Like, I travel around for work and I’ve met plenty of people from all backgrounds.
Why is there a demographic of people who don’t seemingly bathe regularly, or at the very least wear something to cover up their BO? I could understand if it’s an allergy, or even religious reasons (though the people I’ve met that smell bad are usually you’re average American young adult man) but recently (like in the past week, recently) I’ve met a concerning number of people who don’t seem to wear any kind of deodorant or possibly don’t even bathe regularly; it’s starting to become an issue for me, as I don’t even want to interact with them when I can smell them walking up from 3+ feet away yet I need to for work.
Does anyone have any possible insight?
I look forward to reading what an online community that specializes in Linux and Star Trek memes has to say about personal hygiene…
Depressed.
deleted by creator
Or Hippies
I was this kid all throughout my school years.
Parents never taught me any kind of personal hygiene, and my house was filled with a thick smog of smoke, so my sense of smell is still shot to this day. To give an idea how bad it was, I was asking for dentures when I was 14 because my teeth were literally falling out. The water in our house was spotty at best, on top of the hygiene thing, so baths were maybe once every 2 weeks or so. My parents always had a fridge stocked with Coca Cola, but almost never drinkable water.
Besides pointing at my parents, I don’t really have an explanation for you, but I’ve definitely “been there.”
It took a lot of effort, but I’ve come a looooong way since then. Like… unrecognizably so, thankfully - other than the dentures, at least.
If anyone is reading this, and in a situation where their home life or depression or whathaveyou is putting you in this kind of situation: Just know that things can and will get better. I know how difficult and embarrassing it can be when you’re deep in it, but all you gotta do is be a little bit better than yesterday (when you’re able). It takes time, but it’s totally worth it.
Wow thank you for sharing. I grew up poor and grubby too, but my folks were health food nuts, so I think I got spared the worst of it compared to some people I’ve seen.
I’m so glad things have got better for you.
My girlfriend finds showering and bathing extremely painful due to several very severe skin conditions. She’s also allergic to almost every deodorant that doesn’t cost a ridiculous amount. She doesn’t sweat a whole lot so it’s usually not an issue, and can get away with only one shower a week usually. Her conditions are pretty rare so I’m not saying everyone who doesn’t shower regularly has what she has, but there might be factors at play for some that give them legitimate reason not to shower. Or it could just be laziness
and can get away with only one shower a week usually.
I gotta ask, what is your weather like where you are, because no one could get away with one shower per week where I live (about 26 to 32 Celsius on average), let alone if doing some physical activity, whether for pleasure or work.
During the summer it can get up to 30, during the winter down to -20 ish. -5 up to 20 is the normal range though. Not sure how but she rarely sweats. She’s always freezing cold. Her sweat also doesn’t really smell much, not sure if that’s a pH balance or what, idk much about that.
The few people I know with this issue fall into one of two categories.
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Access issues. There are some kinds of road blocks accessing a quality shower/bath. Which makes showering/bathing is an uncomfortable activity for some reason. Maybe it’s that their shower is really small and cramped, with a low quality shower head. Maybe it’s an issue where the water quality is low in the shower they have access to. Low quality water can have an odor people find uncomfortable, or it can dry out their skin making their skin feel dry even while under the water. People naturally avoid things that make them uncomfortable even subconsciously.
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Mental Health. I suffer from this occasionally. I love showering, it’s extremely relaxing, but for whatever reason the process of getting into the shower is such a huge barrier to overcome. You feel like absolute dog shit. You know that a shower would make you feel better, but for whoever reason no matter how hard you try, you cannot push through the transition of wanting to shower, to taking that first step towards doing it. And it all compounds together to make you feel like an even bigger piece of shit for not being able to do something so basic. Until eventually you’ve doom scrolled the entire day away and now it’s dark out and you’re tired and you’ve got a stress headache because you’ve barely even ate today either while you just stewed in your own filth.
Well written on both parts, and it’s often a combination of both. When you have mental health issues, it can also be harder to get stuff to make a shower or anything else nicer. Be it issues doing laundry, so you don’t have completely clean towels and/or fresh clothes to put on afterwards, or having shampoo, conditioner, etc.
I often get stuck because I haven’t showered, haven’t been able to force myself to do laundry, and/or forgot to buy products. Then you really don’t want to leave your home because you get anxiety over others seeing or smelling you, so you’re just stuck with that anxiety for days until you manage to do anything about it.When you live in the countryside, you have to spend several hours getting the bath house ready. During the summer you can go for a swim and it’s just as convenient as showering.
In winter however… Washing yourself takes effort.
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A lot of people simply don’t know proper hygiene because they were never taught it.
A shower doesn’t mean let the water run over you for a few minutes and then spray on some deodorant. Lather some soap in to a flannel and scrub every part of your body, and if you sweat badly use antiperspirant.
But it’s recent thing you’ve noticed. People might be cutting back on things due to budget. Not many people would admit that they’re not showering because of financial worries.
