The average person spends 15 minutes in the shower. I however am not an average person!
I shower three times a day and each shower is 30 minutes long, I’m pretty sure that my skin is peeling off.
We as people have evolved and started washing ourselves, maybe a little too much… because there are people out there who shower 5 times a day. Yes, 5 times a day. There’s a name for these people, “The Hygiene Olympians”.
The Hygiene Olympics is exactly what you’re thinking, people competing on who has the best hygiene. It’s equivalent to that one person who thinks trauma is a competition.
You can find them on TikTok. You can find them on Reddit. You can find them on YouTube. You can find them on X. You can even find them under your bed.
These people post on the internet to show the world their cleaning routine. Whether it be their personal hygiene, cleaning around the house, or setting their Christmas trees up.
What is considered normal for these people? Brushing their teeth for 30 minutes— and that doesn’t include the time of flossing and mouthwash.
Putting a cap filled of bleach in their bath. Switching out their washcloth every single day. Switching out toothbrushes every 3 days. Washing groceries (as in using soap to wash the outside of gallons of milk).
These hygiene Olympians’ even go as far as shaming people for their way of washing themselves.
Some things they find disgusting: washing yourself with a rag, not showing twice a day, letting your pet sleep on the same bed with you, not hand washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, and not washing your hands every time you touch your own pet.
Believe it or not but it is dangerous to over wash yourself and yes over washing is a thing. Washing yourself too much results in not only taking out the bad bacteria but also the good. Skin will become dry and irritated when its natural oils are stripped.
Since the skin is dry and once that good bacteria is gone it will be harder for your body to fight back on the bad bacteria. An example of good bacteria is epidermidis, it helps protect the skin from damage and water loss.
Now what’s considered normal for the average person? I interviewed Iliana Vega, a senior at Pitman High School. My question was, “How many times do you shower in a week?”
She replied with, “Four times a week. They last thirty minutes or more.” To get further, I asked her, “How long is too long of a shower?” She answered my question with “Hmmm, over an hour.” Which is reasonable.
The only reason a person should be in the shower for that long is because they are shaving, daydreaming, or doing one of those “Everything” showers. Everything showers include shaving, body scrubs, hair masks, a deep clean in every nook and cranny of one’s body.
I asked the same questions to a sophomore at Pitman High School, Annabelle Rodriguez.
“I shower a lot in a week which is at least… Three days,” she answered my next question with. “At least three hours.” The last question I asked was how long is too long of a shower. “Five hours or more.” I sure hope so Annabelle. I sure hope so.
The Hygiene Olympics seem to specifically target young women. This gives them an unrealistic view of how they should smell and be washing themselves.
It makes them feel as if there is something wrong with them if they don’t smell like flowers or candy down there. Keeping this up only leads to low self-esteem and unnecessary infections that could be avoided.
Showering every day is good and recommended as long as it’s not two hours long but if you don’t want to take that many showers (The Hygiene Olympians are shaming you) you are perfectly fine with showering three times a week and will still maintain good health.
Washing your hair is a different story since there are many hair types that require different maintenance. A person with 4c curls only requires washing their hair once 2-3 weeks. People with straight hair need to wash it 2-3 a week.
But if you stink then it’s probably time to hop in the shower and scrub scrub scrub!
Please, if you take anything from this article, do what works for you. Listen to your body to see if what you’re doing is healthy for it or not. If you shower only three times a week and still smell fine, then good for you and keep at it! If you want to shower every day, then do so!