Shower Quickly

There are many benefits to showering quickly. Perhaps you are running late, or perhaps you want to save water. With discipline and foresight, you can take a number of steps to streamline your shower routine.

Steps

Setting Up a Quick Shower

  1. Take cold showers. If the water is cold, you may find that you're less inclined to wallow in the shower. Jump into the shower as soon as you turn it on, and try to keep the shower on for under two minutes. Beyond efficiency, cold showers can increase alertness, improve circulation, stimulate weight loss, ease stress, and speed muscle recovery.[1]
  2. Complete other tasks while the water heats up. If you don't want to jump right into a cold shower, turn on the water and complete other tasks while the stream warms. Depending on the efficiency of your water heater and the number of other people taking showers, your system might heat up almost immediately, or it might take as long as a few minutes. Find a few quick tasks that you can complete while you're waiting.
    • Get undressed. Lay out your post-shower outfit. Quickly prepare anything else you might need for the day.
    • Take out your shower supplies. Prepare your shampoo, conditioner, soap, powder, deodorant, towel, and anything else that you'll need.
    • Brush your teeth while the water warms up. Once the water is warm, you can finish brushing your teeth in the shower. Spit out the toothpaste and wash your brush in the shower to save water and time.
  3. Time yourself. Consider setting an alarm for one, two, or three minutes, depending on how quick of a shower you want to take. Train yourself to race against the clock. When the alarm goes off, get out of the shower, even if you aren't completely done. With the pressure on, you may find new ways to optimize your routine. Challenge yourself to speed up your showers by at least a few seconds every week.[2]
  4. Try the "navy shower."[3] Use the first thirty seconds to get yourself wet. Then, turn off the water during the middle portion of the shower while you lather up with soap. Finally, turn the water back on to rinse off in a minute or less. This is a great way to save water and energy, and it might well spur you to take shorter showers.[4]

Washing Your Hair

  1. Be efficient with shampoo and conditioner. Squeeze a dollop of shampoo onto your hand, then quickly and thoroughly mix it into your hair. Let it sit for thirty seconds while you wash your body or perform another shower task. Then, wash the shampoo out while you squeeze a bit of conditioner into your palm. Run the conditioner through your hair, then let it sit for up to a minute as you shave, exfoliate, or perform another shower task. Wash the conditioner of your hair and get out of the shower.
  2. Wash your hair with a 2-in-1 shampoo conditioner. Look for a cleansing conditioner product that contains a 1:3 ratio of shampoo to conditioner. This way, you can clean your hair while you condition it. It may be easier to shower quickly if you don't need to take the time to apply and rinse out two separate hair-care products.[5]
  3. Use high water pressure to wet your hair quickly. Long or thick hair may take more time to wash than shorter cuts. If your shower has a nozzle with adjustable water pressure, turn on a jet stream so the water sprays harder. The more quickly your hair gets wet, the more quickly you can wash it.
  4. Consider not washing your hair. If you're in a hurry, try foregoing the shampoo and conditioner for the day. Get your hair wet, but don't use any time-consuming hair products. You do not need to shampoo your hair every day.[6]
    • If you're feeling dirty, but you're in an extreme rush, consider leaving your hair dry altogether. Use a shower cap to keep the moisture out, or simply hold your hair out of the shower stream.

Streamlining Shower Tasks

  1. Lather soap efficiently. Squeeze a dollop of soap onto your hand, and spread your palm and fingers as wide as possible. Use your outstretched hand to quickly and efficiently cover the maximum surface area of your body. You may be surprised how much area your hands can cover when they're fully spread out. For instance, you may be able to lather each leg in one pass if you can almost reach around them.
    • Try using a scrubber or loofah with body wash already applied. This can be a great way to cover surface area.
    • Work symmetrically with both hands, lathering each side of your body at the same time. Lather each side of your chest and torso, under both arms, up both legs – all in tandem, with your hands spread out. This technique also works with lathering your hair quickly, as well as for drying off quickly.
  2. Exfoliate. If exfoliation is part of your daily routine, consider doing it in the shower so that it's easier to wash off the skin particles. This is not a way to shower more quickly, per se – but it may help you streamline your general morning routine.[7]
  3. Shave in the shower. You might need to look in the mirror to shave your face, but you can shave other parts of your body while the water streams around you. Try shaving your chest, your legs, or any other area that needs a touch-up. Lather up with lotion or shaving cream. Shave gently and methodically, and let the water wash away the loose hairs.
    • This works best for just a touch-up shave. If your body is very hairy, then you run the risk of clogging the shower drain.



Tips

  • Time yourself. Set a timer, or watch a clock, to see how long you are taking. Challenge yourself to improve by a few seconds each week.
  • Find something productive to do while you're letting conditioner soak into your hair. Brush your teeth, or shave your legs, or lather up with soap.
  • Wash your body when you have the conditioner settling in.
  • It helps if you have some sort of body brush, mesh pouf sponge, or washcloth. Squirt a little bit of the body wash onto it and rub it onto your body quickly. It rinses off easily. A sponge or pouf works better than a washcloth.
  • Use body wash rather than bar soap.
  • Use the same routines and motions every day.
  • Comb your hair with the conditioner still in your hair. Wash it out while still combing it so that it is less tangled.
  • Keep your shower items in one spot so that you can get them out more quickly.
  • Play upbeat music while showering. A quick, energetic tempo can help you keep a faster shower rhythm.
  • If you plan to use liquid body wash on your private area, make sure the label says that's okay.
  • Wrap your hair in a towel if you have long hair.
  • Use water that's very slightly colder than you like, to motivate you to finish faster. Water that is too warm may encourage you to move more slowly. If you're tired, you may find yourself just standing in the running water.
  • Time your showers, and try to get faster each time. It is good motivation. Play music, and set a limit to a short playlist of a few songs.
  • Use a two-in-one shampoo/conditioner. Put the shampoo/conditioner in your hair and some soap all over your body. Rinse all together, and you should be done in less than three minutes!
  • Make sure the shower or bath is not really hot because it can damage your hair and skin. It is basically burning yourself.

Warnings

  • Check the water temperature before hopping in.
  • A shower can be a source of a bad injury if you're in too much of a rush to realize that you've spilled soap on the shower floor. If you slip, fall, and hit your head, you may injure yourself in the fall.
  • Don't lock the door to the bathroom, if you fall, people can get to you without being locked out.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.medicaldaily.com/benefits-cold-showers-7-reasons-why-taking-cool-showers-good-your-health-289524
  2. ↑ http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/how-to-hack-your-morning.html
  3. ↑ http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-tips-for-taking-a-shorter-45267
  4. ↑ http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-take-the-worlds-most-efficient-shower
  5. ↑ http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/how-to/a4887/20-ways-to-get-ready-faster/
  6. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/beauty/shampoo/how-often-wash-hair
  7. ↑ http://womanitely.com/proven-ways-exfoliate-skin-properly/
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