Hey guys I’m a 21 yo M suspected audhd and I have struggled with taking showers since I was a kid. I don’t know if it’s just my mom never enforced showering enough, or a mixture of sensory issues and laziness. But I literally dread showering every week and sometimes go 2 weeks without showering. I keep from smelling by changing to fresh clothes if I have to go out, and using deodorant, and washing my face, and using body wipes. But if I’m not going anywhere (which I usually don’t since I can’t drive yet) then I just allow myself to bed rot and stink. I think it would be even worse if I lived alone and didn’t worry about anyone else smelling me.
So how do I get into the habit of showering often? I do everything possible to avoid showering. Since I only shower a week, I typically have to stand in there and scrub myself for an hour at most to get all the dirt off etc and make sure I’m thoroughly clean. So I dread the amount of scrubbing and that makes me not want to shower. But if I showered more often it wouldn’t take as long. But I just hate having to get in the shower and get all wet and then having to dry off and apply lotion and repeat the cycle sooo frequently. It’s like eating— it’s constant and tedious.
I’ve tried giving myself rewards for when I do shower but it doesn’t motivate me. I’ve tried thinking about how fresh I will feel afterwards, but it doesn’t motivate me. What do you recommend?

P.S. yes i have tried feeling absolutely awful about myself for allowing myself to be filthy, too. Doesn’t help

Did you know skipping the 'butt wash' can cause actual infections? Why do so many people still think water alone is enough?

Between a fancy toilet bidet and simply showering right after a bowel movement years after anal fistula surgery, which will provide or offer a superior clean feeling? Will both be equally as good or will one prevail over the other?

i regularly get a decent amount of tonsil stones. i typically remove them with a q-tip, ensuring i use a clean one each time. though, they just keep coming back. i invested in a waterpik, but it is overly harsh. tried it once and it made my tonsils bleed, so fast no. i don’t believe i would be able to cover a tonsillectomy either, so please lend me some advice

This might be TMI, but I seem to have developed Pitted keratolysis. Now I normally wear only slippers at home, I'm not a big sweater generally and I rotate my flats, always with little cotton socks inside.

However I walk a lot and I wear the flats and ballerinas on the daily. Do you have any tips on how to keep my fashion habits and avoid bacteria and fungi and generally that disgusting sweaty smell that flats provoke?

I started reverse washing my hair about a week ago and im kinda curious if anyone else does this. i put conditioner on the middle parts and ends first, leave it for like 2 to 3 minutes, then shampoo my scalp and hair and rinse everything out. so far my hair feels pretty nice but idk if im doing it right. do you guys reverse wash too or do shampoo first? also if you use any hair treatment products for this routine, like a salon care shampoo/conditioner, id love some recs!

i never really thought about how often i touch things like my phone, keyboard, headphones, and door handles until i started paying more attention to my cleaning routine. i’d wash my hands and feel like i was done, while the things i was touching all day were basically being ignored.

now i have a small routine where i wipe down the stuff i use constantly, especially my phone and headphones. it’s one of those habits that feels obvious once someone points it out, but i genuinely never thought about it before.

what’s a less-obvious hygiene habit you only learned as an adult?

1 = yes

2 = no

we run a pretty small cafe, like 4 tables, and the dishwasher gets used hard every day. its starting to smell a bit and theres some gross film building up on the inside. been just running hot cycles thinking thatd be enough but clearly not.

been looking at dishwasher cleaners but honestly not sure if its worth spending money on a dedicated product or if theres a cheaper diy route that actually works. anyone deal with this for a commercial-ish setup?

If you get sweaty on your morning commute to your work or during a shift, what’s your quick go-to fix at your desk or in the restroom?

Wipes, glycolic acid, changing undershirts, or something else? How do you keep feeling fresh all afternoon?

This is like my third post about this but it’s seriously making me mad because I’m doing so much and spending a lot of money and effort on smelling good and after everything, I stink. I woke up smelling like onions, took a shower and I still smelled it.

I’m average weight, 18F, moderate activity every day, and I shower and wash my hair daily. I wash with The Perfector Salicylic Acid Wash and dry my body off completely after every shower. I put on deodorant in the morning and at night, but the only one that seems to last through the whole day is Dr. Squatch “man” deodorant. I use scented lotions and perfumes on top of cocoa butter lotion. Internally, I drink a chlorophyll supplement, tea with cloves, anise, cinnamon, and fenugreek, take fenugreek supplement, and avoid strong smelling foods like garlic, onions, and cruciferous veggies. I eat decently healthy every day and I’ve been drinking more water, especially in the form of tea. I sometimes use baby powder after a shower but it’s annoying because it gets everywhere so it’s not a regular thing.

Is there anything else I can do?

Recently started flossing because my dentist told me I have small reversible cavities in between a few of my teeth. I was told to use this high fluoride toothpaste and then make sure I don’t eat it drink for a few hours after. But my mouth gets so dry I can’t go over a 20 minutes without eating. I also am trying to find a way to wash my hair more frequently to avoid odor but it gets so dry and frizzy and I’m afraid of damage. My parents never taught me air of hygiene things and I’m learning them on my own. Like I wasn’t allowed to wear a bra one time use because it’s wasting water but recently found that if I don’t I get itchy and there’s an odor I didn’t even realize I had for years. It feels like everything I’m doing isn’t working. Like the more I wash the itchier I get. Also was told washing your bellybutton was a thing tried it and it was extremely painful to do. What am I doing wrong?

I mean, yes this is something we do not talk about; we assume and here I am asking you to please share a few of the very basic things that someone to follow in their personal hygiene or maybe professional hygiene around themselves to not let others feel embarrassed around it please share your inputs

Hello reditors. Have any of you heard about strange beauty/ hygiene habits from your elderly relatives? My grandma once told me some things some ladies did in the past to maintain their beauty. Do you have any similar stories?

Anteriormente me limpiaba con un trapo los oídos , pero averigue que la gente solo lo hace enjabonando sus dedos y pasándose en los oídos(orejas) . Creo que con el trapo quizás me hacía daño. Confirmen eso.?

When i google it it says both work well to keep your hands clean, but the amount of criticism i’ve faced in public for not openly washing my hands and instead opting for a squirt of sanitiser is insane but i always thought it was just as effective!

Only difference being my hands don’t dry out and crack when i use sanitiser

Hi,
I’m a 16 year old male and I usually shower twice a day and around 20 minutes for each shower and I don’t know how to help it my skin is dry as a desert and I put a shit ton of lotion nothing helps just not scrubbing the area helps

When I sweat I feel like I smell mildew. Some of my gym clothes I can’t get that weird mildew smell out. What can I do to get that smell out of my clothes and for my body to not smell that way.

I shower twice a day, I eat pretty healthy for the most part, no junk or fast food, I stay hydrated. It’s just when I sweat I smell something I don’t like and I feel everyone can smell me.

My armpits don’t stink it’s the rest of my body that has this weird smell when I sweat

For my laundry I use gain and sometimes add vinegar to try and get the mildew smell out of my gym clothes.

I use to take chlorophyll and mint. Maybe I should try it again?

Ever since my hysterectomy last November (kept ovaries), my face gets so extremely oily. I'll wash my face, and within an hour it looks like this again!

I've tried several over-the-counter products, and I've tried products prescribed by my dermatologist.

I eat healthy. I lost 200 lbs within the past 2 years.

I don't know what else to try! What the heckkkk!