Not showering every day?

I’ve only ever used Imperial leather products as the dermatologist advised my mum to use itwhen my brother was born looking like a skinned rabbit due eczema. If I touch any other soap my skin bursts out in spots and boils. I also shower every day and my skin is ok as long as I don’t use anything else

I have very dry skin and I was told by my GP that I should not shower every day. Also to use an unperfumed oap and not a shower gel that contains chemicals. I buy vegan unperfumed soap from a local health shop and I find things have improved a great deal.

I have showered every day at least once for about the last 40 years. I generally use Dove Shower Creme and my skin is in excellent condition.
Skin condition quite often depends on a good mixed diet too. Your diet is at least as important as cleanliness.

I am able to remove head of shower and use it to spray up and underneath and feet and legs. quick 4min shower

I showered every day but my skin has become so dry, and the dreaded eczema has made an appearance, I now only shower every two or three days, with personal 'bits' washed daily. I have hydromoil to use but, if used on the body where I have clothes, it is too greasy and marks my clothes.

We have a 72% olive oil soap which was apparently "the thing to buy" in Marseille! But I have to say it is marvellous - no sulphates or parabenz just natural ingredients.
I have found it on Amazon. It comes in a big block, which I just cut in half with a serrated knife. It also lasts really well.

I can really recommend a bidet attachment for your toilet(s). So fresh! I don't shower every day but I use the bidet attachment every time I use the loo. I still feel really fresh after a lukewarm shower and hairwash. I cream my arms but my legs don't respond very well to being creamed. They still get flaky.

I’ve always tended to have dry skin and it’s got dryer as I’ve got older, I use aqueous cream as a shower cream, it moisturises and feels light on the skin and is non perfumed. Unless it’s a really hot day I tend to shower every other day these days and as far as I know have not offended anyone with my odour

Twice a week, me. Your own body oils are vastly superior to anything out of a tube or whatever you rub on. Childhood skin diseases are linked to lack.of natural oils from too much washing.

undines

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.

We don't have room for a bidet in our new home, much to my regret after having had one in my bathroom for much of my life.

I have the same problem with ultra dry skin , so I use ‘Fresh Wipes ‘ ( Google them) they are large wipes that really make you feel clean and fresh, also an old fashioned ‘caravan wash ‘ with a large flannel !

cookiemonster66

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

Yes, we've had water softeners for years and though my skin is a little dry it isn't too bad.

I use L'occitane almond shower oil, a little goes a long way and you can get refills. I've tried many of those mentioned on this thread but I've found this to be the best product for my shins.

Love reading all your posts, thing is i just love my daily shower its refreshing and I don't feel right till I've had it. So I'll first try various things to see if it improves before I resort to less daily showering. Thanks for all the input.

Dry flaky skin can be caused by showering too often or in too hot water, but is just as likely to be due to intolerance of the soap you are using or the pefume it contains if it is perfumed.

Then most people go on to add skin tonic that just makes things worse.

You could try just washing under your arms, your neck and between your legs in tepid water morning and evening every other day so you wash one day and shower the next.

Dry skin can be due to you not getting enough fat in your diet - these days most people are scared stiff of fat, oil, butter etc, but it seems we do need a certain amount of it.

If you shower every other day and wash every other day, you ought to be able to persuade yourself that you are clean.

A friend recommended an excellent bar soap made with natural ingredients, and no SLS, which helps lathering but strips the skin of oils. I've used that now for years. A little Nivea Soft on arms and legs after showering and my skin is never dry. Evidently everything the body produces is water soluble, so in theory warm water should make you clean...but I would not feel properly refreshed without soap in a few areas.

As a war baby I was brought up with all sorts of 'privations', whilst my Edwardian mother still enjoyed the luxury of a daily hot bath.
I strip washed as and where I considered necessary daily and didn't seem to get any complaints from school friends or enemies.
Soap had been in short supply during the war and we used a small wire basket contraption containing the ends of the bars of soap to make a sort of foam for whatever washing purposes including the dishes

Upon marriage, my husband was sent to Singapore and then the trouble started. I was advised to shower several times daily ( My husband sorted the problem out by changing his sweaty garments at least 5 times daily....( everyone needs a wife and at the time we didn't have that much spare cash for other help). I solved THAT problem by drying out his garments and refolding them to replace in his drawers bas I was very occupied with our new baby)

I found the pinpricks of water on my legs during the showers most unpleasant. I gave up soap but my legs startted to itch following a shower... I scratched and was warned of the possibility of varicose ulcers when I scratched the more and broke the surface of the skin

I reduced my contact with water to the minimum. I do not know if the fact that I had been told that we were using treated salt sea water in the shower was significant in the 60s

In other tropical/ semi-tropical countries where we lived I found the healthiest way for me was to reduce my contact with water on the skin.... a quick passage with a wash cloth without soap sufficed+ a limited application if necessary of some sort of emollient cream

Although I had loved the luxury of the occasional hot bath as a child I think that my skin was better off for less contact with water as I grew older

Excuse all the ' Me me me references, please...... a friend suggested that my views of alternative ways of life more than half a century ago might be of interest to some

Go back to the old fashioned strip wash on alternate days just wash the bits necessary.
Aveeno or ceravie may help moisture your legs

What is this fetish with showering every day?
Not necessary, in my view, unless one has a particularly demanding physical job.
And what about those people who do not have a Shower nor can use a Bath?

My dermatologist recommends showering using only Aqueous cream. A large tub from Superdrug is best I think. It both cleans & moisturises. Does take some getting used to though. No way I can miss my morning shower unless I’m ill or had surgery. I’m amazed at how many of you don’t.

Advice is not to shower or bath daily unless advised by a clinical professional.

lemsip

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

Yes I remember that, pre the days of sprays and roll ons

I'm 76 and fanatic about not being smelly, but only shower every other day when it's hot (more if it's really sweaty weather; twice a week in winter) BUT I have a proper stand-up wash of potentially smelly zones every night without fail. I moisturize well after a shower, and as I get older I need a richer body lotion/cream. There are plenty that aren't expensive. I'm careful not to use too much shower gel - just enough to get a lather on my shower puff.

Just “top and tail”

I shower every other day and wash the other days.
If you shower too much you lose essential oils from your skin and have to apply artificial chemicals in the form of moisturisers.
Less showers =less dry skin. Seems simple enough to me.
Showering every day is only a habit not a necessity.

Slightly off topic but I've discovered the first cream to make a difference to my dry lower legs. I've tried Cera Ve, Nivea, other creams from Boots 'problem skin' shelves but still I had flaky dry lower legs!

It's Spanish and it's called 'Instituto Espanol Urea Skin Repair Cream' (10% Urea). It comes in a large pot and you only need a small amount. I got it from Amazon, after reading about it in the 'Sunday Times.'