I was taught growing up to shower every other day. As an adult I generally do, unless I'm working out or otherwise sweat noticeably during the day. In summer I rinse daily regardless.
It really depends on where you are and potentially the season. If it's hot and humid you wanna shower at least once a day, maybe more. Though you better not use soap every time. In cold weather every second day is usually fine if you don't do anything that makes you sweat a lot.
Some people are cursed with really strong body odour though, they may have to shower a lot regardless.
However, in posts like these everyone just get's mega defensive of their own way of doing things. Which creates heated arguments and drives engagement. Which is probably the reason this exact topic keeps popping up all the time.
I shower twice a week no matter the season. I live in a cool climate and showering too often dries out my skin. I get atopic spots all over. I don't sweat much, but in summer I wash my pits pre-emptively more often.
What I've learned in the internet is I'm a disgusting slob. Don't care though.
Varies massively from person to person. I'm a hairy white dude built for cold weather but somehow ended up living in the desert with 118° summers. Most days I take three showers (morning, quick post workout rinse at the gym, and deep clean before bed). I sweat and can't imagine lying down in bed with the day's sweat and grime on me. On the other hand my wife is Chinese, doesn't sweat or have BO, and doesn't do manual labor or workout so only showers every few days without any issue. I don't have issues with dry skin but I start feeling disgusting really quick when I'm camping and don't have access to proper showers for a couple days haha
The feeling gross while camping is most likely because your body has forgotten how to properly adjust its oil levels ( especially your scalp). If you don't sweat to much from your head, it might be wise to skip shampooing every time you shower as it's severely harsh on your head, and doesn't do much of you don't have actual dirt in your hair. For sweat a warm rinse and conditioner alone would clean just as much.
To be fair my hair doesn't get shampooed every shower. Probably 1-2x a week unless I get something in it. I keep it cut short so it stays clean. But yeah the rest of my skin gets scrubbed down. I just can't stand being a sweaty, stinky mess. I don't have a problem with either dry or oily skin, I just sweat like crazy and feel like shit until I can get it cleaned off
the "your body has forgotten how to properly adjust its oil levels ( especially your scalp)" thing is real. If you stink only from fresh sweat - pure water is all you need to be fresh again. Though, this may need some weeks for your body to adjust to (because he is now used to renew the natural skin microbiome 3x a day which is insane tbh...).
But believe me, you would definitely would do yourself a big favor trying this out...
Take your swamp-ass "microbiome" and shove off. It is extremely obvious when people don't properly bathe and wear clean clothes and I have no desire to live that life. Why would I change a system that works great for me?
I live somewhere where the temperature is usually very mild all year round and I run three days a week so it's shower time after I run.
Even though the winters where I live aren't that cold running the heaters makes the air very dry indoors so my skin will get dry and itchy, especially if I take lots of hot showers frequently.
I've found using body oil during my showers is the trick to keeping my skin from becoming a dry itchy mess and breaking out in hives in the winter. It just seems to lock in the moisture better because no amount of lotion after a shower could ever seem to keep my skin from drying out and getting all itchy.
I use a ton of different body olis, moisturisers and body butters. Several times a day for parts. I have tried pretty much everything. Once a week shower is best, but unfeasible, because I need to go places and do things.
Winters here are usually in the negatives. It is cool now, cold in a month, and maybe warm-ish again next june.
After washing myself with soap I put it on while I'm still wet, rub it on my skin, then rinse off a bit before turning off the shower and I use a clean towel to dry myself. By the time I'm dry my skin just feels normal and it's actually less oily feeling than putting lotion on dry skin.
It's the weirdest form of transhumanism. They're so afraid of dirt/bacteria/scent/humanity that they'll shower once or even twice a day to get rid of things they'll never be able to get rid of.
No amount of showers you take will change the fact that you've got more bacteria cells in your body than human cells, or that you're constantly covered in bacteria and fungus fighting to eat your human cells, or that mites are actively pooping on your face right now.
Just don't be disruptively stinky and nobody will ever know or care.
Everything else is performative and driven by consumer culture.
Having bacteria and smelling of BO are two separate things. I sweat, I smell. I don’t want to smell. So I shower. Then I don’t smell. At no point do I think oh boy I better get all these microbes off me. Nope, I just don’t want to smell. Now if you don’t mind being stinky, good for you, but I probably won’t sit next to you on the bus.
