Corona Daily 099: The Great Unwashing

As an Indian who lives in hot, humid, dirty, polluted Bombay; who gets drenched in sweat after a morning run; who after returning from a visit to the crowded vegetable market first rushes to wash up; who is among the privileged Indians to have access to water round-the-clock; I found the newspaper reports from North America and Europe shocking.

In the pandemic, people are taking fewer showers. Some Brits and Americans, displaying their names and photos in leading national newspapers, say that before the pandemic they were showering every day. Now they shower once a week.

In a major survey by the UK government, 17% of the population said it is showering less. Younger people, between 18 and 24, have a higher percentage of unwashing: 27%. In total, 28% are using less or no deodorants. 45% of generation Z and 40% of millennials are skipping deodorants. 30% of Britons are less inclined to put on fresh clothes. 25% have cut down on hair-washes. Women are delaying hair-washes twice as much as men, presumably because they have more hair to wash.

 The survey also includes stats about reduction in change of underwear and socks, but I will leave the more curious readers to probe those stats on their own.

Teenagers in America and Europe are dodging showers. After children reach a certain age, parents can’t force them to shower. Currently, that age seems to be nine.

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The less-washing people have made several observations. Many are happy they have one less thing to do. Ms W, 49, says she began thinking deeply about why she was showering every day before the pandemic (a truly philosophical question). Another lady, a school teacher said with British candidness that she takes a weekly shower, but washes essential parts at the sink. Her youngest kids at school would tell her if she didn’t smell good. Now they are learning remotely. Zoom hasn’t yet introduced a function where you can smell the person on screen. One man actually said he doesn’t shower until he smells.

Another person showers only when he leaves the building. In full lockdown, that person showered only once a month. He claims he started feeling grimy only after twenty-five days or so.

One interviewee says that with no one around except his flatmate, he doesn’t see the point in keeping clean.

Three in five people said they are using much less makeup in the pandemic, reducing the need for daily showers.

While reading the stories, I remembered a Swiss boy at my voluntary camp in Poland. The year was 1987, Polish summers were cooler. This boy arrived at a two week-camp only with a toothbrush. As an Indian, that was my first introduction to how customs can differ. The boy wearing the same t-shirt and shorts for a fortnight had chosen me as his roommate.

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Donnachadh McCarthy, 61, a Londoner, said showers are relatively new, a twentieth century phenomenon. Earlier, Britons had a bath once a week, usually on Sunday nights, and for the rest of the week washed only armpits and privates. Later, indoor plumbing improved, giving the middle class more access to running water. You were rich if you could bathe every day.

Some health experts call the daily showers aesthetic, unnecessary, commercialized by soap and shampoo companies, and even counterproductive. Washing with soap daily can strip the skin of its natural oils and leave it feeling dry.

Climate advocates love the concept of washing once a week, which they call environmentally friendly, practical and freeing. An eight minute shower uses 65 liters of water, according to the water research fund. (And a running bath ten times more).

The reduction in dating and overall sexual activity has also had its impact on the washing habits.

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Pandemic is clarifying which part of grooming we do for our own sake, and which for others. Men are shaving less. All are wearing formal clothes less. Women are giving up bras.

It seems, daily showering was another activity some people largely did for the sake of others.

Ravi