How Often Should You Shower as You Age?

There is no single right number. How often you shower depends on your skin, how active you are, how much you sweat and how easy your shower is to use. What changes with age is the balance. Skin tends to get drier, so more washing is not always kinder, while comfort and safety start to matter more.

What the experts say

Writing for Harvard Health, Dr. Robert Shmerling notes that for most people, showering several times a week is plenty, and that short showers focused on the armpits and groin may be all that is needed in between. There are good reasons to shower more often: after exercise or heavy sweating, in hot weather, or simply because you feel better for it.

Why skin needs a lighter touch with age

Dry skin, or xerosis, is common with age. In their review, White-Chu and Reddy point out that humidity, bathing technique and emollients all make a difference. Washing removes some of the skin's natural oils, and Lambers and colleagues found that even tap water raises the skin's naturally acidic surface pH for a while.

The American Academy of Dermatology's advice for dry skin is simple:

• Keep baths and showers to five to ten minutes.
• Use warm water and a gentle cleanser.
• Blot your skin dry with a towel.
• Apply moisturizer right away, while skin is still slightly damp.

A routine that fits your needs

• Full shower: several times a week, or daily if you prefer, sweat a lot or are very active.
• Daily wash of the key areas: with a washcloth at the sink if you like. Cover the underarms, groin, under the breasts, the feet and between the toes, the back of the neck and behind the ears. These are the places where sweat and skin oil gather.
• Hair: as often as your scalp needs. An oily scalp may need it more often than you expect. See Why Your Scalp Smells Even After Washing.

After 65, a warm bathroom and a few simple safety aids matter as much as the wash itself.

Our shower routine for skin after 40 covers the steps of a full shower.

Does showering less cause body odor?

Not if the key areas stay clean. Odor forms when skin bacteria break down sweat and oils, so what matters most is the places with the most sweat and oil glands. From around 40, skin oils also change and can leave a greasy, grassy note on collars and pillowcases, so the nape, chest and back deserve attention too. Read Why Body Odor Changes After 40 for more.

Staying safe in the bathroom

In Japan, where long, deep, hot baths are a daily ritual, an estimated 19,000 people die each year while bathing, mostly in winter and mostly people over 65. In his review, Tochihara describes how blood pressure rises in a cold dressing room and then drops in hot water, which can lead to fainting. Suzuki and colleagues found that bath-related deaths in people over 65 rose as air temperatures fell.

Showers work differently from deep baths, but the same principles help:

• Warm the bathroom first. Tochihara recommends keeping the dressing room and bathroom at 20°C (68°F) or higher, and a few degrees warmer for people over 65.
• Keep the water warm and showers short.
• Use a non-slip mat and, if you can, fit a grab rail.
• Consider a shower seat so you can wash sitting down.
• Keep soap and towel within easy reach so you are not stretching or bending on a wet floor.
• Stand up slowly when you finish.

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