All About Bathing

Back in February, the Girl Next Door podcast released an episode talking all about their bathing and showering habits. These are the kinds of episodes I love from them, as they dig into the nitty-gritty of something that seems so mundane, but actually brings up strong emotions! I loved this episode so much (give it a listen!) that I had to do my own post all about my bathing and showering habits. I’m breaking this post into five sections: Hair Care, Showering, What I’m Using Now, Baths, and Quirks.

Hair Care

I tried to train my hair to handle only getting washed two or three times a week, but after a few years of living with greasy second- and third-day hair, I threw in the towel. (Shower pun?) My hair is very fine and gets oily very easily—I’m talking, I can wash it in the morning and by the evening, it’s already feeling greasy. So I wash my hair every other day (sometimes I stretch it to every three days if I’m feeling lazy, but by then my hair is so oily that it can stand up on its own, no joke) and that’s ideal for me. The day between washes, I don’t really do much with my hair. Usually, I throw it up into a messy bun or a half-up/half-down style (if I’m going to be out and seeing people). Dry shampoo doesn’t really work for my hair; I’ve tried many brands and looked at so many tutorials, but dry shampoo doesn’t give my hair the zest that I’m looking for.

Showering

Here’s my showering order of operations: I step delicately into the stall (a few months ago, I fell while getting into the shower so now I’m uber-careful) and then get under the spray to get my body and hair wet. Is there anything more decadent than those first few minutes under the hot shower spray? Ahhh. Then, I shampoo my hair. Lately, after doing a lot of research on how to care for super-oily hair, I’ve started spending a few minutes simply massaging the shampoo into my roots. That’s where I need the most shampoo, and it feels so good to really dig into my roots! Then I shampoo the rest of my hair, gathering it to sit at the top of my head. Once I rinse out the shampoo, I apply a little bit of conditioner to the ends of my hair and rinse it out. (I used to let the conditioner sit for a while, but I don’t do that anymore because I don’t really think it does anything, lol.) Once I’m done cleaning my hair, I wash my body using body wash and a loofah. I do each arm, my chest, my torso, my legs, and my feet. On the podcast episode mentioned above, the hosts said they never wash their legs because they figure all the soap from the top of their body rinses down to their legs and they don’t really feel like they need to wash their legs. Is this a thing everyone does? Because I’ve always washed my legs and feet while I’m in the shower! I just never considered it was something people didn’t do.

Once I’ve finished all my washing, I’ll shave my underarms. But I’ll be honest: I always forget about this step. It typically has to become a “situation” for me to remember to do it. (I use the Schick Quattro razor.)

What I’m Using Now

I don’t know if I’ve yet to find the holy grail of shampoo and conditioner. For years, I used Tresemme products and really liked them because they made my hair so soft and shiny! Right now, I’m trying out L’Oreal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay Rebalancing shampoo and conditioner, as it’s supposedly made for oily hair. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and I don’t really think I’ve noticed a difference. But I’m going to give it a bit more time before I try something else.

I use body wash rather than bar soap. I feel like bar soap never makes me feel as clean as body wash! Typically, I’ll just use whatever I’m currently using for my bubble baths (more on that later). At a certain point, there’s not enough soap left in the bottle to be used in my bubble baths, so it turns into my “shower” body wash since I can usually squeeze out enough soap for a few showers. Oh, and I am Team Loofah when it comes to washing my body. I know you can just use your hands, but I just feel like a loofah gives me that perfect lather that makes me feel especially clean.

Baths

Of course, I’m the queen of the bubble bath! Typically, I take a bubble bath on the days I don’t take a shower. I wouldn’t say it necessarily replaces a shower, but it does give me that clean feeling that I love at the end of the day. My bubble baths aren’t really anything special; I don’t light candles or put on soft music or anything like that. I just love sinking into a hot, bubbly bath. There’s something so soothing about it. I use regular body wash soap for my bubble baths (my favorites are Caress and Softsoap) and can’t do any sort of exfoliating body wash (those little beads drive me crazy in the tub!) Oh, and I use a lot of soap in my bubble baths. Like, one bottle only gets me 2-3 bubble baths, haha. Give me alllll of the bubbles!

During my bubble baths, I either read or play Candy Crush on my phone while listening to a podcast. (Yes, I bring my phone in the tub. Nope, have never dropped it. Yes, will be knocking on wood after that statement.) My baths are never super long, either. Maybe 15 minutes tops?

Oh, and I’ll use my bathtime to shave my legs, too. I don’t like standing up to shave my legs—my belly gets in the way and it just feels very unsafe, considering I’m nearly blind while I’m showering since I don’t have my glasses on. I’ll shave my legs at the end of my bath after they have been soaking in the soapy water for a while, and just do a quick wet shave—no shaving cream or gel. I’ll also admit that, like my underarms, I don’t shave my legs very often. I’m lucky to have blonde leg hairs so I don’t tend to notice my leg hair until things get to a dire state, lol.

Quirks

• I’m a morning showerer, but what I really love is a midafternoon shower! So decadent!
• If I do a workout, I must take a shower and wash my hair. I get so sweaty during a workout and sweaty hair grosses me out.
• I bought a Bluetooth speaker so I can listen to podcasts while I’m showering. I clip the speaker to my shower curtain.
• Can we talk about how to manage hair that you pull out of your head while you’re shampooing? I know, it’s gross, but it’s one of those parts of the shower experience that nobody talks about! I used to just let the hair flow down the drain but then I had to unclog my drain because it was full of hair and ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. It’s so gross. So now I use the “pasting” method. Whenever I pull out hair, I just, you know, paste it on the shower wall. Then, later on in the day, when the shower has dried, I’ll use a piece of toilet paper to grab the hair and throw it away.
• The cats usually come in to “supervise” me while I’m taking a bath. Lila mostly just wants me to pet her while Eloise sits either next to the tub or right in the doorway, watching me.
• Here’s what I do after my shower: I grab a towel and wipe off my face and then pull my hair into a “turban.” Then I use another towel to dry my body and wrap it around me. I get dressed pretty immediately, put on deodorant, and then take off my towel turban and brush out my hair. And then, I come out of the bathroom and say, “I feel so much better!” to the cats, who look at me blankly, haha. What is it about a shower that feels so damn refreshing?

This post is so long. Apparently, I had a lot to say about my bathing habits! Give me some of your favorite shower products and tell me about your habits: how often do you shower and wash your hair? Do you have any funny quirks?