Woman shares her shock at finding out not everyone showers daily — dermatologist reveals whether it's okay or not
A shower might be an essential part of many people's daily routine. But a few others might not take a shower every day due to a wide variety of reasons. A woman was really surprised to know that everyone does not take a shower every day when a girl told her that she showers every other day. The woman, Rima, who goes by @ghostingbutposting04 on TikTok, asked people if not taking a shower every day was a normal thing and if other people did that too.
"A girl just said to me, 'I got to shower today since I didn't shower yesterday.'" Rima wondered why the woman hadn't showered yesterday. "She answered with, 'Well, because I don't shower every day, what's the point?'" She asked if there were other people who didn't shower every day either. The post received more than 51.2k likes, and people took to the comments section of the post to weigh in on the question.
@chelatrix wrote, "I fear that a lot of these hygiene olympics posts come from undiagnosed compulsions or OCD. Like there's no way that you think that you are dirty and disgusting when you are sitting at your home in pajamas, doing nothing that will make you dirty or sweaty." The creator expressed in one of the comments that it was weird not to shower even if she had been in her bed all day and just scrolled on her phone. @misstastycheese commented, "Let's not judge each other. If I don't smell you, I don't care when you last showered. Maybe, we all need to respect each other, even if we do things differently." @yvonnebarret7 remarked, "I have ADHD and showering is my worst nightmare. Every day is a definite no for me. Hope my ADHD peeps can relate to me." @leekaccount shared, "It's not just the smell. Bacteria grow on your skin and scalp and accumulate, which can cause issues. For that reason alone, showering every day is needed."
A dermatologist weighed in about how frequently a person should shower and it might be a helpful answer for people wondering if it's okay to shower less or more often. Dr Sasha Dhoat, a consultant dermatologist at Barts Health NHS trust in London, told The Guardian that showering once a day is fine and in cooler climates people can also shower on alternate days or every third day. Age, environment, sweating and exercise habits should all be considered while a person decides if they need to shower or not. "Apocrine glands are found in areas where you have hair. The secretions they produce, which are worse when you are stressed, are odourless until they combine with bacteria on your skin and become trapped in hair. Reducing the amount of sweat and cleaning to remove odour-promoting bacteria are key," Dr. Dhoat explained.
The dermatologist advised people against washing more than once a day, unless they are particularly dirty or sweaty. Overwashing might make the skin lose its glow. "Aggressive overwashing can damage the skin barrier function and jeopardise the skin’s ability to prevent infections." She added, "If your skin is red, flaky, dry or sensitive after washing, it’s pleading with you to dial down your routine." The doctor recommended that one should clean oneself gently with a regular body wash in such cases.
You can follow Rima (@ghostingbutposting04) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.