Discussion Why do human needs shower/bathe?

This evening my grandchildren ask me that. Why we need shower? Once a day, twice a day. Why we need shower/bathe? Why didn't we just wash our face and be done with it? Why shower/bathe feels good that we can't live without it?

In my language shower / bathe is same thing. Oh my kokoro...

 

Just because you can't smell your own stink doesn't mean others can't.

 

A scientific answer is to remove the germs on the body and deorize the stink.

My answer is to clean my dirty self after fapping to weird porn and to hide my depression by cleaning myself.

 

It reduces our chances of getting sick and spreading diseases by removing germs, as well as reducing the places those germs can live in by removing dirt and dead skin. Animals and birds bathe as well, you know? And most fish bathe all the time.

 

There has been some studies that show we are most likely showering more often than we should. Bathing might clean us, but it also strips us of our natural oils resulting in drying of the skin or hair. Shampoo basically strips the oils, and conditioner is just reapplying some oils. It's the same with using lotion/moisturizers after a shower. I think the source I am referring to mentioned something about only having to shower once every 2-3 days but I can't remember.

With that said, I shower daily (would love to bathe but who has the time to soak?) - equally for hygiene and for waking me up, taking away stress, and making me feel better being wrapped in a hot shower (or a cold shower when you are sweating balls)

 

No need. You could just lick yourself or let your wives do it like our overlord cat-sama.

 

Simplest Answer: To get clean
Long Answer: Ask Google-sensei for those scientific reasons.

 

I suggest not showering for a week and letting them sleep on your bed. Then ask them if they think it is necessary or not.

 

You...don't have to. I mean, this was a thing in the Middle Ages when taking a bath meant either sitting in a river or making several trips with a bucket of water. So the rich aristocrats used perfume to cover up their smell while the commoners got used to the smell.

That said, the Bubonic plague was a thing during those times too...

 

Yes, you can shower every day, but you shouldn't use shampoo every day. EXCEPT, there Micellar shampoos which supposedly don't strip you of the natural oils.

 

Well there's that one man who didn't shower/bathe in like 60 years.

Some researchers claim if he did shower though, he might actually get sick and die

 

Truly a shower every other day is okay for cleansing. I only shower once on the weekends if I stay home since my activity level is low. But we shower so that other people will accept us.

 

Because the world is filthy and showers are the closest to pure your gonna get

 

If you shower each day, you probably exercise a lot. But do find out more about why you shouldn't shower that much 'normally' or what to change if you do end up doing it.

That being said, health is one reason. Society is another.However, you could probably wipe yourself as well, which might take care of much of what's needed at a much lower water consumption.

 

Basically, from health point of view, we don't exactly need to shower every day. Or rather, that would be so in natural environment, where washing would be mostly getting rid of skin excretions (sweat, extra oils, dead skin cells etc) that would otherwise cause inflammation and infection. However, we don't live in natural environment, we live in artificial human society, with most people living in cities.

So we got to deal with extra pressure from pathogens, all sort of microscopic dusts, dirt and other kinds of pollution from exhaust, construction, factories etc. Not to mention that living densely packed together is just an pandemic playground for all sort of pathogens - for other animal species, living like that would regularly cause massive epidemics (like how it is with ants, who occasionally die out by whole nests). It's not even limited to things straightforward like "you don't wash your hands and get diarrhea", but we get a complex network of carriers, hosts, mutations etc almost straight from Plague Inc. game.

So yeah, to wrap it up - washing several times per day is unnatural and may even be slightly harmful, but it is the best option the human society currently has.

 

To real...

 

Because we became “cultured” swines.


And that we smell really bad if we didnt.

 

Also the strange designs of cloths. Ruffled and high collars kept odor from escaping, wigs to hide unwashed hair, Multi layered dresses...

 

Yes this is a good answer for a child, be simple so just show them why

Spoiler: This is the dude who did what shouldn't be done

 

There's studies that living with pets, and the dirt they bring is very health for children to grow up with. Dirt helps children develop resistances.
Keep your children away from cleaning chemicals, such as when they crawl/play on the ground. Dirt is better than pinesol. Just clean the floor with water and elbow grease.