There's no need to shower every day – here's why(bbc.com)
bbc.com
There's no need to shower every day – here's why
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240423-theres-no-need-to-shower-every-day-heres-why
43 comments
Even if I stay perfectly still for an entire day I'm still going to become greasy and smelly. Washing is not optional for me.
Good for those who can skip it, but as a member of society, I prefer to stay clean.
Good for those who can skip it, but as a member of society, I prefer to stay clean.
I've had a few girlfriends who barely sweat. Same with a roommate from Iran. All of them had no problem wearing pants and heather gray shirt out into the hottest most humid day.
Meanwhile I'm sweating like a hog in my tank top just existing. God forbid I move.
The only explanation that makes sense is that articles like TFA are written by those in the former group, so showering daily really is performative.
Meanwhile I'm sweating like a hog in my tank top just existing. God forbid I move.
The only explanation that makes sense is that articles like TFA are written by those in the former group, so showering daily really is performative.
Also I've read that people with the gene ABCC11 don't typically smell when they sweat. The more east you go, the more people have that gene.
Isn't this also associated with white ear wax?
I only ever met one person who claimed they don't need to shower because they don't sweat. Boy, were they stinking, yet totally oblivious to it. No, we weren't friends - also because of the smell, but mostly because that came packaged with all weird extreme naturist beliefs.
Your body can adapt over time, it's just that most people don't try because they live indoors and control their environment and would prefer to be comfortable.
When I moved to a place with much warmer summers, the first year was awful. I could barely go outside without looking like I just came out of a sauna. Several years later, living without air conditioning and mostly walking everywhere, I was one of those people wearing pants and long sleeves in the peak of summer without sweating. 100F was just another warm day.
Since then I've moved to somewhere much cooler. I sweat profusely when it gets to a mere 75F. I just never trained my body to adapt.
To pivot back to the original topic about showering, people who shower every day strip off the body's natural oils that keep the skin moisturized. In response, the body produces more oils to maintain the integrity of the skin. And then some people want to shower more for that "clean" feeling and the problem gets worse.
In a sense, your body adapts to your daily showering, so when you abruptly stop, you're gonna smell.
In a similar sense, people with long hair are regularly advised to only wash their hair occasionally, because washing removes all the oils that their body generates, leading to dry hair that breaks easily. But people with short hair claim they have to wash their hair regularly because it "gets oily" when they stop.
When I moved to a place with much warmer summers, the first year was awful. I could barely go outside without looking like I just came out of a sauna. Several years later, living without air conditioning and mostly walking everywhere, I was one of those people wearing pants and long sleeves in the peak of summer without sweating. 100F was just another warm day.
Since then I've moved to somewhere much cooler. I sweat profusely when it gets to a mere 75F. I just never trained my body to adapt.
To pivot back to the original topic about showering, people who shower every day strip off the body's natural oils that keep the skin moisturized. In response, the body produces more oils to maintain the integrity of the skin. And then some people want to shower more for that "clean" feeling and the problem gets worse.
In a sense, your body adapts to your daily showering, so when you abruptly stop, you're gonna smell.
In a similar sense, people with long hair are regularly advised to only wash their hair occasionally, because washing removes all the oils that their body generates, leading to dry hair that breaks easily. But people with short hair claim they have to wash their hair regularly because it "gets oily" when they stop.
I'm sure there's a small amount of variability, but people always tell me "you will get used to it" when they see me sweating balls as if I just moved from Lapland and I think it's trivially false and clearly genetic.
I've lived in hot places my whole life from Texas to Mexico to the beach, the latter two I never even had A/C for 10+ years. Clearly some people are like me and some people aren't and it has nothing to do with acclimation.
Meanwhile my girlfriend who barely sweats certainly didn't train for it, come on. Though she immediately overheats in the sauna which is the only time I feel some satisfaction on the matter.
I've lived in hot places my whole life from Texas to Mexico to the beach, the latter two I never even had A/C for 10+ years. Clearly some people are like me and some people aren't and it has nothing to do with acclimation.
Meanwhile my girlfriend who barely sweats certainly didn't train for it, come on. Though she immediately overheats in the sauna which is the only time I feel some satisfaction on the matter.
