A woman named Eve Tilley has gone viral online after admitting she showers just twice a week.
In a now-deleted TikTok, she shared her personal hygiene routine, seemingly unaware it would cause such fierce backlash.
“How many times a week is the average person showering?” Eve, who is a successful lawyer, asked her nearly 200,000 followers.
“Because I understand you’re only meant to wash your hair about two or three times a week, so I probably wash my hair once or twice a week.
“But here’s the kicker, and I don’t want any judgment, because this is a judgment-free zone – because this is TikTok … I shower about twice a week.”
She blamed her aversion to getting wet, being cold afterwards, and not wanting to wash her hair every time she showers.
Despite her hope that TikTok would be a judgment-free zone, the comments section was anything but.
However, on one side, Eve found some allies – people who also hated showering.
Some admitted it was an overwhelming, tedious task, especially for those with ADHD or mental health struggles.
Comments like: “Thank you for sharing, I thought I was the only one who hated it! It’s like torture!” and “It’s so overstimulating for me and tedious with all the steps.”
But the backlash was fierce.
One critic declared: “Personal hygiene is not a suggestion.”
“I shower every day, twice a day … what?” wrote another.
Others were simply in disbelief.
“How are people SO comfortable admitting this online?” one asked.
“As a woman, this is insane, it has to be rage bait,” a different user quipped.
Many also had questions about menstruation and Eve’s love life, so she clarified a few things in follow-up videos.
“No, this is not rage bait, no, my boyfriend has never said anything to me about it, and he showers every day,” she said.
“Yes, this includes when I was on my period. In fact, I wanted to shower even less when I was on my period. I just wanted to hibernate in a hole in sweatpants.”
She also shared that her infrequent showers might be linked to her depression, body image issues, and sensory issues.
She then addressed how her shower routine fits with her exercise routine, which involves walking and pilates.
“I don’t sweat much at all, even though I work out four to five times a week, but I rarely break a sweat,” she added.
According to Dr. Zac, there’s more nuance than meets the eye when it comes to how often someone should shower.
“There is no universal rule for how often you should shower because it depends on your skin type, activity level, and climate,” he told news.com.au.
“If you are working an office job, living in a cool climate, and not exercising daily, showering every second day may be perfectly fine. But if you are sweating, exercising, or working in close contact with others, daily washing is generally the better option for hygiene and social reasons.”
Dr. Zac warned that skipping too many showers can lead to body odour, folliculitis, acne, and fungal infections.
“When sweat, oils, and dead skin build up, they feed less-friendly bacteria and yeast,” he explained.
Not showering also increases the risk of dermatitis caused by bacteria that thrive in dirty environments.
On the other hand, showering too much can also be problematic.
Over-showering strips natural oils, dries out the skin, and can disrupt its protective barrier.
For most people, Dr. Zac recommends that “a quick daily shower with a gentle cleaner on key areas is enough.”
He also suggests skipping the soap on arms and legs every other day unless they are visibly dirty, and moisturising afterwards.
After the internet uproar, Eve launched a new TikTok experiment, a “shower every day for 30 days” challenge, sharing daily updates as she tried to romanticise the dreaded shower routine.
One day, she applied a luxurious body lotion after her shower. On day two, she added candles.
But by day three, her skin “felt drier” from all the washing, although days four to 15 brought a breakthrough and she started to enjoy it.
“Never showered this much in my whole life,” she confessed.
By day 19, she says she has a whole new gratitude for her ability to shower, recognising it as a “privilege” that not everyone gets to have.
She has now reframed it as a form of self-care and is excited to continue the challenge.
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