# Let's talk about showers (the bathing kind, not the meteorological kind) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 14, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547 "2021-01-14T19:35:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2021, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/21 "2021-01-14T23:50:46Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > A dehumidifier will take all that steamy air and turn it into dry heat I actually have a dehumidifier. I may move it in to the bathroom and try it. > [@WildaBeast](#): > > I found they [Dial gold bars] made me incredibly itchy Interesting. I’m going to try the Dove bars (the soap not the chocolate… or maybe the soap AND the chocolate, but not at the same time). > [@Broomstick](#): > > My current one is from Dr. Teal’s and is a mix of jojoba, sweet almond, and aloe vera (along with a bunch of other oils and things like shea butter if you read the label). I use Dr. Teal’s epsom salts and foaming bath stuff. But only one scent is tolerable, Pink Himalayan, and it is wonderful. I’ll look for the oil. > [@Chefguy](#): > > A hot shower or bath or sauna can cause your blood pressure to drop like a stone, especially if you’re on BP meds. Whoa! That could have ended badly. Since I live alone, I always put my cell phone on the floor next to the tub whenever I shower or bathe. I also do it if I ever step up on a ladder or a chair-- cell phone on the floor, just in case. Now I’m superstitious about it, and do it every single time without fail. > [@begbert2](#): > > just as a place to relax and de-stress, like a mini-hot spring? Yes. This. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/22 "2021-01-15T02:47:43Z")
You could buy a water filter device that hooks into your shower head, so if anything is in your water it’ll be excised before it touches your dermis. The filters are replaceable, as needed. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/23 "2021-01-15T03:08:02Z")
Before reading the rest, I’ll reveal the one thing I do: I take a space heater into the bathroom with me, close the door, and get the place reasonably warm before I take the shower, and quite toasty afterwards (especially with all the extra humidity). I can’t say I don’t feel cooler stepping out of the shower than while it was going, but I don’t get full on cold. By the time I’ve toweled off, put on my underclothes, and used deodorant, I’m ready to open that door and get some cool air into the room. I don’t really have the dry skin problem–more the opposite. That said, my sister does, and she sticks with moisturizing liquid soaps, and uses tons of creams after the shower, including some prescription ones. I wish I knew more details. And, well, before I had a movable shower head, I just kinda contorted myself to make sure the water would reach every area, spending more time on areas where less water would reach. I agree having a movable one is better. I originally got it because of those balance issues I mentioned back in the day (which is also why I have a shower chair), but it’s been nice even after I got that mostly dealt with. Oh, yeah, the chair. That might be something you’d find to make the experience more pleasant. I mean, you do sit in baths. Even if you don’t sit long, it can be nice to be able to do so. No worries about slipping while you’re standing on one leg or washing your feet, for example. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/24 "2021-01-15T03:22:49Z")
I’ve had a shower chair at different times, and you’re right, they are wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/25 "2021-01-15T04:13:39Z")
The only thing I have to add to the great advice shared above is to keep the bathroom closed while you shower, and then make sure that you dry off while still inside the shower, having kept the shower curtain closed. Having dried off, when you then step out onto your plush carpet wrapped in a towel, you will not experience the shock of a big temperature change. I also make sure that I keep my clothes just outside the bathroom pocket door, and I can reach them with just my arm outside the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/26 "2021-01-15T04:22:06Z")
> [@sunstone](#): > > make sure that you dry off while still inside the shower, having kept the shower curtain closed - I definitely do this. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/27 "2021-01-15T13:26:29Z")
My bathroom is adjacent to my man cave, in the coolest part of our home. I use this to my advantage. I take a hot shower, then hurry to dry and dress. If I were not mildly uncomfortable I would take my time. As for dry skin, I wish I had it. I usually shower twice a day, as my skin is more oily than dry. Anytime someone tells me about the great moisturizer they’ve discovered, I explain that I’m too moist. When I apply lotion to my gf’s back after she showers, I scrub the greasy stuff off my hands. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/28 "2021-01-15T15:06:28Z")
We have a small heater built into the wall - the first thing I do before showering is to turn that on. I use both bar soap and shower gel. I like variety. When using the bar I just use the bar, no wash cloth. When using shower gel, I use the pouf. I get dry and itchy in the winter also, especially my lower legs - shin area. I’ve used a variety of lotions, creams and oils. They all work BUT you have to apply something after every shower. Doing it just once a week isn’t going to help except for that day. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/29 "2021-01-15T15:07:10Z")
It was pretty much a joke. I don’t care what anybody else does, really. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/30 "2021-01-15T16:05:26Z")
