I hope the people who have objected to this thread because it is 'non of our business what our bathing routines are' didn't see Loose Women the other day. They were all discussing which bit of their body that they wash first in the shower....it apparently said a lot about your personality! It was hilarious and they were very frank but not crude 
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How often do you shower and wash your hair
(186 Posts)I was surprised to read on one of the other forums that a lady showered twice a day.
My husband before he retired showed at work before coming home. He did work that required this.
Into retirement I shower two to three times a week and wash my hair once a week. A strip wash daily for me is fine unless I am doing heavy gardening work.
My understanding was that showering too much is not good for us.
I dilute bicarbonate of soda as 'shampoo' and then use diluted vinegar as a final rinse. Any soap or detergent just irritates and sets off allergies. I wash my hair every 3 - 4 days and it's nice and shiny.
We have a shower every day and a bath perhaps once a week as a treat. And stay in it for an hour or so, reading and having a nice soak. Having said that - I use my home made soap (which contains olive oil, coconut oil and shea butter or cocoa butter) so it doesn't leave my skin feeling dry.
When I had short hair I washed it every second or 3rd day. Now that my hair is longer, I wash it once a week. I have yet to try and make my own bar or liquid shampoo!
My short hair is quite fine but I only shampoo it once a week or so. When I do it's a classic case of 'can't do a thing with it' in spite of using 'product'. In between times, I just wet it thoroughly and it holds it's style much better. In the mornings I look like Johnny Bravo except I'm not blond and I'm working on the physique but with a very long way to go! Oh! And I'm not a man...
Some people I know have stopped washing their hair altogether, for years, generally men with shorter hair. Apparently natural oils clean it, I’ve never noticed that it smells.
Once a week is fine if it suits your hair and you don’t get very sweaty.
Germanshepherdsmum
Your husband’s sense of smell might not be good or he may have become, as the ad says, ‘nose blind’. Even if your hair doesn’t get greasy it absorbs smells in the air around you, and remember your scalp will sweat. My hair’s below my shoulders and I wouldn’t dream of not washing it a couple of times a week at least.
A former colleague of mine (similar age to me) had very thick, coarse-ish hair, which she washed only once a week. I was often physically very close to her and her hair never did smell - and I’ve always been very conscious of that stale, unwashed-hair smell. In former times it wasn’t uncommon to smell it when sitting behind someone on the bus.
I would also smell it on my mother after she became very difficult about showering/hair washing because of dementia.
I used to envy that colleague because my hair (very fine) still needs washing every 3 days max and pref. every other day, to look nice.
Well I do take the point about not commenting if I don’t like the theme of the thread. It just made me a bit sad because, as someone else said, Mumsnet can be horrifically bitchy/angry and I think Gransnet is generally kinder. Why do some people have to judge others’ habits and insist that they look/smell bad because they don’t bathe daily? It’s so unnecessary - more than that, it’s actually gaslighting.
I exchanged my bath for a larger shower, as it was never used after my husband died. You can be in and out in no time, instead of all the faff of filling the bath. As for sitting in the bath reading.....definitely not for me. How do you keep the water hot, without continually turning on the hot tap? Such a waste, and a soggy book and wrinkled skin at the end of it all.
I have a quick shower at whatever time of the day suits my activities, and wash my hair when it feels it needs it, usually every four days or so.
Germanshepherdsmum
Your husband’s sense of smell might not be good or he may have become, as the ad says, ‘nose blind’. Even if your hair doesn’t get greasy it absorbs smells in the air around you, and remember your scalp will sweat. My hair’s below my shoulders and I wouldn’t dream of not washing it a couple of times a week at least.
Well I guess I must stink then but I live in a tiny village in the Orkney Isles with loads of friends and very little opportunity to sweat!! My hair is dry and has never been greasy but it is in good condition and shiny. I give myself a thorough wash when I feel like it and have lovely smooth skin on my body - face and hands are a bit wrinkly though - so I must be doing something right! Meanwhile I'm saving the planet...
Shower every morning because I can’t face the day until I have. I used to bath at bedtime because it helped my back. Now I only have a shower, so I have to shower at night and aim the shower head onto my back for ages. I wash my hair about 3 times a weeks if I’m not going out, but always do if I am going out. Yeah my skin is dry if I don’t use creams and oils because of all the water!
