on a dude who smells like a four day salty nut sack understands that cleanliness really is next to godliness.
That said, there's levels for showering too. A day with minimal activity? Hop in, rinse off, hop out. Don't touch the hair. Maybe 45 seconds total. Got a little sweaty but washed my hair yesterday? In, quick soap and rinse, out. No more than a minute, really. The longest showers are when I shampoo and condition but, as I started above, those are like 3 minutes long. 5 if I'm feeling lazy.
Sometimes I'll shower in the morning, sometimes at night. Really just depends on how sticky I feel.
Once a day. I went to showering twice a day this summer, but then I learned that it might be bad for your skin, so I went back to showering once a day (and maybe a second time with just water, without soap)
Nearly every morning. I feel like my body produces more sweat and oil at night, so if I don't shower in the morning (or at least before I leave the house), then I'll feel grimy all day.
Twice a day - after waking and before going to bed.
Every morning after going to the bathroom. I'm a creature of routine and habit.
If I've exerted myself or for whatever reason have become sweaty or stinky I'll shower again. Sometimes if particularly hot I'll shower using Dr Bronners peppermint soap all over my body and that quickly helps give me the wonderful sensation of cold. Only for summers. Then the cats go crazy and violently lick me.
Daily. My apartment gets warm in Southern California here, and not too cold in winter. I start to smell funny after one day, and itch/get oily quickly. I shower at night, or if I'm going into an office for work in the morning before I leave.
I don't worry about pooping throughout the day because a bidet keeps my hind clean until I shower at night. Just spritz, dry (ensuring the paper is clean after the bidet, of course), and done.
Used to be every other day but now it’s every day since I started I working out on a three-day on-on-off cycle.
I only shampoo like once a week though because otherwise my hair gets fried and/or starts massively overproducing oil which creates a vicious cycle of shampooing.
Every day. Y'all are nasty.
Seriously. I shower at least twice a day, I'm not sure how all these people are getting away with it.
When I went to the UK to study my grandmother muttered darkly that the English only bathe once a week. And then on Reddit and here I find out that people actually do this.
I am shocked by these comments here. I thought most people would shower daily. There is one guy who mentions he doesn't wash his hands after the bathroom!?!?
Dry heat lets your sweat evaporate which makes you feel cooler. Humid heat does not so your body doesn't get that relief x_x I hate humid heat!