this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
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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?

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[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I never talk to anyone so i have no incentive to other than my own comfort. I do feel more comfortable when i'm clean, but my mere comfort often doesn't feel like reason enough when executive dysfunction makes a shower is a 1-hour affair, plus i have a weird anxiety around thriftiness so i don't like to "waste" the warm water and soap.

Same reason why the house isn't as clean as it could be. It would be cleaner if anyone came in here ever, but no one does, so the only reason to vaccuum is my own satisfaction, which isn't worth the time and effort.

All told i end up showering every ~5 days in winter and once a day in summer, and i never touch the perfume bottles. I actually don't really get the point of perfume or deodorant tbh, seems like the solution to BO is a shower.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I don't get how showering is less than an hour affair for any women at least. Between washing my hair, washing my body, shaving under my arms, and shaving my legs, that's easily 30 minutes. And then the whole applying moisturizer so my skin doesn't totally dry out from the shower, toweling off, lying in front of a fan to actually feel dry, and semi drying my hair, that's an hour (plus my hair is still wet for hours after). This does not include the time spent convincing myself to shower. I shower twice a week. Less if I don't have anything going on that week/ I get to stay home.

I don't, because my hair is naturally straight, but a lot of women also have to completely reset their hair with every shower too, blow drying, straightening, curling - whatever they do to look professional again.

I absolutely do use deodorant though, and I also clean under my pits with a washcloth between showers if I ever start to smell anything past neutral

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Yeah but look at all the stuff you do besides showering, the shaving and hair care and such. I'm genuinely just talking about the shower itself. There's convincing myself to shower, then there's watching youtube videos with my clothes off, then there's spending too long in the hot shower because i don't want to step out into the cold bathroom, then there's drawing shapes on the fogged mirror, etc

I think my expectation for quick showers comes from my upbringing? For a few years growing up we had the toilet, sink and shower all in the same bathroom, and that bathroom was being used by like 6 people. So every minute spent in the shower was inconveniencing someone else. idk

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Not all that every shower though. Ponytail or shower cap. I shower as you describe twice a week, yes, but also each evening just jump in and wash underarms, crotch, hands, feet, face. Yes lotion, night cream for face (Retin-A) deodorant and sleep. It's relaxing and sheets stay nice, I wake up clean enough to just dress & go.

You don't have to do your hair or shave every time you shower.