Every day I do "pits and bits" - what more could one need? 
Usually every day as a nice hot shower eases my arthritis pain. I wash my hair every day too as it feels fresher. I think I got the not that habit after teaching in schools where Nitty Nora the Bug Explorer was a frequent visitor .
HazelEyes
NotAGran55
jeanie98 I’m assuming that you are referring to me in my thread about reducing gas usage?
Please go back an re-read the thread and let me know where it says that I shower twice a day?
You won’t be able to.
However, you will find that I explained that we have a family business that can leave the workers covered in grime and needing to ablute at the end of the day in addition to the start.
One to two helpful posters provided information to enable us to reduce the number of hours the water heater is set for to provide for enough hot water in the early evening.
Threads such as this are started on Mumsnet on a very regular basis, they descend into judgmental slagging matches and in my opinion serve no purpose whatsoever.
Nobody is right or wrong, we all live our lives differently in so many respects and I’m intrigued to know what you are hoping to achieve from it?Yes, but you were judgmental when you said yuk to another member who didn't shower in the morning but liked to shower in the evening!
Please re-read the thread.
The poster didn’t say they that at all. They never even said what time of day they performed their own personal hygiene!
Knowing the people I was talking about in my thread it would be ‘Yuk’ for them not to shower in the morning, which the poster suggested they should do, hence my comment.
My thread was about using less gas, why anyone needed to discuss anything else is a mystery.But that’s Gransnet for you
I remember a thread like this a while back. Same shock horror about ‘twice a day’ or ‘once a week’.
Same dispute about evening (so you don’t go to bed dirty) and morning,(so you’re fresh for the day ahead). I remember mention of ways of saving shower water if you can’t turn it off mid shower without it taking time to heat up again.
I don’t remember mention of strip washing last time. If you’re talking about whole body strip wash, YUCK! A shower would be more hygienic, both for the body and the towels, though my Nan always had a ‘top half wash’ in the afternoon even when she was older than 90.
How often does this topic come up?
I'd rather not think about it.
I'm still trying to work out how you wash your nether regions adequately, on the loo, with a bottle of warm water???? Do you hand stand over the bowl? How is that easier than swishing them with the shower head?
MawtheMerrier
Call me picky but unlike some I don’t like these threads which ask personal questions about our habits.
I know, I don’t need to answer and I won’t, but whose business is it but mine and why on earth would I want to know about anybody else?
I find it quite odd too.
I shower everyday and also wash my hair, again if I am going out in the evening. Don’t believe too many showers is harmful. Never strip wash yuk.
Granny1810
Once a year whether I need to or not ?
That's the bulldog spirit!!?
sazz1
I bath every other day and then rinse off in the shower. Wash my hair twice a week in the bath them a good long rinse in the shower after. Can't stand just having a shower still don't feel clean without a gd soak first
Wha?? All that wasted water god lord, penfold!!
Much similar, wash hair once maybe twice weekly shower every other day or 2 depends what I've been up to! Hair only needs minimal care, very good. Ick and always has been! Don't believe in too much showering now I'm not working (was every day!) I don't need it!
I bath every other day and then rinse off in the shower. Wash my hair twice a week in the bath them a good long rinse in the shower after. Can't stand just having a shower still don't feel clean without a gd soak first
NotAGran55
jeanie98 I’m assuming that you are referring to me in my thread about reducing gas usage?
Please go back an re-read the thread and let me know where it says that I shower twice a day?
You won’t be able to.
However, you will find that I explained that we have a family business that can leave the workers covered in grime and needing to ablute at the end of the day in addition to the start.
One to two helpful posters provided information to enable us to reduce the number of hours the water heater is set for to provide for enough hot water in the early evening.
Threads such as this are started on Mumsnet on a very regular basis, they descend into judgmental slagging matches and in my opinion serve no purpose whatsoever.
Nobody is right or wrong, we all live our lives differently in so many respects and I’m intrigued to know what you are hoping to achieve from it?
Yes, but you were judgmental when you said yuk to another member who didn't shower in the morning but liked to shower in the evening!
We are all lucky to have hot water to wash. think about that, if you watch the news!
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