Wow...I didn't think there were other people who had an issue with hygiene. Thanks for posting this. Mine's always been bad. It just seems like too much work to have to brush my teeth every day and shower regularly, like it's a chore. It has varying degrees of badness though, like sometimes I brush my teeth almost every day and shower once a week (yes, once a week is probably the most I shower; school and showering in the same day make me feel like there isn't any other time left in the day for anything else, and I have to have time to myself). Recently, I think my hygiene has hit a low point, due a little bit to depression also. A little while ago I went 5 weeks without a shower, and I must have only brushed my teeth a couple of times during the month of December. I have no problem with deodorant- since I don't shower as much as I should, I have to put it on after getting up and before going to bed.
KWifler
Sea Gull
Joined: 11 Aug 2011
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 236
Location: Bellingham, WA, USA, Earth
Professionals in my area say that not bathing is a sign of anti-social personality and extreme depression.
Maybe it's an aspie thing sometimes. From now on that's what I am going to say to them.
I've always had a problem with keeping clean.
My grandma was watching the Dr Oz show, and I happened to be within range of the TV while I was washing my personal dish when I heard about the greatest solution to the bathing problem that I've ever heard.
==Baking Soda==
In a solution of 1 tablespoon to 1/2 or 1 cup of water. One small warning though, it tastes kind-of salty. You can wash your hair with it, you can rinse your mouth with it, you can splash it on your underarms when they stink and wipe the sticky smelly stuff off with it. I even suck some up my nose to treat my chronic sinus infection problem, and my sinuses clear up. It's also cheap and widely available pretty-much everywhere. It's not as harsh as antibacterial soap, and I don't think it smells like anything. I actually like the slick feeling that it makes that tells me what parts of my body are dirty. I even wash my face with it sometimes. I am highly sensitive to tap water, but luckily we have a refrigerator that dispenses purified water that I am able to wash with.
I have always had a huge problem with doing the self-care chores, and right now I'm more sensitive than ever. I almost gave up on bathing altogether a few months ago, but now I have hope that I won't have to be hospitalized, because I also have a weak immune system due to Crohn's Disease. I'm not currently healthy enough to keep any kind of routine now, so baking soda has probably saved my life.
_________________
Still alive...
I have come onto this this site tonight with the exact same issues. When I try to explain it to people they don't understand.
I hate brushing and flossing because no matter how many times I have tried to get into the routine it never sticks and causes increasing anxiety trying to keep it up- it's just not a natural part of my routine. When I was younger I was a little better because I was trying to fit into that society that puts so much importance on hygiene, but now I don't care what way I come across to people, as even when I tried to fit in I was subjected to a lot of negative experiences by people. So now I when going to college I try to put some effort into hygiene but often can still go into college without having showered in over 5 days. Granted I am finding keeping up with the course is taking up 90% of my time and energy.
In the last year I'd say I brushed my teeth 6 times. Thing is teeth falling out freak me out and having gaps in my teeth. So while I have this worry I never have enough motivation to keep up brushing or flossing. I'd love if it was just enough to just use mouthwash or roughly rub on toothpaste with my fingers.
I quite like the smell of natural body odour in moderation- I hate the smell of perfume and any other artificial scents- makes me gag.
I never wash my face or feet anymore
I wear the same clothes for about five days before changing except socks and that
I do the very very very least that will get me by. Thing is animals get by with a basic level of grooming and hygiene so why can't that be ok for us too?
The way I am now actually keeps people away from me which I fine by me- I don't want to date or be in a relationship, I have a solid group of friends who don't say anything about it so again it is fine by me. My anxiety is reduced when I don't view the way I am now in terms of hygiene as a problem. My anxiety and stress is increased when my family nag me about it.
I think the alcohol gels and the idea of the wipes and dry shampoo are brilliant- they're not part of my routine either so I can never remember to use them or bring them with me either.
As my the doctor who diagnosed my Aspergers said- Functioning difficulties come from the fact that the mind does not function well with something it is not set on. As I don't see hygiene as important as society sees it to be - quite simply I have so many other struggles that this is one that I don't bother with anymore.
I am actually the opposite, I have to shower everyday or else my hair gets really greasy. I have a thing about germs, and not taking a shower makes me feel really gross! I do martial arts classes 3 times a week, and I get really sweaty from that so showers are a must.
I understand the sensory issues about not taking a shower, when I was younger I hated them cuz I was sensitive to water in my eyes, I hated that feeling so much!
_________________
F.A.I.L. is just the First Attempt in Life.....
^_^
I have trouble getting into a shower. I tried way to make it attractive and welcoming. The best of everything. And I don't even turn it on.
If I'm not washed I can't dress, so I can't go out.
Oh - here's one of my stupid merry go rounds: assuming I could shower and get dressed and go out - I would need clean clothes, for which I need change for the washing machine, to get which I have to go out, which I can't do until I shower ...
Help?
I shower daily, but mostly because I just feel so bad if I break my routine - get up, shower, eat... I can't even shower in the evening instead because it's a disruption
I'm laughing now, but in real life I can't go camping or visit a place with no shower because it ruins my day. I also need to have a certain hair style, make-up, obviously access to my toothbrush, clean clothes.
