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Bathing is hard!

Moof

Senior Member
Messages
778
Location
UK
When you come across someone who really does smell bad, I think most of it comes from their unwashed clothes rather than their bodies. If they changed into clean clothes without a shower, you might not notice much (or any?) smell. We all wash far more often than is strictly necessary, because we've been trained very thoroughly by people marketing personal hygiene products! When I was young, most people had one bath and hair wash a week, but they didn't smell unless they were wearing sweaty clothes.
 

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
I forgot to say that I use one of those hose attachments from the shower, with the water sprayer on the end, and can sit that way. At the times I can make it to the tub area.

I also have a small (lightweight!) spray bottle I put filtered water in, to use in the bathroom, in between baths. Helps a lot.

And, also, um.....
Oh, that troll could use a bit of attention on hair, @Hufsamor :D

but perhaps an unusual personal style, (for the troll or for any of us ;)
would be accepted fine, nowadays! :thumbsup:
 

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
I don't know why not, @RebeccaRe

That hair color does not go with your outfits? (You could buy a new wardrobe for it)

You don't have makeup that would match it? (You don't wear any? ;) )

Wild and wooly , might be an okay look, to consider switching to. :rolleyes:o_O:lol:
(Especially for this season, with the American holiday , make it part of your costume ;) )

Or soon, maybe you could stick on a hat, instead of frequent hair washings, and just leave it on till.....

Spring comes, or till you can manage to shampoo/dry comb, etc.....
Whichever comes first ?! :D

Chilly New England/ Northeast USA Winter special hairdo.
Permanent hat, for the season which lasts half a year,....OR,

"Hat-head" we call it @Hufsamor :)
How someone's hair looks after wearing a snug hat for some hours. :D
Not usually considered desirable or attractive, ;)
but we are not trying to be the peak of fashion, here.

We are Trying to deal with the weather, and with our illness limitations. Right? :hug:
 

Hufsamor

Senior Member
Messages
2,768
Location
Norway
As a matter of fact...I do love the winter because I can wear a hat down my ears.
To go out in summertime I need to put on some makeup (I look like I'm dying tomorrow if I don't), take a shower, wash my hear ....

I'm exhausted long before I reach the door.

Winter with sharp sun is even better.
I put thick jacked and wind trousers over my pyjamas, a hat over my ears, sunglasses to hide the dark circles under my eyes...ready to go!
 

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
Oh yes, I have worn my pants, and my shirt too, during winter months,
over/ on top of my pj's , too,
though I am not sure I have ever before admitted this, publicly or semi-publicly. :rolleyes:

We are not off-topic, on this thread, I think. ;)
We are evolving it , or morphing it, toward how to get dressed, after a bath,
or without /instead of a bath.

Not to do it immediately after bathing! :woot::jaw-drop:

Selecting clothing and putting it on, are separate tasks/activities/ exercises!
We are with you on this topic, @RebeccaRe

Going directly to the bed with robe, after bathing, is very familiar!
:hug:
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
As Moof said, clothes seem to get stinkier faster than the body, so if you start smelling yourself but don't feel up to bathing, change clothes instead. Even changing clothes doesn't have to be daily. Society really does overdo it with hygiene. I often don't bathe or change clothes for ... hmmm, maybe I won't say. :D Of course, I haven't had a visitor for about a year. I wonder why? :lol:

Actually, I do go into town every 2-3 weeks (library books!), so I do a complete wash at least that frequently. If I really don't feel like a complete wash before that, I'll at least wash armpits and crotch every couple of days. Clothes get changed when I decide I want fresh ones, not when detergent marketers say I should.

I seem to recall that it may take a significant period (days?) for skin bacteria to rebalance after daily bathing.
 

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,691
I'm fortunate enough that I only have to wash my hair once a week. In these past years, it's grown curly, so it stands off my scalp enough that it doesn't collect much oil, not that I have that much oil on my scalp, anyway. That has really slowed down as I've gotten older. I'm 60.

It's funny to me: When I was a small child, our hair just got washed once a week, and all these decades later, I've reverted to the same thing.
 

Wolfcub

Senior Member
Messages
7,089
Location
SW UK
@RebeccaRe You know what? I remember when I was a little kid, there was a bath once a week! People did quick washes otherwise, "Bathtime" was usually on a Sunday night in front of a log or coal fire, in a big tin tub.
I know what you mean about showering every day. I also used to do that and liked it, and it felt so fresh and nice in the morning, and I was raring to go, take my dog out, get some coffee.....(sigh) It was a regular routine.

Now because I can react negatively to warm water sometimes it is not as pleasant or refreshing. Sometimes it makes me feel weird. That's not every day....but sometimes unpredictably. (the same way I react to waking up, or coffee, or many things now)

So I have already adapted to new standards and new ways and kind of do miss the old ones in a sentimental way.

But so long as we don't stink and are clean enough there is nothing wrong with NOT showering every day.
 

Anchoress

Senior Member
Messages
1,063
[QUOTE="Wolfcub, post:
I wonder if we wash too much nowadays. It can be very drying for the skin.[/QUOTE]

The old adage ( that is not Scriptural) "Cleanliness is next to godliness" ......Dirt was associated with poverty and laziness. We need to be wiser now I also have no washing machine ( Well I have one but it is not plumbed in...) so I wash everything in a large bucket. Not died of it yet.... People here seem to wash clothes they have worn once. So yes I agree.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
My family was a 'weekly bath' one too. I never noticed any problems with that. Do the majority of kids nowadays bathe daily, or even multiple times a day? We did evolve with infrequent washing, relying on 'good' bacteria on our skin to protect us from bad microbes. On top of that, excessive bathing is bad for the environment. Support infrequent bathing! :thumbsup:

Bucket laundry here too. Less pleasant in winter, I admit.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
While we're on the topic of frequency of personal hygiene, I'll point out that I've given up daily shaving too. Shaving is tedious arm-exercising. Since I don't interact with people frequently, it doesn't matter that I get a bit bristly. The problem is that multi-blade razors don't work well after facial hair has grown for a few days. When I need to go to town, I use a straight razor to lop down the overgrowth, then a multi-blade razor finishes up.

