How Often Do You Shower?
Mark another point for Team Dirty, folks: Our new favorite writer at the New York Times, Catherine Saint Louis, is singing the praises of “laissez-faire” hygiene today.
As some of you may recall, soon after we launched this blog, Siobhan went public with the following statement: “Alexandra and I both hate soap.” It seems we’re not alone.
The article tracks fellow members of our dirty tribe who are abandoning their antiperspirants and daily showers in favor of natural oils and a little sweat—one guy likened antiperspirant to covering his pores in Saran Wrap (we’re stealing that one, buddy!).
But it goes beyond keeping skin and hair hydrated. As the article points out, it’s also about healthy bacteria:
Resist the urge to recoil at this swath of society: They may be on to something. Of late, researchers have discovered that just as the gut contains good bacteria that help it run more efficiently, so does our skin brim with beneficial germs that we might not want to wash down the drain. “Good bacteria are educating your own skin cells to make your own antibiotics,” said Dr. Richard Gallo, chief of the dermatology division at the University of California, San Diego, and “they produce their own antibiotics that kills off bad bacteria.”
I’m just going to put it out there and say that, like some of the subjects in this piece, I generally do not shower more than three times a week. Am I gross? Maybe. But my skin and hair feel better, and I’ve reduced my water consumption by about 1,000 liters a week—something worth thinking about when you live in California. I also don’t take the subway, work out vigorously or go to an office every day… All things that make it easier to shower less.
So how about you? What’s your weekly shower number?
I shower every other day, after my morning jog, some strength training, and yoga.
Usually, about 3. Depends on what I’m doing for work that week (conferences? recruiting? or just holed up in my office?). Also depends on how much I sweat on a given day.
three to four times here, but I do wash the pit parts daily or I can’t tolerate myself.
Every day, unless it’s a weekend and I’m sleeping in and staying home all day. I use all natural products, but I’m team clean.
I shower every day, but I’ve just recently started experimenting with not using soap every time. We’ll see if rinsing instead of washing helps my dry skin. Someone also suggested that hot water makes dry skin worse, but I don’t know if there’s any truth to that.
My husband and I shower together daily, which is a great way to save water!
Only the stinky parts need soap, made at a local goat farm.
These days, I shower every two days. Might become more frequent in the summers, though.
I had a job working in the desert and mountains for a week straight, every other week. During those nine months, I showered once a week, if that. Now that I’m done with that job, I feel so bad using all the soap and water to shower everyday. It seems like an unnecessary waste. So I shower every other day. My hair and skin are much healthier. And I don’t guilt myself every time I shower thinking of people who die from not having enough water.
I tend to shower 2-3 times a week… more if I am being insanely active or I have something specific I wanna be extra-clean for.
My husband showers everyday, but generally forgoes soap these days.
i shower almost every day (trying to refrain from using soap), but that is only because i am living in beijing right now— a day out in the city makes one feel really gross.
I’ve always had a lot of facial skin problems – I changed the products I was using (big improvement) – and interestingly don’t feel the need to use the products everyday anymore either…just use water every second day or so to freshen up!
Everyday after my workout; I can’t stand myself for even five minutes and I wouldn’t want to subject anyone else to me either.
Every day, sometimes twice. How can I not shower when I work out and sweat every day?
We’re total opposites on this one!! :) I shower every night & LOVE soap! I do try to skip a day in between hair washing though. I can’t stand to go without washing myself nightly to wash the grime & sweat of the day off. My skin and hair definitely don’t feel better when I don’t wash – I feel gross, dirty & oily if I don’t :/
Every other/third day or so. I definitely don’t always shampoo, instead I use a baking-soda/vinegar rinse. And oatmeal on my face and an all natural mild body wash or bar soap.
I loved this article! My boyfriend read it aloud to me on Sunday in the apartment- we both found it fascinating. I don’t always shower every day- am a big fan of organic dry shampoo…but normally end up showering four to five times a week because I am a big fan of the sauna. I, too, work at home, so it makes not always showering a lot easier.