I'd rather be the other way, seriously, and just not care about these things.
Showering is my favourite thing in the world but not much washing goes on I tend to sit on the floor and let my ADHD brain space out. Sometimes I lift the soap and like some archeologist I turn it in my hand but I tend to just put it down again. The only trigger to get out of the shower is the hot water running out. Also there seems to be a lot of black mould in the shower so probably not the best place to get clean.
My hairdresser refers to me as the girl with the knot in her hair lovely
I force myself to do my makeup in the car the car is not a model of good hygiene either.
dragonsanddemons
Veteran
Joined: 19 Mar 2011
Gender: Non-binary
Posts: 6,659
Location: The Labyrinth of Leviathan
I also have problems with things like brushing my teeth, washing my face, and showering. Mostly I just really don't want to do it for some reason, even though after a shower I feel much better than I did before. I don't sweat a lot and it takes about two and a half days for my hair to get greasy, so showering every other day is sufficient for me, but I tend to push it to every three or four days. Hygiene hasn't really been high on my priority list, but I'd like to make it higher. I think what I need to do is form a routine/schedule, and then it'll be easier to stick to it.
_________________
Yet in my new wildness and freedom I almost welcome the bitterness of alienage. For although nepenthe has calmed me, I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.
-H. P. Lovecraft, "The Outsider"
I've always struggled with hygiene/grooming, to the point of having been pulled up by friends/school/bosses throughout my life. As for the reasons, a few things spring to mind...
- Simply not noticing that I need to.
- Depression leading me to simply not care any more.
- Lack of sleep leaving too little time, too little energy between waking and having to go out.
- Getting too engrossed in my interests to make the time.
- I Prefer human beings to smell like human beings rather than the godawful stench of toiletries.
There's definitely been a huge shift in society's expectations over the course of my lifetime - mostly led by toiletry/cosmetics companies wanting to relieve us of our money. When I was a lad, washing "peepers and privates" (face, armpits, groin) morning and night was expected, but showering or bathing only once or twice a week was considered perfectly acceptable ("bath night"). I don't recall any reason to think this was specific to our household, and I cringe at the waste of water and energy when I hear about people bathing/showering multiple times in one day.
I think the toiletry/cosmetic industry very much fits the idea that "marketing is not about selling people solutions, it is about selling them problems." For example, women shaving their legs has only been commonplace for little over a century, and was a "problem" invented in a marketing campaign by Gillette because women previously had no reason to buy their products. The history of soap, de-odourant, shampoo etc. are mostly similar.
So, though I do feel like I neglect myself quite often, I do think that society's expectations these days are pretty ridiculous.
PS: How the hell can something which smells so overpoweringly strong be called a 'de-odourant'? "Short-range chemical weaponry" seems more accurate to me! I can't sit within several seat rows of half the passengers I have to share a bus with these days, the taste in the air around them is so vile and my eyes start watering.
_________________
When you are fighting an invisible monster, first throw a bucket of paint over it.
Mismatch I can relate holding my hands above my head to blow dry my hair sux! It definitely adds to hair washing avoidance and it doesn’t help that I have hair extensions.
So I’m all kinds of stupid lots of unwashed hair is better for than just shoulder length unwashed hair surely?!
I feel very uncomfortable when I'm unclean. Having greasy hair and sweaty arms in particular makes me restless and desperate to have a good wash.
I wash myself in a sink every morning, and wash my hair in the shower every other afternoon.
_________________
I'm sailing across Spectrum Sea, in my little boat.
The waters of the port were choppy. After I set off, there was a long, massive storm.
Years later, however, the sea calmed. I'm still on tranquil sea, but I'll never reach the Neurotypical Beach.
I used to have this, but what helped me is realising the itching that was driving me mental was related to bad hygiene. So, more showers = less itching!
_________________
New Facebook community to help us mange and thrive on the spectrum, using food as medicine, exercise, herbs, and more. All are welcome, just click here to join: https://m.facebook.com/groups/1117754195026933
I hate showering and brushing my teeth. I tried really hard to keep up the shaving and makeup routine through high school and most of college, but I haven't shaved or worn makeup regularly in probably close to 10 years at this point.
I think my issues with hygiene are sensory, though. I hate the transition of going from dry to wet in the shower, I hate water splashing in my face, not all of me can be under the stream of water at the same time, so part of me is always wet and cold, and then I hate turning the water off and that half second of standing there wet and cold while I scramble for a towel to keep the water from my hair from running into my face, and then drying the rest of me as quickly as possible. I took daily baths instead of showers all the way through high school to avoid all this shower awfulness, but now I have a hand shower that I can use to JUST wash my hair when I can't justify a bath and can't get myself to full-shower. Baby wipes on the rest of me work great for no-shower days.
I hate brushing my teeth because the toothpaste runs down the toothbrush onto my hand, so I have to keep stopping to rinse my hand, or try to grin and bear it. Since I realized this was the part that was bugging me, I've started experimenting with brushing my teeth with my head tipped back so it all stays in my mouth till I spit. I'm sure it looks weird, but it has made brushing my teeth a less awful experience lately.