# Why don't people bathe? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 10, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475 "2015-01-10T15:01:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/81 "2015-01-15T03:45:58Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Honestly… I don’t care. > > Seriously, I really don’t care. I don’t care if the guy in the elevator smells like a “clean of dirt” human being or “like not much of anything”. My objection would be heavy artificial scents/musk which, frankly, I find more offensive than smell of a (clean) human being. Ok, I agree that strong artificial fragrance is offensive and accept that strong natural body odor is not offensive to you. I hope you will at least accept as fact that it is not the cultural norm in the US and that to many, strong body odor is offensive. > [@](#): > > A culture that requires abolition of ALL body odor is unrealistic. I agree. In fact, I have the same criteria for natural body odor and artificial fragrance. Neither should be evident outside of your personal space. If I can smell either from three feet away or more, it’s a problem. I don’t want to smell your cheap-ass aftershave, your expensive cologne, your armpits or your crotch. And crotch odor applies to all human beings. Some guys think as long as their pits are okay, they’re all good. Those guys are often seriously, horribly incorrect. > [@](#): > > And, really, it hasn’t been “generations”. My parents remember a largely deodorant/antiperspirant free US. That would be, what, three generations? Not really that long in a cultural context. I didn’t say centuries. I think it’s fair to say that something that was unacceptable in your parent’s generation and possibly changed during your grandparents generation or before qualifies as social mores that are generations old, especially if there is a mature generation younger than you. My own anecdotal experience as a forty-something with grandparents born in the early 20th century is that none of them tolerated body odor by the time I showed up in the 1970s. To me, being clean means being more than free of dirt. It means being clean of dirt and odor causing bacteria thriving on your body. And make no mistake, sweat doesn’t smell. The bacteria that thrive in warm moist places on your body is what smells. I’m cool with people who don’t agree with me up until the point that their bacterial party becomes unpleasant for me to be around. I think that’s the point of this thread. If you want to smell a bit natural if I get into your personal space, that’s fine. Your prerogative. If you smell enough to stink up an elevator or offend people three feet away or more? You’re probably not doing yourself any favors and likely interfering with your own success in both employment and social endeavors. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/82 "2015-01-15T04:21:20Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The historical archives contain letters from Napoleon to Josephine announcing his return within a few days, and that she should stop washing. One hundred years later, soap and razor manufacturers [convinced women](http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/offending_bo2.jpg) that they had actually been undesirable all these centuries. Agrees with my earlier remark that the current American “paranoia” ( **Broomstick** ’s word) is all or mostly a Miracle of Modern Marketing. Right up there with those other frightful terrors, Rings Around The Collar And Bathtub. Bathing seems to be in the news of late. Seen just this afternoon on Yahoo: [Do You Really Need To Shower Every Day?](https://www.yahoo.com/health/do-you-really-need-to-shower-every-day-108102795142.html), Grace Gold, Yahoo News, Jan. 14, 2015, responding to the uproar over Nava Rivera’s recent remark that daily showering is “a white people thing”: > [@](#): > > “Daily showering is a more cultural phenomenon than medical necessity,” explains Joshua Zeichner, MD, Director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research at Mount Sinai Hospital Department of Dermatology. “In the U.S., people commonly shower once or even more per day – this can actually be harmful to skin, as hot water strips essential oils and can lead to irritation,” he adds. ---
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/83 "2015-01-15T04:36:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Elderly folks get to smelling pretty strong. But they can’t smell it. And bathing thoroughly is difficult or even physically impossible. So they wash their face & armpits & call it good. > > Some people have amazing BO that’s just their personal chemistry plus whatever bacteria live on their skin. I once worked in an office for a guy who I know showered thoroughly & wore clean clothes every day. And who reeked from first thing in the AM. Somewhere along the way he got some medication that altered his chemistry. After that he smelled no worse than anybody else. The difference was amazing, and almost overnight. > > After that I got nuthin’. Back in the 90’s I remember deviating from my favorite laundry detergent, Cheer, and trying a box of Tide. Man, that stuff made me smell like a pack of cats pissed on me. Have never and will never buy another box of Tide again. Back to the good old Cheer. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/84 "2015-01-15T10:04:34Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > [Naya Rivera Says Showering Daily Is “Such a White People Thing,” Viewers Freak Out on Social Media](https://celebrity.yahoo.com/news/naya-rivera-says-showering-daily-white-people-thing-220500664-us-weekly.html) > > > [@](#): > > > > No, Naya, no! Naya Rivera shared a rather controversial theory about people’s hygienic tendencies while guest-hosting The View on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and the Internet is not reacting well to her comments. > > > > The Glee actress, 28, presented her opinion to Rosie O’Donnell, Nicolle Wallace, and the other ladies seated at the roundtable. “I have to say I have a theory about showering, [which] is that I think that white people shower a lot more than ethnics,” Rivera remarked as Wallace started laughing. “I feel like showering more than once