I shower twice everyday, but one is more “rigorous” than the other. I live in a more tropical location and if I go out everyday, I need to feel clean before and after. On weekends, I shower only once. If I’m not going out, I’d be more lazy. It really just depends what I’ll be doing. I’ve gone days without showering but I still feel the need to wash some parts (haha).
I don’t use deodorants anymore. I haven’t for maybe 3 years. I also avoid putting on lotion.
I shower everyday, because I sweat a lot and because of that certain areas need to be washed everyday.
I wash my hair once a week with a glycerin bar and earth friendly conditioner. I’m African-america (with kinky, afro-textured hair), so I don’t have an oily hair problem; it’s much easier to keep the hair “clean”. I wash my hair to remove product build up which can make my hair feel too oily.
Hot water does dry out the skin and hair. I have problem skin and I’m constantly fighting acne. I have though reduced my face washing to once a day. The later I stay up and was less than that, I get oil build up and I think that makes my acne worse.
Twice a day. In our country, it’s pretty common taking a bath more often due to our weather condition here.
I shower every second day. My hair gets oily fast, so if I don’t wash my hair every second day then I’d be walking around looking like a grease ball, and who wants that? I also work out at the gym (pretty intensely) every second day, so it’s probably in the best interest of the public that I shower afterwards.
I am trying to slowly replace all my current products (shampoo, soap, etc) with natural/organic ones. So far I’ve jumped on the natural shampoo, conditioner and soap bandwagon, and I’m sure that my toothpaste will be next. I also take very quick showers, and keep the water at a lukewarm temp, so I’m not wasting TOO much water.
I shower every day –and then I sometimes take a bath at night. I work in an office, live in a city and try to work out 4-5 times a week. Plus, I feel stinky and gross if I don’t take a shower.
I shower between 3-4 times a week as well. It’s mainly to benefit my curly hair. I find washing it everyday strips my hair of its natural oils. Not washing my hair everyday also makes my hair curl better. I’ll definitely take additional showers if I’ve sweat a lot that day or if I want to spruce up my look before going out.
I bathe every day, though I only shampoo my hair once a week or so. I like to smell nice. ;)
There has been a tremendous backlash against the whole “not showering every day” thing – I can’t believe some of the stuff I’ve read. It’s just dismissed outright – and then the word “lazy” and “hippie” is of course tossed around. I don’t understand how people could be unaware that what they do doesn’t necessarily work for other people. And how they could be unaware that what they do or don’t do has an impact on the world… ignorance is bliss, maybe?
I read the NY Times article and I wanted to take a look at the comments section but decided against it because… well, you know.
I shower every day but only use soap on the evacuation-of-bodily-wastes areas. My pits just get a scrubbing with a washcloth and they’re fine.
I usually take a hot shower every day because it’s one of the few things that helps my fibromyalgia. I wash my hair every other day with organic shampoo. I use the foam it generates to wash my face, arm pits and crotch-y areas. No need for soap.
Once a week, sometimes twice a week. If I’m working outside or get really sweaty I’ll shower afterwards. I used to be on the every morning shower rhythm…
Deodorant every day or I’d get mighty stinky.
My wife showers every day, sometimes twice.
Kids wash only when they’re told to.
i shower once a week, usually take a bath the other 6.
I only use dime sized portion of body wash on the smelly bits
I wash my hair maybe once a week – long, thick, curly, frizzy red hair. I do that mostly because it takes me about an hour to “do” my hair and I’m really just to lazy.
I am Native American and have very oily skin and hair so I shower everyday and sometimes twice a day. I feel guilty now reading about all the people skipping a day to save water. I really should. I do know that my hair feels more healthy if I skip a day. Also, after reading the comments I think I’ll try to start showering without soap. I know I stopped using soap on my face years ago and haven’t had a problem with acne since.
