Horrendous hygiene! how about you?

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I just can't remember to do these things every day or if I do think of it I can't work up enough will and energy to bother to do it. I try to if I go out but not always because the more obstacles there are in my way of going out the more likely I won't bother and just stay home.

Also if I were to change my clothes as often as some people do I'd be spending a fortune that I don't have at the laundromat and would run out of clean clothes quickly. Even now I'm nearly out of good pajamas because the laundromat by me is unreliable and is frequently closed. It's been closed now for over 2 weeks and was closed another time for over a month.

I think modern hygiene standards are excessive anyways, especially if you are sedentary and don't do things that make you dirty or sweat a lot. When I was in the hospital recently one nurse was pretty amazed at my hair. She thought it looked unusually clean and nongreasy for not having been washed for days. She said by then most people would have had greasy and dirty hair.

I've became a bit obsessed with my personal hygiene lately.
I feel extremely uncomfortable if I need to go somewhere and can't shower beforehand, even if I already took a shower that day.

Where's my 10ft pole and fire hose...

I think hygiene is one of the easiest things Aspies can improve on. There's no social interaction involved, it doesn't require anything except yourself, soap and water. Poor hygiene is one of the fastest ways to get written off by girls and other people.

Make it habit, you can be in and out in 10 minutes, sometimes even 5.

Take control!

I had bad hygiene growing up. It was primarily due to sensory issues (I found showering, brushing my teeth, and brushing my hair painful) and also partly because I didn't realize people were grossed out by others who don't bathe and wear the same clothes over and over (theory of mind?). Gradually I came to realize that showering and changing my clothes were a fairly easy way I could fit in better. Now I shower and change my clothes every day, and I don't really mind. Showering is much less uncomfortable for me now - I guess I've gotten less sensitive in that particular way. I still hate brushing my teeth though. I really have to force myself every single time.

I have only internet friends and have an almost entirely virtual social life (by choice), and work from home too. The reason why I take a shower every day, change clothes every day and brush my teeth twice a day is simply because it has been my routine for many years.

That said, it isn't problem to bathe less than once a day. For hygiene purposes, the most important things to do daily are washing the hands and brushing the teeth. Not doing so is a proven health risk.

Fun fact: the women of a tribe in Namibia never bathe during their entire life (they rub themselves with red ocre instead). Visitors have testified that they don't smell bad.

Quick observation:

Some Aspies have sensory issues, or depression, or executive functions problems that may make washing difficult.

Other Aspies have sensory issues with smell, or touch that make being around unwashed people nightmarish.

Hence, both are "Aspergers traits."

Personally, I think people stink no matter if they wash or not. I even prefer "wet dog" to "human smell."

I have a bath every day. I would shower/bathe more often because I cycle everywhere, but there's no showers at work.
I always brush my teeth at least twice a day.
I use deoderant every day without fail and carry deoderant in my bag with me. Just because without it I know I stink.

I think that's pretty standard hygiene.

If I don't bathe in a day I feel horrible. Very occasionally if I'm not leaving the house and having a lazy day, I won't bathe till the evening, but I usually don't end up doing anything because I feel like crap because I haven't washed.

I too am a bit obsessed by it. I HAVE to shower every day. It's a part of my "routine". It's a sensory issue for me if I don't shower

I am pretty obsessed with keeping up, really.

Adaptive skills deficits are common in autistic spectrum disorders. While a diagnosis of AS is supposed to exclude such deficits, the reality is that most people who are diagnosed with AS have those deficits at some point during their lives.

I didn't understand hygiene standards until I was 18 or so, when it was explained to me in extreme and insulting detail by my suddenly former housemate.

Also, executive dysfunction plays a role in disrupting hygienic habits.