a day or every day is such a white people thing.” Well, aside from the fact she seems to be generalizing from one white person to all of them (hmm… what do we call generalizing from one member of a group to all members of that group…?), I sort of agree with her. Don’t get me wrong - there ARE times when showering frequently makes sense. There have been times when I showered 2-3 times a day but _all_ of those involved situations where I was working outside in filthy conditions in high heat. I was genuinely dirty and sweaty whether I had actually started stinking yet or not. But for most people, if they’re just sitting and not exerting themselves, don’t _need_ to shower every single day. They might be in the habit of doing so, they might feel better doing so, but they don’t _need_ to do it. Not even for the comfort of others because if you do shower every other day, don’t exert yourself physically, and wear antiperspirant you’re still not going to stink up the place (with the note there are some exceptions based on personal chemistry). ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/85 "2015-01-15T12:09:15Z")
In my experience, black people are just as much into showering as white people. If not more. It may be a Western thing, but I wouldn’t say a “white” thing. Now, black people don’t wash their hair every day. I’ve encountered more than a few horrified expressions when I tell (white) people that I only wash once a week. But if I washed my hair on a daily basis, my hair would be so dried-out and frizzy that _I_ would be horrified. Hair oils can actually be a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/86 "2015-01-15T12:38:14Z")
Yes, well, a lot of white people have a lack of understanding that between actual structural differences (hence, the different texture) and some of the very harsh treatments some black people subject their hair to, black hair has very different care needs than theirs. Just selling “ethnic” hair care products has been an education for me. Also, some of those white girls who complain they can’t grow their hair long are having that problem from over-washing their hair, which leaves it so brittle it breaks off before it gets long. I am kind of wondering about this new “dry shampoo” that’s starting to appear on the shelves, don’t know if that’s going to help or hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/87 "2015-01-15T14:59:27Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > In my experience, black people are just as much into showering as white people. If not more. It may be a Western thing, but I wouldn’t say a “white” thing. > > Now, black people don’t wash their hair every day. I’ve encountered more than a few horrified expressions when I tell (white) people that I only wash once a week. But if I washed my hair on a daily basis, my hair would be so dried-out and frizzy that _I_ would be horrified. Hair oils can actually be a good thing. Yes, I wash my hair every other day or every three days. E. Indian here, and I’m pretty sure I could get by with once a week, but then I’d never be able to get the brush through it (it’s thin and tangles super easy.) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/88 "2015-01-15T17:55:14Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Actually, the Indian co-workers are the single most awesome thing about potluck dinners at my company. > > We’ll have the usual variety of things like scalloped potatoes, green beans, chips, dips, etc… and then huge plates of samosas, tandoori chicken, those weird little cake balls in syrup, 2-3 different kinds of rice side dishes as well as biryani and all sorts of other things that are awesome, but that I don’t know what they’re called. > > What kind of freaks people out is when people (no idea what nationality) bring in day-old fish dishes and microwave that shit; it’ll pollute half the floor of the building with fish stench. And on the whole, I like fish, but some of these dishes have horrendous fishy odors. No argument with anything you’ve said. Everyone eats the samosas damn quick. One of the women in my office makes amazing chicken biryani. Yum. Gulab jamun are, I think, those cake balls in syrup. Also, fish should be banned in company microwaves. Gag. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/89 "2015-01-15T17:57:13Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Now, black people don’t wash their hair every day. I’ve encountered more than a few horrified expressions when I tell (white) people that I only wash once a week. But if I washed my hair on a daily basis, my hair would be so dried-out and frizzy that _I_ would be horrified. Hair oils can actually be a good thing. Agreed. In the winter I wash my hair twice a week because otherwise my scalp will get dry and gross. In summer it’s 2-3 times a week, depending on sweatiness. I cannot wash my hair daily. It would dry the hell out of it. (I’m about as white as you can get.) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/90 "2015-01-15T19:14:25Z")
> [@vomit\_comet](#): > > Back in the 90’s I remember deviating from my favorite laundry detergent, Cheer, and trying a box of Tide. Man, that stuff made me smell like a pack of cats pissed on me. > > Have never and will never buy another box of Tide again. Back to the good old Cheer. You reminded me, I used Tide for the longest time, and loved the smell. But I soon found I was allergic to it! After much experimentation I discovered Arm & Hammer Sensitive Formula, which works well. But my allergies have only increased as I’ve gotten older. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/91 "2015-01-15T21:01:56Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Now, black people don’t wash their hair every day. I’ve encountered more than a few horrified expressions when I tell (white) people that I only wash once a week. But if I washed my hair on a daily basis, my hair would be so dried-out and frizzy that _I_ would be horrified. Hair oils can actually be a good thing. I was kinda surprised when my wife told me she doesn’t wash her hair, ever. Except if she uses straightener she uses neutralizing shampoo. Her scalp is dry as a bone and has no odor. She actually puts on “oil” all the time(I don’t know what the product actually is). Our son too, I once used baby shampoo on him and wow it created some kind of crazy flaking rash. Never again, and his scalp and hair feels DRY. She once when I had not washed my hair for a few days was like why does your hair look wet, and she was shocked at how greasy it felt lol. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/92 "2015-01-15T21:29:05Z")