If anyone does visit me unexpectedly and seems offended by my beard, I'll just blame it on ME. :thumbsup:
 

Anchoress

Senior Member
Messages
1,063
My family was a 'weekly bath' one too. I never noticed any problems with that. Do the majority of kids nowadays bathe daily, or even multiple times a day? We did evolve with infrequent washing, relying on 'good' bacteria on our skin to protect us from bad microbes. On top of that, excessive bathing is bad for the environment. Support infrequent bathing! :thumbsup:

Bucket laundry here too. Less pleasant in winter, I admit.

I just put sheets to soak in a huge bucket outside... Now the solid fuel turf stove is lit, there is abundant free hot water. Then I had a good wash by the stove.... On another forum many admitted to showering three times a day and changing clothes, nightclothes and sheets almost every day. Glad I don't have their electricity bills
 

Wolfcub

Senior Member
Messages
7,089
Location
SW UK
[QUOTE="Wolfcub, post:
I wonder if we wash too much nowadays. It can be very drying for the skin.

The old adage ( that is not Scriptural) "Cleanliness is next to godliness" ......Dirt was associated with poverty and laziness. We need to be wiser now I also have no washing machine ( Well I have one but it is not plumbed in...) so I wash everything in a large bucket. Not died of it yet.... People here seem to wash clothes they have worn once. So yes I agree.[/QUOTE]
I completely know that, @islander . I have no washing machine either. I manage to keep things nice and clean but not obsessively. I wash every item by hand and always did, then hang it either on the line outside, or by the stove in winter. I usually do one or two items at a time so it's not much work. That's okay just for myself. It would be impossible with a family.
I used to live in a simple barn in the Welsh mountains. Well, before you washed or did laundry first you had to fetch wood from the barn, then boil water on the stove, and water came from the stream.
Oh boy....I loved it there. No electricity, no running water....etc. But lived a nice clean life and it was so beautiful. But I was 27 then and fit as heck.
 

Anchoress

Senior Member
Messages
1,063
The old adage ( that is not Scriptural) "Cleanliness is next to godliness" ......Dirt was associated with poverty and laziness. We need to be wiser now I also have no washing machine ( Well I have one but it is not plumbed in...) so I wash everything in a large bucket. Not died of it yet.... People here seem to wash clothes they have worn once. So yes I agree.
I completely know that, @islander . I have no washing machine either. I manage to keep things nice and clean but not obsessively. I wash every item by hand and always did, then hang it either on the line outside, or by the stove in winter. I usually do one or two items at a time so it's not much work. That's okay just for myself. It would be impossible with a family.
I used to live in a simple barn in the Welsh mountains. Well, before you washed or did laundry first you had to fetch wood from the barn, then boil water on the stove, and water came from the stream.
Oh boy....I loved it there. No electricity, no running water....etc. But lived a nice clean life and it was so beautiful. But I was 27 then and fit as heck.[/QUOTE]

Ah this is sheerly lovely Thank you... Actually there is a youtube of a family who lived simply totally in isolation.


I am as near to that as is possible now. no TV etc. My washing of clothes is like yours... and the electicity bills are a sheer delight ...

It is quiet and slow too....All of this is why I came here to this island with no facilities etc. Water and power yes,
 

jesse's mom

Senior Member
Messages
6,795
Location
Alabama USA
In the summers my family would get on the sailboat and sail for three months a year. I remember my mom would have us jump in the salt water and rinse the worst of the yuck off. She had small towels marked, salt, and fresh.

Every once in a while we would all three in our bathing suits sit in the floor of the cockpit and put plugs over the scuppers (drains) we would each get a dump of fresh water over our heads and she would scrub us from head to toe, oldest to youngest. Then each would bet a bucket dumped over us to rince. My hair was longer, so I got another half a bucket for our hair. She always did this before we docked to fill up with freshwater and desil for the tanks.

I look back in photos and our skin was beautiful!

There was no TV and we could bring one duffel bag for the entire summer! I would put books in my bag, then bathing suits, two t shirts and one sundress. I used bathing suits for panties. I can't believe we didn't even worry about a bath. We were too busy reading, fishing, and exploring the islands we found. Once we found an artesian well on an island in the Gulf and that was the tastiest water you have ever had. Some of the barrier islands have large stands of pine trees growing on them. We would even get out mom and dad into playing Swiss Family Robinson. My father found that he was very good at making up long stories to tell us. Those were the days!

My kids would be so miserable with no smart phones, no friends, just playing sailing and reading... they might DIE! :lol:

I am for the bathing no more than every third day at the most and a week to 10 days for washing my hair. I really think the skin and scalp adjust and agree that the overbathing is due to the product industry selling more stuff.
 
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Anchoress

Senior Member
Messages
1,063
Love that post Jesse's mom... and yes the young folk would die without all the modern stuff. Such a relief to read posts like this.. Maybe this is what they mean by second childhood? Planning a book on my Lancashire childhood, when life stops throwing me curve balls.... settled in my old ways now. Thankfully.. thank you