‘I wash my hands and genitals – the rest I gave up’: how the pandemic changed our hygiene habits

Lockdown affected all our routines when it comes to showering, bathing, shampooing and deodorant. Will regular washing ever resume?

Without much strenuous activity, a pair of underpants will last for two days before they go into the wash, while socks are good for three days, if you aren't tramping around too much", says Simon Clifford, an electronics designer from Great Yarmouth. Showers? Every other day is fine. He is still using deodorant and, since it promises 48-hour protection", he may as well test it to the limit. Does he smell? It's hard to say, since he lives alone. But he has been back at work since the beginning of the month. Nobody has complained," he says. And I've got a couple of good friends at work who would say something. I can't find any indication that there's any need to wash any more than I am."

In the year since the pandemic took hold in Britain, we have been both washing more - our hands, at least - and probably washing the rest of us less. In February a YouGov survey found 17% of Brits were showering less often than before (although 10% were showering more), while nearly a third said they were less likely to put clean clothes on, and a quarter were washing their hair less frequently. Sales of deodorant are in decline - according to figures from the retail analysts Mintel, 28% of people have been using less. For younger people, this is even more marked - 45% of generation Z and 40% of millennials are dodging deodorant. A survey for GSK Consumer Health found only 9% of people had improved their oral health routine, despite snacking a lot more; 5% said it had declined. We have become the great unwashed.