Image Source: Getty/Bauer-Griffin/Han Myung-Gu/Miikka Skaffari
Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Jake Gyllenhaal were all in the news recently, but probably not for what you’d think. All four celebrities made headlines for . . . their bathing habits. Allow us to explain.
In an interview with Vanity Fair on August 5, Gyllenhaal made mention of his bathing ritual (or lack thereof): “More and more I find bathing to be less necessary, at times.” He went on to quote the Elvis Costello song “New Lace Sleeves” and said, “I do believe, because Elvis Costello is wonderful, that good manners and bad breath get you nowhere So I do that. But I do also think that there’s a whole world of not bathing that is also really helpful for skin maintenance, and we naturally clean ourselves.”
He’s not alone – on July 27, Kunis and Kutcher went on Dax Shepard and Monica Padman’s podcast, Armchair Expert, and talked about their unique showering habits. “I don’t wash my body with soap every day,” said Kunis. “But I wash pits and tits and holes and soles.” Kutcher added: “I wash my armpits and my crotch daily, and nothing else ever.”
Shortly after the internet exploded over this news, Bell chimed in on Aug. 3 with her support on an episode of The View. She explained she and Shepard used to bathe their kids daily but then stopped. “We forgot,” said Bell. She continued, “I’m a big fan of waiting for the stink. Once you catch a whiff, that’s biology’s way of letting you know you need to clean it up.”
But despite how popular Bell’s “wait for the stink” philosophy is among the above crowd, the divide their words caused on the internet (mainly, Twitter) hints that it’s not a popular opinion. But, it’s not necessarily wrong. In short: Gyllenhaal may be onto something.
How often you should – or shouldn’t – shower depends on many different factors but, according to NYC-based dermatologist Joshua Zeichner, MD, “Under normal circumstances, showering every day is not necessary.” That said, “you should wash areas like your face, groin, and underarms daily,” which is what Kunis and Kutcher said they do. We say: to each their own.