> [@sunstone](#): > > The only thing I have to add to the great advice shared above is to keep the bathroom closed while you shower, and then make sure that you dry off while still inside the shower, having kept the shower curtain closed. Having dried off, when you then step out onto your plush carpet wrapped in a towel, you will not experience the shock of a big temperature change. I also make sure that I keep my clothes just outside the bathroom pocket door, and I can reach them with just my arm outside the bathroom. I live in a dinky apartment, so my bathtub/shower takes up literally half of the room it’s in. (Which just has the bath and toilet - the sink is in the room adjacent.) So I can open the curtain and step out of the slippery tub onto the more-stable fuzzy bath mat with no reduction of temperature at all. From there I towel off, while having the aforementioned slightly-open door gradually normalize the temperature for me so when I open it to get to my clothes there’s no shock at all. Not to say that everyone should move into dinky apartments to improve their bathing experience - I’m just relating my own situation. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/31 "2021-01-15T16:31:36Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > Also, if you’re paranoid about “filth” do what the Japanese do and shower before your hot soak. > > Now you’ve got me wondering - what to the Japanese see as the purpose of those baths? Are they for cleaning themselves, or are they just as a place to relax and de-stress, like a mini-hot spring? Yes, the second is exactly it. A typical Japanese bathing room will be a wet room (floor drains) with a washing station/shower area with a hand-held shower and two holders for it, one at head height and one further down, because many people prefer to sit on a little stool and wash themselves that way. Once you are clean (5 minutes or so), you lower yourself gently into the very hot bath in the same room, not very wide by our standards, but deep, so you can get into it up to your neck. It’s like any hot place, a steam room or a sauna, the heat feels very relaxing. (It also can be very drying for anyone with skin issues like I have, so I tend to avoid them). The bath is itself heated, not depending on hot water from the spout, and everyone in the family uses the same bath water, which is then used the next day to do laundry (a cover over the bath keeps the water warm overnight). Expensive spa resorts (onsen) or cheap neighborhood bath houses (sento) have the same arrangement writ large, and with other naked people sharing it with you. These are great places to get over yourself regarding other people of the same sex seeing you naked, and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/32 "2021-01-15T19:03:53Z")
This is a ~~cool~~ hot story about a traveler’s experience in a Finnish communal sauna. Big bath culture there apparently. > **[I Stripped Down With Strangers for a Real Finnish Sauna Experience - Here's...](https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/spa-vacations/where-to-sauna-in-helsinki)** > > According to the Finnish Sauna Society, there are more than 3 million saunas in Finland - one for about every two people. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Elliot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jane_elliot/32/6166_2.png) [@Jane\_Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Elliot)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/33 "2021-01-15T20:07:34Z")
I used to rent a studio apartment that had a toilet/shower/washer & dryer in the bathroom. It was when I first moved to Maine and I would put a towel in the dryer and run it while I showered. I always had a toasty warm towel to dry off with. I also discovered the joys of lotion for my ‘winter itch’, mostly coconut or avocado oil used right after I dry off. The longer I waited to apply lotion the less it seemed to work. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/34 "2021-01-15T20:10:29Z")
I always wanted to have one of those heated towel rods in my bathroom, just to have a nicely warmed towel. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/35 "2021-01-15T20:31:01Z")
If your bathroom has a vent for the furnace you might think about shutting the furnace off before you shower (just remember to turn it back on when you are done), Our bathroom has a vent that blows right into my shower and it seems like the furnace (and AC too so it’s bad summer and winter) kicks on just as I begin my shower and blows air at me which even if it’s supposedly warm air, it makes me cold. In our old house I put a thing on the vent that redirected the air but this one is directly overhead right outside the shower so the only cure is shut that thing off. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/36 "2021-01-15T21:19:37Z")
A friend was advised by her dermatologist never to rub her skin when drying from a shower but just pat herself dry. She thinks it helps her skin. ---
**Author:** ![Joeu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joeu/32/2911_2.png) [@Joeu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joeu)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/37 "2021-01-15T21:21:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I always wanted to have one of those heated towel rods in my bathroom, just to have a nicely warmed towel. I just bought one of those this week (the stand-alone kind), and was so excited to try it. Unfortunately (maybe I should have sprung for a more expensive model), it just doesn’t get anywhere near warm enough. A thick towel (the kind I like) doesn’t seem to warm up at all, even after being draped over the coils all day long. It’s getting returned for a refund. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/38 "2021-01-15T22:12:10Z")
Wouldn’t a heated towel rod just heat a three-inch line across the middle of the towel? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/39 "2021-01-15T22:48:41Z")
Come to think of it, I read that recently, too, but I forgot. Heck, it’s hard to remember _everything_ you have to do to keep the system functioning. Thanks for the reminder. I bought a big tub of coconut oil today and looking forward to basting myself later. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547/40 "2021-01-15T23:29:46Z")
There are lotion warmers that might keep that coconut oil pleasantly warm for after your shower. I’ve always read that another trick is to apply the moisturizer before you dry off, the goal being sealing in the water on your skin with the lotion or oil. Then doing the patting dry. There are lotions out there that you are supposed to spray on after the water is turned off, before toweling [er, patting] dry. I used to always use one with a long time nursing client of mine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-showers-the-bathing-kind-not-the-meteorological-kind/930547.md?page=3)