Hygiene

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Hygiene is very important to me. I shower every morning when I wake up. I don't always shave every day though I try to. I have a mustache for Movember right now... I digress. Dental hygiene too, I go nuts if I can't floss, brush and rinse with Listerine at least twice a day. The scummy feeling of plaque on my teeth is one of my most hated sensations.

Hygiene isn't all that important to me although I am generally a clean person and I never stink (or so I think)

Right now I'm doing good with hygiene. my body and my teeth are clean.
When I was a kid I hated taking a shower and I hated the material of towels. It made me never want to bath.

Im99% certain I have ADHD. Its almost laughable how similar the personality profiles are that I could cry. Because of this I tend to put off things like buying socks or new trainers which leads to serious reekage during the day.

I also wont brush my teeth for weeks (yes weeks) because I just cant be bothered//dont see the point. I know I should. I know my mouth will be declared to be a national health risk at some point but I just.dont.care.

I also only shower because when I dont I feel dirty and cant focus at all.

Paradoxically I have severe OCD though ahaha its mainly around things I cant control or foreign dirt. I could get urine all over my laptop and wouldnt really care all that much. Someone else's urine/sweat... time to procure my handy bottle of vinegar and baking soda

I have sensory issues with water touching my face. I hate taking showers. Also it takes me longer to shower because of my lack of coordination. I only shower for other people so that I don't smell too bad. I don't go out and interact with others, I don't shower.

I guess the same things goes for brushing my teeth, shaving, combing my hair, and dressing appropriately. I only do it for other people because I hate doing it and don't care.

People have coached me on how to look nice and how important it is to be hygienic, so over the years I have learned how to follow the rules and I even get complemented quite often. It is all a show though, so that I don't get negative attention.

Pre-diagnosis, I bathed three times a week, shaved ever other day, and used deodorant and aftershave regularly. Since then, it's slumped to a bath and a shave every ten days or so (if I can be bothered) and very infrequent use of toiletries. This may be due to going through a bad relationship at the time of diagnosis, which has left me with little self-pride. I do will make sure I get a good haircut once a month, just in case, however.

No, you're not the only one who has an issue with the smell of deodorants. My brother also hygiene issue. He doesn't want his deodorant, bar soap, cologne etc. to have a smell.

I wash my hair. I shower. I change my clothes. I brush my teeth. The only problem I've had lately is looking like I don't brush my hair. I brush my hair every morning, but by the end of the school day it's frizzy and tangled. That probably has to do with my split ends. I have a terrible time realizing when I need a haircut.

I shower every day without fail. I wash my hair every other day and shave my face 2-3 times a week. I brush my teeth twice a day and floss 3-4 times a week. I always use deodorant too. I don't have any issues with the smell of bathroom products. In fact, I usually quite like the scent of the products that I use.

Yep. Me too....I've had this problem since I was a child. As most kids do, I used to fight having to take a bath. But once I got in the tub, I didn't want to get out. But unlike most kids, I didn't grow out of that.

Up until about 10 years ago, showering was something that I rarely accomplished. I have gone weeks without showering or even changing my underwear -- it gags me now to think of how nasty I was. It would get so bad, that I could see streaks on my arms where the dirt was washed down when I washed my hands. My feet have been so dirty that I could see the outline on my ankle where my shoe ended. It never crossed my mind that if I could smell myself, others could too. What usually triggered me to shower was when someone said "What's that smell?" I knew it was probably me, and I would take care of the problem. But it never got to be a habit. I think I lost a boyfriend partly because of this. I have no proof, but I just can't help thinking that was the case.

Since I've learned about ASD, I've tried to analyze why I've always had so much problem with this. I know I don't like the water on my dry skin. Once I get completely wet, I love being in the water and don't want to get out (just like when I was a kid...heheh). I wonder also whether being cold when I get out of the warm water could be an issue as well. I don't like that chilled feeling, and dread it when I get ready for a shower. And there are plenty of times I MEAN to get up and take a shower, but it just never happens. I get involved in a movie or I fall asleep, and it doesn't happen. I have to make a plan to do it, as in "I will plan to get up early enough in the morning to take a shower."

