Not showering every day?

tanith

I’ve showered every day sometimes twice on a hot day for as long as I can remember. I’m 75 and the skin on my arms and legs especially is so dry despite moisturising it’s flakey. I’m wondering if perhaps showering less often or not washing my limbs with soap just water might help alleviate the dryness.
Trouble is I know I’m going to feel grubby not showering.
Any thoughts?

I shower every day but use a body wash that leaves a moisturising feel on my skin. It is called Nivea in shower body moisturiser skin conditioner. After showering with your normal showering gel, rub the Nivea all over your body and then rinse off with warm water and dry yourself. It worked wonders for me.

NfkDumpling
I was told by a demonologist friend many years ago that showering or bathing daily takes all the natural oils from the skin. So I don't! Yes, I do wash the essential bits, but most of my skin only gets a shower a couple of times a week and I enjoy a soak in a hot bath once a week. I don't use body lotions. I asked my DC if I stank, and apparently not! Even after three days although my hair is getting desperate by then.

I do much the same as you, though when I was working I showered more because of commuting in stifling trains.

I have very sensitive skin and only use QV gentle wash on my skin. I also moisturise either with CeraVe cream or aqueous cream from Boots. My dry skin is in a lovely condition.

AND I shower daily

How do you think we managed before most people have showers? Strip wash did just fine, there is no need to shower every day.

*mabon1 as best we could!

Did she mean DERMATOLOGIST?😁

I read somwhere that a handful of oats in a warm, not hot, bath, helps with all things 'skin' including soothing sunburn.

tanith Decades of social conditioning has meant that many of us are convinced that we'll have the dreaded (whisper it) BO if we don't shower or take a bath every day. I was advised decades ago by my GP not to use soap or shower gel on my 'bits'! It's too drying.
Post menopause, our secondary sexual characteristics e.g. body hair, pheromones in sweat etc. tend to diminish. It's different if you're on HRT, of course. If you're sexually active, a man, or sleep in the same bed as a man, it's probably considerate to take a quick shower every day. None of those applies to me so I save myself money and save the world's water and energy by showering only a couple of times a week. No one has shunned me so far... 😇

It's fortunate that you can't see me, as you wouldn't take any notice of this note if you had!
I don't pretend to be knowledgeable re skin care, but I do keep coming across articles that stress the need to keep yourself hydrated internally. For a couple of days I remember and make sure I drink more water, then slip back into old habits, so don't know whether it makes a difference!

Never use soap or shower gel for dry skin, even if the advertising entreats you to, something like an aqueous cream will help but do be careful it can make the floor of the shower slippy, cooler showers and less of them does help. A good friend after three months in a hospital bed has had very dry flaky skin, we have tried the aqueous method after much persuasion ( as a Sanex/Doveperson b4) and skin is much improved.

I would say we actually shouldn't shower every day. It's not necessary. There are only certain bits that need washing every day (or more) Wherever I have lived in my adult life I've managed to get a bidet installed. But I would never think to scrub my arms and legs every day. Having said that, I rarely miss my daily shower, as it makes me feel fresher, and it's pleasurable.

silverlining48

Given we used to have a bath just once a week I am sure showering every day is a choice, not a necessity ( unless it’s been very hot). Try cutting down and use just water, see what you think. I only use soap on my hands never my face. I don’t use deodorant either and I don’t smell or feel grubby.
Or at least no one has said anything to the contrary and I know they woukd….

Exactly … I find showering exhausting. I have longish hair and always wash my hair at the same time. I’m 78 with Heath issues and not too active. I love a bath but haven’t been able to have one for years now as I can get in , but not get out easily, and my bath/shower is not able to be modified. I’d need a new complete bathroom to rectify that and I can’t afford one.
So I shower …. Occasionally. Every day is ridiculous in my view unless you are doing things that make you sweaty and dirty surely!

I use 'Oliva'. It's a bar that doesn't lather and it's made a big difference to my dry, crepey skin on my arms. It was a Grandsnetter who recommended it to me! Also, I wash my hair in the shower, so only use soapy shampoo once every 4 days or so and just rinse it. I think the less soap the better in my opinion! PS I got it on Amazon.

I shower or have a bath every day. There are moisturising shower gels available, but it’s important to moisturise after you shower. I always use a good body lotion after I shower.

mabon1

How do you think we managed before most people have showers? Strip wash did just fine, there is no need to shower every day.

Yes, we washed up as far as possible, washed down as far as possible but we had not to forget to wash possible.

back in the day what deodorant did you use.. as a teenager me and sisters used 'odorono' cream in a litte pot!

My dermatologist told me to avoid anything with soap in it as the chemicals dry the skin. He recommended Doublebase gel which I get on prescription but you can buy from chemists.It was very strange having no lather but you get used to it and my dry skin feels so much better

My avocado (!) bathroom doesn't have a shower. I'm on a water meter and pay very little every month so I'm careful. Every morning I have a good strip wash but not my arms (I wash underarms) nor legs (I wash feet) using the wash basin. Every Saturday evening I have a bubbly soak in the bath - bliss - and follow it with body lotion on my arms and legs and then to bed with clean sheets and clean jimjams. My DDs have never mentioned an unpleasant smell . . . . Growing up a bath was a once a week event with all the parental worry about the cost of the immersion heater in the summer and the faff of seeing to the back boiler in the winter.

I also don’t shower every day but wash the intimate places using Femfresh unscented

I shower every time I’ve been to the gym, to wash off the chlorine after pool activities and the sweat after other keep fit.
It’s mainly just a rinsing activity, but we sit in the sauna and spray/rub moisturiser on our arms and legs.
A shower before bed keeps my bedding fresher, but means I leave the moisturiser off.

I use dermol lotion instead of soap as I suffer with psoriasis. It helps keep my skin smooth.

I have suffered with an extremely dry skin all my life and was advised by GP when I was in my 40's to only shower and not have a bath. So I shower twice a week, wash "front and back bits" every day and use emollients on legs and arms daily. Soap only for under arms and don't use body wash as it dries skin. I cannot get down to my toes so just give them a good dry when I get out of the shower. Now I am in my 80's I have experimented with all kinds of regimes over the years and although I still have dry skin at least it is comfortable and not itchy as it used to be. I sympathise with all those who, like me, cannot shower daily but am glad I am contributing to "saving water" and the planet by not using fancy bathing products! Hope I don't sound smug!

Another fan of CeraVe here. I have always had dry skin but at 80, if left to itself, it's much worse than it used to be. I shower 2/3 times a week with a 'bits and pieces' wash in between. My GP recommended CeraVe (the one in a tub) which I use every day and my skin is in really good condition.

you need a water softener, all that scale you get in your kettle comes from the water, that settles on your skin and it acts like a sponge sucking the moisture from it and drying your skin making it flaky. my daughter had extreme ezcema to the point she needed bandages on every joint as she split open, we used every barrier cream, medication etc etc for years, then i was told it was the hard water, within a month of getting a proper water softener installed she healed up, i could not believe it! i went to dr and showed her and said how come you did not tell us about simply installing a water softener, she explained she could not be seen to endorse products, so my daughter suffered for years needlessly. get a proper one, which takes salt blocks, not one of those silly magnetic things that clip on to a pipe and you will notice a huge difference to your skin/hair/ household items like kettle, cups of tea, shower cubicle, no scum in bath water etc. I got mine from Harveys Water softeners in Woking Surrey and cannot recommend them enough