I shower everyday just for the shower thoughts. It's blocked out time for serene peace and quiet. Being clean is just a nice side effect
Shower is using huge amounts of energy. Easily 1/4th of my household power goes to hot water and we do have an EV.
Brushing teeth, masturbating or just plain "enjoying warmth" is quite wasteful.
Brushing teeth, masturbating or just plain "enjoying warmth" is quite wasteful.
> I show every day because I exercise (and sweat) every day,
Funfact: In ye olden days peasants were cleaner than nobility. Because they got dirty every day and had to wash (with cold water in a stream). Nobility never got dirty and baths were cumbersome luxuries inside a palace (takes a lot of buckets to fill a bath).
This got so bad that the french had to invent perfume to make Versaille livable.
Funfact: In ye olden days peasants were cleaner than nobility. Because they got dirty every day and had to wash (with cold water in a stream). Nobility never got dirty and baths were cumbersome luxuries inside a palace (takes a lot of buckets to fill a bath).
This got so bad that the french had to invent perfume to make Versaille livable.
On hot summer days (without air conditioning) I sometimes have to shower twice a day, once in the morning before work and once in the evening e.g. before meeting friends.
That justification itself seems more performative than the act of showering privately. How could something done alone be performative? I guess I rose to the ragebait
They must be talking about singing in the shower.
Wait, really? That's weird. I don't exercise everyday. Hmm.
The article seems to be based on a premise that is totally alien to me. I have never showered because I believe it's health-promoting or "necessary" in a medical sense. I shower because i) I like it, and ii) I like looking and smelling good.
> Why are we washing? Mostly because we're afraid somebody else will tell us that we're smelling
I'm actually much more concerned about people thinking I smell bad but not telling me. Which has a tremendous social and romantic cost. And is also, to my mind, plain rude. Being part of society still means sharing physical spaces with other people a lot of the time. The least I can do is make sure I don't stink when doing so.
> Some experts believe that everyday showering is based more on a 'social contract' than actual need.
Social contracts are good, actually.
> Why are we washing? Mostly because we're afraid somebody else will tell us that we're smelling
I'm actually much more concerned about people thinking I smell bad but not telling me. Which has a tremendous social and romantic cost. And is also, to my mind, plain rude. Being part of society still means sharing physical spaces with other people a lot of the time. The least I can do is make sure I don't stink when doing so.
> Some experts believe that everyday showering is based more on a 'social contract' than actual need.
Social contracts are good, actually.
It's incredibly weather-dependent. I bicycled the width of Nevada over 5 days from Yosemite NP to St George UT, and was basically fine. Sweat evaporated immediately.
A couple years ago, my wife and I thru-hiked the Long Trail and got one (1) shower in 20 days. It was pretty rough despite availing ourselves of every opportunity to get a dip in a stream or pond (no soap). A day or two removed from a shower, we both felt pretty scuzzy. Everything got greasy and gross.
For context, we both thru-hiked the AT before we met; we are used to going without showers for days at a stretch. 10 was too many in the early summer humidity.
A couple years ago, my wife and I thru-hiked the Long Trail and got one (1) shower in 20 days. It was pretty rough despite availing ourselves of every opportunity to get a dip in a stream or pond (no soap). A day or two removed from a shower, we both felt pretty scuzzy. Everything got greasy and gross.
For context, we both thru-hiked the AT before we met; we are used to going without showers for days at a stretch. 10 was too many in the early summer humidity.
I had a project with NPS photographing salamanders and part of the territory was along the Appalachian Trail. I'll never forget this couple who had clearly been on the trail for a extended time because they stunk. Like 20 feet away and the stink was still powerful - and this was outside. Yet I respect the gumption it takes to do this trail during the humid summer.
Yeah, we get pretty ripe :-)
After a month or two, the smell is pretty well settled into everything. Nothing really gets clean until it's had three or four trips through the wash. It should be added that synthetic fabrics stink differently from natural ones too. Don't know why, but it's not a stink most folks are accustomed to.
