Trend Alert: Bathing Less

These days, there are enough soaps, scrubs, shampoos, and deodorants to seemingly eradicate every last germ. But for some people, these types of personal hygiene products are being shoved to the wayside as a nonbathing trend is becoming more popular.

'We don’t need to wash the way we did when we were farmers,' Katherine Ashenburg, author of The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History, told the NYT. And since the invention of cars and less labor-intensive machinery, 'we have never needed to wash less, and we have never done it more,' she added.

While most people will bathe (or at least clean up with a washcloth) after an intense workout, many people prefer not to shower every day. They say it retains the natural oils of the skin and hair to hydrate and protect their bodies. Many are also concerned about the environmental impact of overusing water. There are also those who eschew antiperspirants and deodorants altogether, citing aluminum concerns.

But with special tricks, like using lemon under the arms to quell odors and dry shampoo to keep hair in check, not bathing might not be so bad after all. Would you consider bathing with less frequency?