Some days, you simply need to get the job done. Other days, take a cue from TikTok users and make time for the "everything shower."
Take one glance at the hashtag #everythingshower on TikTok (which has racked up more than 173 million views) and you'll see so many different ways that people are cleaning up. Unlike the standard lather, rinse and repeat, the everything shower is a time to do, well, everything.
Shampooing, deep conditioning, cleansing, toning, exfoliating, shaving, moisturizing — the sky (and your hot water supply) is the limit.
What exactly is an everything shower?
“An everything shower is kind of like the ultimate self-care shower where you are deep cleaning every part of yourself,” Nicole, 32, a Los Angeles-based content creator who goes by @dope_kitchen on TikTok, tells TODAY.com.
In other words, it's a “step above” a normal shower.
“I am literally doing everything to my body from washing every crevice with my favorite soap to shaving every part of my body that I choose to shave, and doing my best hair treatments from washing my hair twice, adding conditioner, and usually a deep conditioning treatment.”
Karleigh Corridon, 28, agrees that this type of shower means going “the extra mile.”
“You exfoliate, you take self tanner, everything in between,” Corridon tells TODAY.com. “It’s definitely a big undertaking, but then after you’re like, ‘Oh, I feel so much better. I feel so clean.'”
How to take an everything shower
Everything shower rituals vary from person to person. The routine may begin with some pre-shower prep, such as applying a hair mask, a face mask and even teeth whitening strips. There may also be soothing candles or music in the mix.
Then comes the actual shower, which could involve several steps of skin cleansing, loofah scrubbing, dry brushing, and multiple rounds of shampoo and conditioner.
Corridon says she loves the water to be “boiling hot” as she shampoos her hair, washes her face, exfoliates, shaves, and uses conditioner.
“It feels so good,” she said. “It opens up your pores.”
After the shower, people might indulge in some all-over body moisturizing, as well as hair drying and applying makeup.
For many, everything showers are a chance to reset mentally and physically, or to “scrub every single inch of your body and just feel new again,” as influencer and podcast host Anastazia Dupee put it in a recent TikTok video.
In the video, Dupee shows fans the steps of her “spring reset day” routine, which starts with a hair mask and ends with a post-shower blow-dry and some light makeup, as well as chia seed pudding and a refreshing drink to keep her energy up.
“I love everything showers but honestly they take so long, and they should be considered an Olympic sport,” she said in her video.
That said, everything showers take time and patience.
TikTok user Faith Glenn revealed that her everything shower routine, which included rounds of scrubbing, moisturizing, exfoliating and face rolling, took two hours.
But TikTok user Belicia takes things one step — and many hours — further.
“There is a reason why us ladies do this only once a month, because it is literally a day process,” she says in a recent video.
Her routine, which include a salicylic hair mask, scalp massage and hyaluronic acid facial treatment, begins before she even steps foot in the shower.
And while it's a lot of work, the overall experience is quite cathartic.
“It just feels euphoric,” Corridon says. “You feel so clean and then you also feel so relaxed at the same time, exhausted.”
What experts think
There’s no denying the muscle-relaxing benefits that can come from standing under a stream of hot water.
However, from a skincare perspective, there are some things to consider before embarking on a marathon cleaning routine.
Showering for long periods of time can severely dry out the skin, says Dr. Cameron Rokhsar, a board-certified dermatologist, and founder of the New York Cosmetic, Skin and Laser Surgery Center.
“We know for a fact that hot water dries out your skin … and extremely hot water is even worse,” he tells TODAY.com. “The longer you stay in the shower, the drier your skin becomes.”
He recommends staying in the shower for no more than 15 minutes at a time — but if you’re going to take a longer shower, it’s crucial to follow up with a thick moisturizer over the entire body.
Rokhsar recommends gently drying your skin so it’s still damp, then applying a moisturizer that contains petrolatum or ceramides, which will “replenish the skin barrier.”
He cautions that long, hot showers can be especially damaging for people with certain skin conditions.
“If you have a history of eczema or psoriasis, it’s probably going to make your eczema and psoriasis worse,” he says.
Dr. Lindsey Zubritsky, a board-certified dermatologist at the Premier Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, recently shared some tips on TikTok for “the right way” to take an everything shower.
In her video, she warns against leaving conditioner in your hair during a long shower routine because the “conditioner can sit on your skin, clog your pores, and lead to back and chest acne.”
Zubritsky also recommends exfoliating before shaving to “reduce the risk of irritation and razor bumps.”
While it’s important to protect your skin, Rokhsar acknowledges the mental health benefits that can come from a long shower.
“I understand that getting in a long, hot shower has therapeutic mental effects for people,” he says. “I can certainly appreciate that, and I can’t argue with that aspect.”
The flip side: the ‘nothing shower’
Not everyone has the time, patience or stamina for an everything shower. Enter the opposite: a shower where you run hot water — and that's about it.
The point of the nothing shower isn’t to get clean, but simply to zone out, meditate, or maybe even have a good cry in the privacy of your steamy bathroom.
“We all know about everything showers but I’m all about nothing showers. Turn on the water, sit down in the tub and wash absolutely nothing,” TikTok user @alexandra.r.simpson writes.
“Excellent for migraine management, muffling sobs and hiding from responsibilities,” she adds. “Will I be clean after? No. Will I take a proper shower after? Probably not, since I already used all the hot water.”
Arguably, though, the two shower types reap the same benefit: You come away feeling emotionally cleansed. In many ways, they're an act of self-love. "It’s part of an entire self-care routine so I just feel very pampered and I’m showing myself some love in the process," Nicole adds.
Sometimes, her shower inspires a night of pampering. "When I’m just feeling really euphoric and very pampered, I just like to do some other self-care tasks, whether it’s reading a book or journaling or watching my favorite movie."