After a month or two, the smell is pretty well settled into everything. Nothing really gets clean until it's had three or four trips through the wash. It should be added that synthetic fabrics stink differently from natural ones too. Don't know why, but it's not a stink most folks are accustomed to.
It... depends?
Even if you do as little as 30 min of elliptical trainer per day as I do atm, not showering is completely out of the question.
Even if you do as little as 30 min of elliptical trainer per day as I do atm, not showering is completely out of the question.
Even doing nothing, in the tropics it's unthinkable not to shower daily. Yesterday we had like 60% humidity and 40 Celsius. Walk a block and you're sweating, do it several days and people will greet you before seeing you.
The thing is: you get used to your own smell. But others don't. Specially those that shower regularly. So, while you may think that you're fine, others will catch on your smell before you do.
I'm someone who does a lot of sport where ringworm/staph is a problem, caused by a lack of hygiene i.e. showering and cleaning the skin. I could not disagree more. I would guess that anyone doing regular sport or physical activity would say the same.
I don't understand how people not smell if they shower less than daily. Is it a matter of using fabrics and poses that let your sweat breathe before it starts smelling?
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It's way more genetics and microbiome than anything you can do. If your sweat doesn't harbor the right bacteria, it won't smell much. If your sweat tends to smell, there's very little you can do about it.
There's also a hell of a lot of people who swear up and down that they don't need to shower everyday and aren't greasy or smelly and are very, very wrong.
There's also a hell of a lot of people who swear up and down that they don't need to shower everyday and aren't greasy or smelly and are very, very wrong.
In places that are cold and/or dry people just don’t sweat as much.
The greasier areas of your skin will produce sebum regardless temperature, and sebum breeds bacteria. It might be that your particular bacterial culture isn't as smelly, but humans definitely smell.
Animals that are on the top of the food chain, like us, have no pressure to select for less body odor, contrary to defenseless preys or pets bred to be hypoallergenic.
Humans, like most great apes, smell naturally.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31094019/
Animals that are on the top of the food chain, like us, have no pressure to select for less body odor, contrary to defenseless preys or pets bred to be hypoallergenic.
Humans, like most great apes, smell naturally.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31094019/
I find merino wool tshirts can be worn for several days, whereas polyester tshirts marketed as “moisture wicking” will be stinky in a matter of hours.
If I wear one of the latter for a workout, if I don’t take a shower immediately, then I at least change into a cotton or wool shirt afterward.
Edit: typo
If I wear one of the latter for a workout, if I don’t take a shower immediately, then I at least change into a cotton or wool shirt afterward.
Edit: typo
Showering helps me with muscle pain, going to sleep faster, thinking, relaxation, mini-sauna as well as cleanliness.
After I started working from home I started showering less than every day and I noticed that I don’t feel as good if I don’t shower. I feel like I’m not fully awake. It’s not about cleanliness exactly. I start to get into a mental funk if I don’t shower. It’s like a reset or something.
Sure, if you don't exercise there's no need to shower every day. You may want to for other reasons though (it's nice?).
A message I _would_ like to see more of though, is that there isn't an everyday reason to wash your hair more than once a week. In fact, it's bad for your scalp.
A message I _would_ like to see more of though, is that there isn't an everyday reason to wash your hair more than once a week. In fact, it's bad for your scalp.
Clearly never had high school or junior high boys living in their house. Them boys stank!
Work in an office = shower every day
Work from home = twice a weeks seems good
Work from home = twice a weeks seems good
My showers are around 3 minutes long. So first you stop your baths and then I'll think about skipping my shouwer...
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From the billiard-ball-smooth brains that brought us "wiping your buttcrack is gay", here's 2024's version "showering daily is woke" :P
There's no need to ever listen to the BBC.
It depends what it is. I certainly go there for news as other news is garbage and sensationalist but it is imperialist and colonialist, depending on the topic.
There's no need to ever listen to ---the BBC--- ---NPR--- state-run media.
bitch you stink[0]
[0] https://old.reddit.com/r/insanepeoplefacebook/comments/9xlhr...
[0] https://old.reddit.com/r/insanepeoplefacebook/comments/9xlhr...
This is not why I shower every day. I show every day because I exercise (and sweat) every day, and because showering and being clean feels good.