Friday, May 14, 2010

Important Question

I've been sitting here thinking about politics and religion and things and so, naturally, I got to thinking about my shower routine and i wanted to ask you all a question. My routine has been tried and true for 15+ years. It would be very difficult for me to break the process I've so flawlessly streamlined. I imagine my routine is similar to other females', but i'm curious: What is your routine?

Here's mine:

get in, get wet.

put in shampoo. let it sit while i wash face.

rinse face, rinse hair.

apply conditioner.
wash body and shave legs
rinse body and hair.

dry off, wrap hair in towel.
exit shower.
apply lotion
apply mousse to hair

It's very efficient. I waste no time. Every once in a while i am deep in thought and forget to put in conditioner and move right on to the soap. When i rinse it off and realize i have no conditioner in my hair i shake my fists and curse the heavens. "Nooooo!" because then i have to just stand there for a couple of minutes doing nothing to let the conditioner do its job. I hate that.

Here's what Sean's is, I'm pretty sure:

get in shower, stand for 10 minutes.
shampoo hair,
rinse

rinse
wash body
rinse
rinse
wash face
rinse
rinse.
stand.
rinse.


wash again??
rinse??

Alright, maybe not a second wash.
But Sean takes eterni-showers. I don't rebuke him. I just mock him. There's no way he should be taking longer showers than I, (sometimes my arms get tired from shampooing my frickin hair) and yet he does. I attribute this to him being an over-cleaner. Looots of soap. Eeeextra soap. Riiiiiinse rinse for a loonnnng time. This is also why he is an eterni-dish-washer.

So because i ponder the important things in life, what is your routine? Is it very different from mine? are you more like Sean?

16 comments:

Rob said...

politics often makes me feel dirty sometimes too.

I am a Jen/Sean combo.

Get in, wet
shampoo, rinse
conditioner
wash body
wash face
rinse all
stand in the warm water or fight with the knobs until it's just right because our shower likes to be ice cold or scalding hot. Sometimes I lay down in the shower and just enjoy the warmness (this will have to change when I own a home and have to pay for water AND Heat). Maybe that was TMI. Am I really commenting on this?

Natalie R. said...

I only use two-in-one shampoo/conditioner because otherwise my showers take forever. I always was my face, wash my hair, and then wash everywhere else. I use soap when I shave (instead of shaving cream) so as to kill two birds with one stone and save a bit of money on shaving cream.

)en said...

yeah i totally just use soap. I like shave gel but it's unnecessary. I like loofas too but i just don't care anymore. Bar is fine for me.

Also: i must note that i wash my face when i do because i use face cleanser and not just soap. This was important to clarify.

Thanks for your comments. Rob, yes you did, and you are better for it.

Rachel said...

Get in and wet.
Shampoo hair.
Rinse.
Condition hair and wash face with face wash.
Rinse.
Wash body.
Rinse.

I like having time for my hair to drip dry before I get out. Thus the rinsing hair for the last time before I wash my body.

I too sometimes forget to condition. It's annoying and I am more wet when I get out. And it takes me forever to dry my hair because it's thick.

Ashley said...

I'm pretty much the same as everyone else, although I wash my face very first so that any face wash that accidentally ends up in my hair gets washed out with the shampoo. That's the method for that particular madness, anyway.

I love this dialogue going about shower routines, and it also reminds me of how we got onto this subject one time in Poland and the Polish friends we were with thought Americans were CRAZY for showering in the morning. Nearly everyone does it an night there, and it's vital to their hygiene and health, apparently. They think it's disgusting to go to bed dirty. I wish they would realize it's disgusting to go out into public dirty the next day, but whatever.

)en said...

No, I totally see the Poles' side. Because if you shower at night, how dirty are you going to be in the morning? Unless you sleep in a mud pit. Do you? Do you Ash?

That's why you bathe a kid at night, right? Because they're filth city from the day. (perhaps this is my defense for not showering every day. I just hate it alright? I hate it BAD)

(but i sometimes take cool showers at night in the summertime when i've sweated my guts out)

Alanna said...

I'm joining in totally late, but I'm of the "the longer the shower, the better" school of thought. The best thing in the world is showering on the weekends when Craig is home and I don't have to worry (too much) about what trouble the kids may be getting into while I'm busy standing there.

I go face, then shampoo, and then everything else while my hair is off my back wrapped up around my head. I don't want to get the shower gel I'm using on my shoulders and back into my hair! This order changes slightly when I have to shave my legs, because otherwise shampoo drips down my forehead into my eyes, which makes it really hard to shave...

If I had an infinite supply of money, I would waste SO much of it on shower gels and shaving creams and everything scented you can think of. Bath and Body Works is one of those stores I have to avoid because it's such a weakness to me...

I HAVE to shower in the morning. Otherwise my hair looks completely whacked. Like something from the late 60s-early 70s, but less stylish. Horrid.

Joel said...

Hair
Face
Everything else
Shave

Seriously, why don't men generally shave in the shower? You can stand at the sink half naked and freezing, or you can luxuriate in the hot water and let your pores open properly. In my book, anything you can do that lets you stand in the hot water longer is worth doing. If I could do other chores in the shower, I totally would.

)en said...

Ok, i'm totally entertained reading about people's routines. Who knew? Who... knew.

Joel, what if you shaved before the shower. Then you aren't cold and you can rinse off all the stuff. I'm no shaving expert though.

Any chore? what aboooout, vacuuming? Ha ha haaa.

Rob said...

Shave before showering?! Are you crazy?! Might as well hack your face off with Freddie Kruger's glove thingy.

I need to get a mirror in my shower. That would totally rock.

)en said...

What?? it's not like you don't use any water or say, shaving cream?? I'm pretty sure Sean shaves before showering. Maybe he can back me up here.

Sean said...

I always shave before showering. That gives me a chance to disinfect any cuts and wash away any blood. (I am not always at the top of my dexterity game in the morning) Also, why bring a beard into the shower if you're just going to shave it off when you leave? Plus, don't you have to wash off the shaving cream after shaving? That's makes for too many washes for one morning.

Rob said...

I have found my beard needs to soften up or something. Just splashing some water on it doesn't quite do it. If I don't shower before my skin doesn't like it at all. Although I can see the merits of showering after. Maybe I'll just shower before AND after. Or get a mirror in the shower like I said before.

Joel said...

I don't shave before showering because you need to wash your face first (and what's the point of washing before you shower?) and the steam in the shower opens the pores for a better shave than just hot water in the sink.

I do have a mirror in the shower now (it's actually a mirror/radio combo), but it was also a fun challenge to learn to shave by feel.

Natalie R. said...

This is a hilarious post, it's fun reading everyone's routine. Joel's post reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Kramer decides to do everything in the shower. Classic!

And speaking of Europeans, I had a Swiss companion who only showered once (maybe twice) a week, and then would complain about dirty Americans who only wash their sheets every 2-4 weeks. I always wanted to point out that if you're not filthy when you go to sleep, your sheets don't need to be washed as often, right?

Kim said...

I am staunchly in the before-bed showering side of things. In bed with daytime dirties? Yuck-o!

But I am also a cannot-function-without-a-shower-in-the-morning-type person. Which leads to (cringe) my twice-daily showering habit.

I know!

Night showers include shampoo, rinse, condition, rinse, lather body/shave legs, wash face, rinse body and face. (approx 7 min)

Morning showers are a quick rinse of the hair and then a lathering of face and body, rinse. (approx 3 minutes)

Don't tell anyone but I luuurve showering. If I lived closer to work, I might be tempted to sneak a quick one in on my lunch break.