Lather some soap in to a flannel and scrub every part of your body
That’s not recommended by dermatologists. Soap destroys the acid layer on your skin that keeps bacteria out. As a regular thing, you should therefore only lather on soap where the bacteria buildup is high enough, i.e. under your arms, in your butt crack and other skin folds.
Unless you got super sweaty, you shouldn’t soap up your arms and legs every day.
Fair point. When I said soap, I really meant a body wash, of which pH balanced versions are available.
You also have an oil layer that keeps certain kinds of bacteria out, so don’t destroy that one. As said: most days, just lather pits, groin, and feet, simply rinse the rest with water.
Everywhere around the world soap + shampoo should be free. And deodorant should be as cheap as possible. It should be a basic human right.
Wearing deodorant has nothing to do with bathing regularly.
You can bath regularly and not need deodorant, every body is different. Also depends on the activities done between each bath/shower.
Now some people do not bath regularly and use deodorant or perfume, that never ends up well in terms of odor.
My experiences with stink.
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Old people. Some were raised to shower infrequently because regular bathing wasn’t a luxury they had access to growing up. They carry this habit with them now. Source: I used to work with lots of old people.
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People from cold climates who move to warmer ones. Sure, in Amsterdam you can shower once a week but move to Australia and you stink. Source: My ex-father-in-law is Dutch, living in Australia.
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People who avoid soaps and deodorants because they prefer natural alternatives or ‘splashing and rinsing’. They think they don’t stink. Most girls I’ve met with bad smelling vaginas fall into this category. Source: Dating.
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Teenagers who haven’t worked out puberty yet. Source: Used to work in a school.
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Re-wearing unwashed clothes too many times. Source: Figured this one myself.
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People who prefer to stink. When you don’t bathe and don’t use deodorant, you get used to the icky feeling and the smell to the point where you prefer it, and a shower and soap then makes you uncomfortable (itchy/tingly). Source: Ex-girlfriend.
You missed one: depression
That last one… How did you put up with that?
Especially with the smelly vagina point earlier in the list. 🤢
If your vagina smells bad, you should go to your doctor in case you have an infection. Vaginas should smell neutral to mild. That said, You’re really not supposed to use any kind of soap in or directly around a vagina, so it’s a bit concerning that you mention lack of soap and smelly vaginas in the same point. Vaginas are self cleaning and using soaps (especially with any kind of fragrance!) Can lead to serious issues. Clean with water and a newly washed wash cloth (only if you use non scented, mild detergent) or water and a clean hand. You should not clean anything past the exterior.
Let your body clean itself out with your natural lubricant, and then clean the outside with water daily.
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I didn’t use to either shower or bathe but it was a mental health issue: I went though both depression, which didn’t help, and I didnt have good showering habits due to being kinda aquaphobic. If water hit my face at all I would think I’d die (pretty dumb I know). Nowadays I bathe pretty much daily. Having a detachable showerhead helps a lot so I don’t have to deal with water on my face.
sorry, i shower twice a day and wear deodorant but i just sweat so damn much that i end up smelling within a few hours no matter what :(
How about anti perspirant? Or is that what you meant? I’m a major fan of Arm & Hammer everything. Works, not perfumy, inexpensive, all that.
I’m a Reddit moderator with over 2 million karma I don’t have time to bathe. When I do bathe it’s useing a garden hose because I weigh 450 pounds
450 pounds
So svelte! You must be the envy of all the other moderators!
I shower when I feel like I need to. Usually every 2-3 days, unless I’ve been sweating or working in a dirty environment. Wife says I never stink and she has the nose of a god damned bloodhound. Guess it depends on body chemistry and the PH balance of the skin. I use gentle soaps. I do wear antiperspirant everyday though. So I dunno. But I did find this:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/showering-daily-is-it-necessary-2019062617193
Thank you. I am a 2-3 day showerer as well. I do wash my face every day, wash my hands regularly of course, and wear antiperspirant deodorant. I tend to shower when my hair has finally become oily enough that it’s noticable, of if I start smelling bad, but my body somehow doesn’t produce much of a smell. It’s not that I’m just used to my own smell, I’ve had it confirmed by plenty of people. Even on day 3, I’m generally fresh. I do try to put a hard day 3 limit on myself, though. Times when I’ve pushed it to 4 days have not been so great lol
I shower and wear deodorant everyday, but around late afternoon the deodorant just gives out and I start to smell
You need a different deodorant. I’m a pretty heavy sweater and changing to Certain DRI “prescription strength” was a game changer for me.
Time for another shower then. In summer I’ll take at least 2 showers a day if not 3
Depressed autistic
Drought. When you live in the bush and only have tank water for everything, drinking water comes before showering/bathing. When things are bad, shower once per week and use a bowl of water and wash cloth to freshen up the rest of the time. Still end up with a smell though. You can smell the drought on the people in a rural areas when you go into town.