> [@Elemenopy](#): > > Hey, **Grude** , the spice you’re thinking of is asafoetida. My husband bought some once at the international food market…Lord only knows why. It smells like white pepper and ass. > . YUP, that is the one thanks. God that stuff, once when I was sick with pneumonia and everything smelled bad to me and I think I was surviving on milk alone I was in a food court that REEKS of it and I had to get out of there I felt I would vomit. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/93 "2015-01-15T21:35:19Z")
Should you be interested check out: [My No-Soap, No-Shampoo, Bacteria-Rich Hygiene Experiment](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/magazine/my-no-soap-no-shampoo-bacteria-rich-hygiene-experiment.html) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/94 "2015-01-16T00:51:56Z")
> [@grude](#): > > She actually puts on “oil” all the time(I don’t know what the product actually is). It almost certainly IS actual oil, no need for quotes. Sometimes they add things like scents, but a lot of the time even those are essential oils. Common ones at my store are olive oil, tea tree oil, and jojoba oil but there are others, blends, all sorts of variations. Basically, though, they’re oil. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/95 "2015-01-16T01:02:04Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > My brother-in-law showers regularly and reeks about 2-3 hours after a shower. It’s not that he’s not clean, but just a combination of his body chemistry and possibly faulty deodorant. He’s also extremely hairy - not sure whether that makes any difference, but it might. > > Also, sometimes very large people or even people who aren’t flexible, whether due to injury or illness, can’t get to all the “nooks and crannies.” Thinking about that makes me wonder what the hell I smelled like when I was pregnant and working around a very heavy uterus in the shower. When I was pregnant I was able to wash just fine (although shaving my legs was a different matter) but I kept thinking I smelled weird. I’d ask my husband and he’d look at me like I was crazy, but you know, hormones, right? It wouldn’t be strange if you did smell weird! For awhile in the beginning of the third trimester I was convinced I smelled a little like a small carnivore. Like an opossum or something. He said I didn’t but I’m not so sure. ---
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/96 "2015-01-16T01:31:46Z")
I went out with a chick that did bathe regularly but her idea of bathing was running a bath, dumping a cup of scented bubble bath into the tub and sitting in it for 30 - 60 minutes. Like it was a ‘bath’ that eats rust off of steel or something, she figured, I guess, that the bubble bath was supposed to eat the stink off of her ass, **it didn’t** , and neither did I… unfortunately, she was kinda my type, except for the stank. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/97 "2015-01-16T09:03:55Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > As with so many insidious aspects of American culture, it was Marketing (especially modern Post-WWII era TV Marketing) that did this to us. America was notorious for Germ Phobia before WWII. Certainly Post WWI – I don’t know prior to to that. And _Hotel: An American History_ By **A. K. Sandoval-Strausz** tells me that “In 1885 a German author observed that _in England in some hotels the American System of bedroom and own bathroom has been imitated_” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/98 "2015-01-16T09:09:11Z")
> [@bump](#): > > What kind of freaks people out is when people (no idea what nationality) bring in day-old fish dishes and microwave that shit; it’ll pollute half the floor of the building with fish stench. And on the whole, I like fish, but some of these dishes have horrendous fishy odors. When the inlaws break out the fish, it’s not “day old”: it’s aged. In English it’s called “dried fish”, but it’s obviously been fermented as part of the preservation process. ---
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2015, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/99 "2015-01-16T09:21:04Z")
OMG, you should try day and a half old cabbage rolls. That’ll trump any fish you got. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475/100 "2015-01-17T01:04:48Z")
> [@bump](#): > > What kind of freaks people out is when people (no idea what nationality) bring in day-old fish dishes and microwave that shit; it’ll pollute half the floor of the building with fish stench. And on the whole, I like fish, but some of these dishes have horrendous fishy odors. My office building is relatively small compared to most…the last time someone microwaved some stank-ass fish, the entire building reeked for hours. Glad we didn’t have customers in that day. 😛 I also remember the day one of the ladies reheated some chicken that smelled plain rotten; when a co-worker very tactfully asked what was in the microwave, the lady proudly said that it was chicken purchased at a substantial discount from a nearby grocery store. Another notable food stench: the Wendy’s closest to my office doesn’t change their fryer oil very often. You can always tell when someone brings back Wendy’s for lunch. **gag** > [@AnaMen](#): > > When they are around someone who is heavily perfumed though, they get upset. No matter how many times I tell them that the way they feel about the perfume is the way others feel about their stank, they disagree that such a thing could really be possible. One of the ladies in my company’s customer service department wears so much cologne that you can track her movements around the office by following the scent trail. I’ve never noticed any B.O. or hygiene issues with her; just the massive, massive amounts of cologne. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-people-bathe/709475.md?page=6)