It depends. Where do you live, how much do you sweat, and - important - how much stress you are under.<p>When I lived in a climate that was regularly over 40C, sometimes I showered twice a day. Now I live in a cool climate, and every 2-3 days is usually fine. But if I'm under stress, it's back to daily.
Do I NEED to shower every day? Yes, I do. Hell, I could probably stand to take two showers a day. I'm hairy - VERY hairy - and I have a robust, musky odor that left unchecked quickly gets a bit too pungent, especially if I'm stress sweating. My fiancé claims to love it, but I'm always afraid others might think I stink. The second I can smell myself, I'm showering! I don't care how many times a day that happens to be.
Can you eat bugs? Yes.
Does the structure of modern society allow us to live like the kings of yesteryear? Also yes. My point is that showering excessively was once considered an immense luxury that there are now taboos against breaking. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cultural-history-of-bathing-rituals/index.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cultural-history-of-bathin...</a>
This reads to me like an elite's guide to reconditioning the poors to get ready for a big backslide. More showering is better. Kings did it. You should, too.
After 24 hours, my hair is a grease bomb. And that's the most polite thing I can say. Yup, I do indeed need to shower every day.<p>And honestly, I enjoy my meditative time in the shower to start my day off.
Even if you do step into the shower everyday, there's a good chance you're using too much soap:<p>> <i>Sensitive skin is one of the most buzzed-about topics in dermatology today. It can be painful, debilitating, and inconvenient. Astonishingly, many of the women and men who suffer from problem skin are unknowingly causing it by washing too frequently and using too many skincare and beauty products. Often, we slather ourselves in creams and balms that can actually damage the skin. The miracle products we buy at department stores, specialty shops, and pharmacies have the potential to make us less attractive and prematurely age our skin.
In Beyond Soap, leading dermatologist Dr. Skotnicki explains that the best state for skin is the natural state. On its own, the skin is better equipped to fight wrinkles, stave off aging and act as armor that protects the body from infection. Every time we slather, spread, hydrate, or soften the skin, we nudge the skin away from its healthiest natural condition. Skotnicki demystifies the claims of commonly used beauty products and offers a common-sense approach to cleansing the body along with her product-elimination diet that has helped thousands of patients suffering from a wide array of skin conditions, and a skincare regime that will help you maintain skin health, fight aging, and keep your skin reaction-free forever.</i><p>* <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/35733533-beyond-soap" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/35733533-beyond-soap</a><p>* <a href="https://drsandyskotnicki.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://drsandyskotnicki.com</a><p>Besides your hands and your private bits, most folks don't need soap/cleanser/detergents/body-washes most of the time (unless you're in construction or coal mining). Water is a great solvent, and unless there's actual dirt, it's often enough (even after a gym workout).<p>Interview (TVO is a public broadcaster):<p>* <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGl19JJnaK0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGl19JJnaK0</a><p>* <a href="https://www.tvo.org/video/the-trouble-with-soap" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.tvo.org/video/the-trouble-with-soap</a><p>The author is a clinical dermatologist and teaches at UToronto.
Hot water is my favorite modern luxury. I'd shower twice a day if it wasn't such a poor environmental choice.<p>I need to shower every day that I exercise and get sweaty, which is most days unless I'm overloaded with work.
Ha! Unfortunately, I’m usually a twice-a-day showerer. Here’s why. There is no way I’m getting into bed without a shower. There is a noticeable difference in the way the sheets look and smell within a couple days with and without showering. And if you factor in workouts or even just a bit of sweat from a walk, anyone with a somewhat active lifestyle will be fairly dirty by the end of the day. As for the morning shower? It’s a nice meditative moment to reset and start the day, which doubles as a way to get rid of my bed head. With such frequent showers, though, I find soap and shampoo are needed much less often. It’s been fun reading through this thread and seeing all the different lifestyles and opinions and makes me question whether I’m in the total minority with my own! I do live in a hot climate, so that might also play a role.
<a href="https://archive.ph/XazrT" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://archive.ph/XazrT</a><p>This article is like pretty much all these types of articles. The conclusion is "it depends" and "here is why you are showering wrong"
Surprised the article doesn't make any mention of an entire 2020 book that covers this: <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/26/917019912/in-the-era-of-hygiene-clean-author-makes-the-case-for-showering-less" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/26/9170199...</a>
The people who are in dire need of showering every day are those who don't shower. Therefore, the test to determine whether showering is needed is to measure your own bathing frequency. If you're already not showering daily, you're funky and your odor is upsetting very polite people around you.<p>This is my HN-friendly way of telling you to shower daily.
When I first moved into a dorm, I discovered how much this varies from person to person. If I even use the wrong soap, I end up smelling bad despite daily showers, other people can skip a couple of days if they aren't doing heavy workouts. My wife can go almost a week before she starts to smell.
If you have to shower every day (never WFH basically) then I highly recommend just using warm water and no soap or shampoo. Let your skin and hair’s natural oils stay where they are. You don’t need soap to wash off stale sweat and … other odors.
This video may explain a few things about why being too "clean" is making you ill...<p><a href="https://youtu.be/4SCm4_N7uLM" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://youtu.be/4SCm4_N7uLM</a>
I think it's mildly amusing that it's filed under a "Scam or Not?" feature – knowing that it was probably an journo finding a slot for an article they'd already had in mind.
Honestly, I would rather be with someone who shower a bit more than they should than someone who doesn't shower enough.<p>Fact is, smelly people don't think they smell until it is pointed out to them. Sometime these people are from the same background had never been outside of their own group and so they never know it for their entire lives. I have seen plenty of time when just one person can stink up the entire room and everyone is too polite or just too afraid to call it out.<p>Those meetings were hell.
Physically/Health wise? Maybe not. Mentally? Yeah, I cannot start my day without a shower.<p>It also makes doing my hair or cleaning off any excess hair from grooming easier.
In fact for most people it is quite easy to wash by using a bit of soap, without showering. It is faster as well. The once-a-week shower including shampooing the head, will feel so much better and can last a little longer.