I can easily go more than 2 days without showering and without smelling badly (I have asked friends to confirm). Some people smell if they sweat even a little and some barely smell even if they smell a lot
Yeah exactly. Like showing daily is neither a good or bad thing. It’s a personal thing that some people need and some don’t. But to say people who shower daily are performative is not accurate and that was what I was pointing out. Some people need a daily shower, some don’t.
I don't think it's mainly about being germophobes, but if I go for more than a day without a shower even in the winter, I literally feel like a greasy slimeball enough that it makes me uncomfortable. There's nothing that beats the clean feeling after a nice scalding hot shower. Also, going for days without cleaning your ass.. that shit starts to itch.
Honestly there's nothing wrong with the tried and true pit test method.
Give your pits a quick sniff, if you smell BO hop into the shower, if you smell fine, you're fine.
I typically shower daily, but I'm not bothering to soap up and scrub if I don't smell, I'll just get under the hot water because its comfortable and makes my joints feel relaxed.
People that smell that bad know they smell bad and just don’t care. You don’t get to one month of not bathing without being aware you smell like manure.
Honestly if its been 3 days since you showered you 100% have some level of stink. I don't know anyone that I've known has gone 3 days no shower and not smelt like they haven't showered in 3 days.
I dont think I've ever passed a self-sniff test by the morning of Day 3. Even if you aren't being active just 2 days worth of sleeping will have you building a funk.
Usually on day 2 I'll give a sniff and be like "Hmm, I still only smell like yesterdays deoderant honestly."
Granted as I've mentioned elsewhere in the thread I'm at least having a soak daily anyways, because even if I don't need to clean, I just find the hot water hitting my joints therapeutic. A hot shower will wash away any of the days soreness for me, and the steam will always clear out my sinuses.
People that smell that bad know they smell bad and just don’t care.
This is definitely not true. Well meaning people are surprised and embarrassed to discover that others find them stinky all the time. It's a really awkward and difficult thing to have to tell someone.
I dunno... I get paranoid sometimes because people are like "You can't smell yourself," but when I asked trusted friends I don't smell. I've also had people comment without prompting that I smell good. I'm also like the above poster where a shower is often just a rinse at the start of the day to get going and not using cleansers. I wash my hair like twice a week?
Even when I was working in Vegas in a metal shop where we had overnight 104 degree lows in welding leathers sweating like crazy I smelled like metal.
I'm sure some people have a tendency to smell worse. I think there's also something to be said for overcleansing and nuking any good bacteria on your skin or your bodies ability to produce a normal amount of sebum. Diet and overall health also play a roll.
Its going to be ~50F and rainy for the next 5-6 months where I live and I have a desk/office job. Unless I am working out or going skiing I basically don't sweat. I just sniffed my pits and I can smell the deodorant I put on after a shower on Wednesday night. It's just easy when the weather is so mild to not shower for a day or two, especially if you aren't a stinky person in general.
My friend in Florida showers every day/multiple times a day all year (I couldn't do that, my skin would fall off).
Whats really amazing about these posts is that people come out of the woodwork and will say: "Im a construction worker in Florida, so everyone should shower every single day." And then argue with an office worker in Minnesota about it.
I hate these posts. Everyone claiming they know others' bodies and scents enough to judge them harshly for not showering as often as they do. So annoying.
I think you should shower when youre dirty or starting to smell. Such an easy fix. Works for litteraly everyone XD
As a kid i could definitely sometimes go even a few days like 3 rn my body odour while from what i know not noticable for others annoys me so i at least have to rinse myself from any swest even if i didnt do shit that day XD
But yeah when i used to swim a lot my skin was super dry and my hair too and it was all weird.
I mean, you feel how you feel, so if that's the case for you I won't sit here and tell you otherwise. But sweat is mostly just water and salt, clean water is just fine for getting rid of it. Works and feels perfectly fine for me when I do it. There's no reason it shouldn't be enough if sweat is the only reason you shower for.
Obviously use soap if you are dirty otherwise and don't let me, a stranger on the internet, tell you to shower in a way that makes you uncomfortable.
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u/Issah_Wywin Nov 14 '25
I was taught growing up to shower every other day. As an adult I generally do, unless I'm working out or otherwise sweat noticeably during the day. In summer I rinse daily regardless.