Around 5 to 6 times. Morning time, before going work. I can’t stand the idea that I will be smelly at work. I also visit many customers frequently; so have to keep up the image and be clean. My hair can get oily fast, so I must shampoo. Might as well do the whole thing – including shower. I wake up late on Sunday, so that’s the day I normally skip.
I use soap, shampoo, and conditioner. And warm water. In the winter months, the house is cooler, so I use extra warm water, and then use lotion later to moisture skin.
my sister forwarded me this site: http://blog.seanbonner.com/2010/02/01/ive-given-up-using-soap/
apparently this guy gave up soap and shampoo for a year!
I shower about once or twice a week, and use a baking soda based concoction as deoderant, baking soda plus water for my hair and a cider-vinegar rinse as needed. I work as a housecleaner so I’m fairly active but it honestly doesn’t take much more than that for me. I am not stinky, have a good social life etc. I think my aquaintences would be surprised to learn this about me since I’m fairly neat and tidy in appearance, which doesn’t go with the lax showering stereotype.
The baking soda stuff as body care is fairly new but this amount of showering has been standard for me for most of my life, so it’s what I’m used to.
I just recently have started showering less and less, like 3 times per week. I find it doesn’t really impact my appearance or mood. I almost feel like it’s healthier. I’ve basically stopped showering as much because I’m always out of time. Write now I’m going to school to earn my teaching credential, and its showering is the last thing I worry about. So whether it’s out of an inability to manage time or prioritize, or I’m just falling into my normal regime, I really couldn’t tell you. All I know is, deodorant and cologne heals all consequences, and I’m not even French of Latin. ( sorry, bad joke).
Okay, well, if you don’t sweat a lot and you’re not particularly oily, I can see going a day or two without bathing. I have known people who didn’t ever use shampoo before and I could definitely tell they didn’t use shampoo – their hair always looked dull, greasy and unattractive. Didn’t smell too good, either. I suppose when you are living in your own odor cloud all the time you probably don’t notice it much, but others perhaps do. Even if they don’t in casual company, this level of non-washing would definitely guarantee that certain…romantic activities would almost never, ever happen in my view. Even if you are completely sedentary, certain parts of yourself definitely need a daily wash if you ever want a romantic partner going near them. Ew.
Oh…and I shower almost every day, plus I use a personal bidet when i go to the bathroom to keep personal areas clean. I try to only wash my hair every other day, but it’s pretty oily and I can’t always go that long without it looking bad. I use pure castile soap for both my hair and body, then after showering i use just a tiny bit of natural coconut oil as a moisturizer only on the ends of my hair and on my body. I have tried every natural deodorant on the market from the salt crystal to baking soda to the entire shelf of products at the health food store, and for some reason I can only use the chemical-ridden antiperspirant/deodorant combinations or I end up with a skin yeast infection every single time, within 24 hours. And I can’t just skip it altogether or I end up smelling like the water left over from boiling hot dogs at a stadium. Gross.
I shower every other day and only use soap once a week. I use natural deodorant every day though, and I’ve never had an acne problem anywhere, or a smell problems, ect. When I do use soap, I feel like the effects are very temporary. My skin feels dry by the next morning, and I feel like I need more products (like skin cream) to fix it. Water does most of that for you. :) Hair is another story… I always feel the new to condition.
Seriously? All you dirty bastards who don’t shower/bathe daily? Really? REALLY? And no, you can’t cover up your stink with deodorant…NOW GET YOUR PATCHOULI STINK OUT OF MY STORE!
I normally shower everyday, but I donot wash my hair everyday. I have long hair and it’s my scalp that gets oily so I wash that.
I donot use commercial products because they add to the irritation and dryness, plus I donot want to “cleanse” myself with chemicals. I stick to organic/safe products and homemade ones. Things that are non-stripping. Smoothing some olive oil all over in the shower and then rinsing helps as well.
Stay away from commercial products. They may smell good to you, but what are they actually doing for your skin?
I really, really want to get a shower filter because one of the main reasons why our hair and skin gets so dried out is the chlorine content.