Now I'm doing a little better -- showering about once a week of so -- still sounds bad, but it's a HUGE upgrade for me. I wash my hair probably every other shower. Even if I was a daily showerer, I wouldn't wash my hair every day. It's big and wavy, and needs a teeny bit of oil and dirt in it to keep it from getting too frizzy. I used to not worry about combing my hair either -- I just pulled it back in a scrunchie. I thought that was taking care of the problem until I was told it pretty much looked like a rat's nest. So now, I
comb it every day...I still depend on the scrunchies though, because it drives me nuts for my hair to touch my face.

As for shaving, I do it as little as possible. I NEVER shave the undercarriage -- I figure that hair is there for a reason, and I don't touch it. As for underarms, I don't have a lot of hair there, so it's not really a problem. My legs are SUPER hairy, but I rarely shave those either. I'm not seeing anyone at the moment, so I don't worry about it. I guess if I was dating someone who gave a crap about whether or not I was shaved my legs, I would do it. But otherwise...eh.

My teeth are a different matter. I could probably do better, but I do brush at least once every day (in the morning) and floss occasionally. I'm freaked out by nasty funky teeth, and I don't want mine to be that way. My smile is probably my best feature, and I don't want to mess that up.

"Hygiene" refers to the preservation of health. It is not necessary to bathe every day, or even every few days, in order to remain healthy. The use of soap is not hygienic, unless you've got serious germs on you from something particular (like...surgery. everyday germs are not unhygienic) and use anti-bacterial soap. Shaving is certainly not a matter hygiene. Hygiene does not require deodorant.

What you all are discussing are mere grooming mores. It bothers me to see people wasting their time/energy with useless grooming expectations, especially when they are physically harmful (soap strips the skin of needed oil, causes vaginal infections, deodorant contains pharmaceuticals that cause goddess knows what...it has been implicated as a possible cause of breast cancer, if I remember correctly).

I don't wear deodorant or use soap (scrub with washcloth and hot water) and I smell fine (and by fine I mean like a normal, clean human being; people who prefer the smell of artificial fragrances may disagree) but it does require washing the underarms regularly. Because I don't use soap, my skin doesn't get so dried out, and I don't need lotion (and wouldn't use it anyway; it has shady ingredients, just like deodorant). Pure coconut oil or other natural oils are good for moisturizing the skin and hair. Many people have found that, when they stop washing their hair so often, washing it often becomes unnecessary. When you stop constantly washing away the scalp's oil, the scalp doesn't produce as much. I wash my hair once a month and it's fine. I scrub with a scalp massager under the shower spray every time I shower (in between hair washings), and it keeps dust and other everyday things out of the hair; no shampoo required. Short haircuts also help. I've never understood why women bother to keep their hair long if they don't want to deal with it and constantly wear it in a ponytail. Just cut it already.

I most often view hygiene and grooming tasks as incredibly boring wastes of time. So I try to take care of those things as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Bathing - Though I really like the massage part of a shower, the noise makes me avoid them. So I recently changed from showers to baths. For baths I turn on the water then leave the bathroom while it fills; I can then soak in peace. A hot bath relaxes me and changes my mood for the better. I bath a couple of times a week.

Scents - I have no problem with unscented deodorants. I am almost addicted to my Sandlewood talc.

Dental - I brush teeth and scrape my tongue after every meal, and floss daily, so no problems with that routine. I have enough struggles in life without getting toothaches and having to spend time at the dentist.

Hair - I recently cut my hair very, very short so that I can basically ignore it without looking like a wild man. Ball caps help a lot too, especially because with my hair so short I otherwise can look like Uncle Fester from Adam's Family.

Shaving - I am beyond the age when stubble can look rakish and manly - instead I look like an old bum. I would like to shave daily, but usually only manage twice a week. It just seems like a big waste of time.

I hope this routine is sufficient. It helps that I am only out in society once each week.

I shower every day because if I don't, I feel dirty and itchy. I have a physically demanding job and work in a dusty warehouse so I also keep my hair really short so it is easy to wash and doesn't get itchy. I also wear deodorant every day since I do not like to smell like BO.

I shower everyday, brush my teeth twice a day, wash my hair twice a week but appearanly I am doing something wrong because my boss recently told me a ad a body odor
I guess it must be in my clothes

I have problems remembering to shower and shave and brush my teeth...like I can't remember the last time I brushed my teeth sometimes I remember though. My girlfriends have to remind me to shower, usually every other day or when I'm itchy or sore. Usually with the threat of no hugs.