It depends. Where do you live, how much do you sweat, and - important - how much stress you are under.
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.
I take your point, but I personally think that it's not that necessary to hedge and it's safe to say that most people (in developed western nations) don't need to shower every day. Very few people are working demanding physical jobs in which they get especially dirty/sweaty every day. And, given the obesity crisis in the west, I doubt that many people are working out every day either.
The real answer is that people need to shower enough so that they A) feel comfortable and B) don't cause issues for the people around them. A is a bit fuzzy, and will change depending on what an individual is used to, but most people in most situations won't run into B if they are showering every other day (or even every 3 days) modulo things like "I went for a run this afternoon" or "I worked in the garden all day" etc.
The edge cases are probably rare enough to say "you don't need to shower every day, but if you get particularly dirty/sweaty, then you should shower" and you will be correct for most people. The few people who do need it every day can probably work it out for themselves.
Perhaps the largest exception to this is teenage boys who just really are a biological marvel of smell generation. They should potentially be showering multiple times a day for the sake of those around them.
Are you assuming people don’t do any daily exercise? I don’t see how one can do any vigorous exercise, regardless of the climate, and NOT require a shower afterward. But I sweat profusely when I exercise, so maybe I’m not typical.
> Are you assuming people don’t do any daily exercise?
Showering in this case may be useful, but the use of soaps/cleansers would still probably not be needed. Sweat is mostly water itself, along with salt and some other minerals (potassium?), so a quick shower—using just water, which is a great solvent—will rinse/dissolve most things from your skin.
Worth remembering that body odour is from bacteria and not the sweat itself. The bacteria is determined (partly) by your genetics and the type of sweat glads you have. Eccrine sweat glands go directly to the surface of the skin (secrete: water, NaCl, K), while apocrine sweat glands connect into hair follicle (secrete: protein, lipids,): the bacteria feed off the latter.
Asians are more likely to have to have the gene variant that makes you less smelly (Allele A).
In the Before Times (pre-COVID/WFH) I used to cycle hard to work everyday: I would shower at home, pedal in with the funny-looking lycra, and change at work. I didn't bother showering at work and I didn't stink. (This concern regularly gets mentioned when topics of car-alternative comes up on HN.)
I'm assuming that _most_ people don't do any non-trivial daily exercise yes. According to this map [0], nearly a quarter of Americans or more in almost every state in the US haven't done _any_ significant physical activity in the past month.
So it's not that you are unusual in that you sweat profusely (I'd agree that most people probably need a shower after any decently vigorous exercise), you are unusual because you exercise regularly.
> The few people who do need it every day can probably work it out for themselves.
People are much less sensitive to their own body odor than you may assume. Please default to taking a shower before you go to public places unless you have very concrete evidence otherwise.
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. https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cultural-history-of-bathin...
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.
I don't know about shampoo but I've been told (face) skin gets greasier the more soap you use - it tries to compensate for the protective layer it loses by soaping too often. So you might have been caught too in a positive reinforcement loop?
Even if you do step into the shower everyday, there's a good chance you're using too much soap:
> 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.
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).
I have always found it very strange that people will take scalding hot showers and use all sorts of makeup and creams and skin care products and then still complain about skin issues. Not doing those things is just not an option apparently, the solution must involve more skincare products.
There are some comments here that claim "I would shower two times a day, but ...". Have you actually tried to? I think the skin gets dry from that much showering.
Skin gets dry if you shower using hot water and a harsh detergent-based soap. Totally different picture if you shower using cool/warm water and a mild soap.
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.
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.
This is my HN-friendly way of telling you to shower daily.
I only smell unpleasant if I consume certain things or have a rigorous workout. I manage to shower every 2-3 days and come across as quite charming generally. YMMV.
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.
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.
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.
There's nothing that will get me to stop showering before I leave the house (which is every day. But, like, I don't feel comfortable just showering every day. I need to shower in the morning to feel clean) precisely because I never, ever want to be the person you can smell in a room.
I don't care if it's healthier. I was around enough stinky people and I'd die of shame if people talked about me like they talked about them.
Even though that body odour is natural - too many people have been conditioned to think that we should smell of deodorant or perfume. Granted, some people do have hygiene issues, or other issues that cause them to have more odour, but generally having a splash of water regularly is better for your body.
Our skin is trying its damnedest to keep itself in balance and all people are doing is stressing it out, no wonder people end up smelling when the skin is over compensating due to being stripped of all its natural protective oils. Not to mention all the sugar and refined carbohydrates people consume - their body is screaming with inflammation, when all it wants is balance from a good source of healthy nutrition. But we humans know best right... sigh
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.
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.