I also will not take hot showers anymore, warm water is fine but not too much if you can help it. Just a comfortable temperature.
I find that hot showers, and showers in general are the top cause of my dry skin. Not long ago I kept getting dry scaley skin on my eyelids everytime I got out of the shower.
Showering less doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still cleanse your “private parts”. And it doesn’t mean you have to give up smelling nice, or using all that fun stuff. Again, just make sure it’s chemical fee and safe.
And Theres no reason you should really smell if you cleanse down there and such, along with your armpits. :)
I’m one of the ones that will lie and say I bathe daily when I really don’t. I shower no more than 3 times a week unless I get dirty doing yard work or the like. I use a wet washcloth on my girlie bits daily and try to stick with natural products. The amusing part of it is that coworkers at my office always compliment me on my complexion and ask what my secret is… I refuse to tell them because people freak out if you don’t shower at least once a day.
i shower usually 2-3 times a week. mostly to maintain my hair and stop my skin from drying out. I don’y use antipersperants unless t.he day will be a hot one. i really dont feel that i get dirty. i use a scrub on my face every week or so and wash my face with soap 1-2 a week as well. but oddly enough im noticing i wash my feet and forearms nearly everyday.
When I was 19, I showered 2-3 times a day, and used a ton pf products on my skin. Now I rinse with water 4-5 times a week, wash my face on the days I wear (natural) makeup, which washes off with only water, and wear natural deodorant, which I only need if I’m not shaving my underarms, which I do in summers. I live where it’s very hot and humid during the summer. I’ve never washed my arms, legs, stomach or back with soap unless I got actual dirt or paint or something on them. I only really use Dr bronners soap on my underarms, feet and you know, the area where food leaves the body. Don’t ever use soap on girlie parts; just water. They need to maintain their natural balance. Brush teeth 2-3 times a day.
Oh, and I wash my feet every night right before bed. Hate. Sticky. Feet.
I tend towards dry skin. For those with oily skin, dr. Haushka’s products work really well to make your skin less oily within weeks. Permanently.
I shower daily, except when camping. I work at a bank full-time, and they’re kind of particular about hygeine. My hair is oily and looks really gross if I go more than 24 hours without a shower. Most times it’s just shampoo, conditioner, and soap (has to be Dove because of sensitive skin), occasionaly I use an apricot face scrub and/or shower gel, though the latter is something I never buy for myself… I’m constantly getting it as a gift. I do use shave gel, but I shave less often than I used to. I’ve tried going a day between showers, but it just doesn’t work for me. I have been trying to shorten shower time and use less water, for now that’s the best I can do.
The problem is my hair. After 36 hours it’s disgusting. So that’s how often I shower. I wear either a bicycle or motorcycle helmet daily, and can powder my bangs, but it’s still ugly. Greasy in the front, rats nest in the back. I recently found some great Shea detangler, but I live in LA. It’s bad enough I refuse to do the whole blow out thing, I have to keep my hair somewhat attractive.
I shower about once a week. I don’t use soap. It makes me smell like a dog. :)
I shower 2 times a day and wash my hair once or twice a day also. I feel sticky and slimy if I don’t
i shower like 5 or 6 times a day is it healthy? i’m sort of a germ freak so i cant stand to feel dirty
I shower every other week. I work in a hotel as a dishwasher. And may be I smell bad but my noes don’t realize that anymore. I wish I could shower more often but not everyone in the world is as fortunate to have the options.
I have oily hair and it start to look greasy 36-48 hours after I wash it. I also work in an assisted living facility and sweat a lot while putting my residents to bed. I shower on average 5-7 days a week depending on my work schedule and how bad my looks. On the rare days that I don’t shower, I usually wash my armpits and privates to freshin up. Sometimes I’ll wash just my hair in the sink or tub if I don’t need a shower.
Shower every day, wash hair every day. In the summer shower twice. Who wants to feel gross with hot, sticky skin when you can be refreshed and clean? Just frigging bathe, people. I don’t want to smell you.