Jason Momoa, The Rock and Jake Gyllenhaal: The Great Celebrity Bathing Debate

Once you catch a whiff, that’s biology’s way of letting you know you need to clean it up,” Dax’s wife Kristen Bell added on The View.

As the media began weighing in on the topic, so too did other celebs, like Jake Gyllenhaal, who told Vanity Fair, “More and more I find bathing to be less necessary, at times.”

“There’s a whole world of not bathing that is also really helpful for skin maintenance, and we naturally clean ourselves,” he added.

The came in the man himself, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who weighed in on Twitter, writing, “I’m the opposite of a ‘not washing themselves’ celeb. Shower (cold) when I roll outta bed to get my day rollin’. Shower (warm) after my workout before work. Shower (hot) after I get home from work.”

And now, Aquaman, the GOD OF THE SEA, Jason Momoa, has weighed in. “I’m not starting any trends. I shower, trust me,” Momoa told Access Hollywood.

“I’m Aquaman,” he added. “I’m in the fucking water. Don’t worry about it. I’m Hawaiian. We got saltwater on me. We good.”

So what’s the answer? How much should you actually be showering?

There is no magic number,” Dr Sasha Dhoat and Dr Adam Friedmann, consultant dermatologists at Stratum Clinics told Men’s Health.

“Washing frequency varies between individuals, is bespoke and depends on environment and activity level. If it’s hot and humid, you sweat a great deal or are hitting the gym, you may wish to shower every day. Days individuals don’t sweat a lot, or those who live in cooler, drier climates, washing alternate days or every third day may suffice.”

Since The Rock is “working out vigorously several times a day”, she says, he may “feel the need to wash more frequently”. With that said, washing too often, too long or too aggressively can damage the skin barrier function and jeopardise its ability to prevent infections – “which ironically may be the reason for washing in the first instance.”

“The better-for-your-skin approach would be to stick to showering once a day, but I understand The Rock’s bathing regime is led by his busy workout schedule,” adds Dr Friedmann. “In this case, he’s right to keep the temperature cooler rather than too hot, which removes moisture from your skin – sometimes leaving your skin feeling raw and exposed.

“It’s also worth keeping showers short, and using a gentle non-soap cleanser for the face and body,” Dr Friedmann continues. “Avoid ordinary soaps and shower gels, as these remove the natural oils from the skin,” – opt for cream-based products instead – and “pat the skin dry after, rather than vigorously towelling off.”

It’s also interesting to add, that with many people still choosing to work from home or at least spend a significantly fewer number of days at the office, a lot of people are saying even a daily shower seems unnecessary. As Maria Cramer writes in The New York Times, “The pandemic has upended the use of zippered pants and changed many people’s eating and drinking habits. And there are now indications that it has caused some Americans to become more spartan when it comes to ablutions.”

In a recent YouGov survey, The Guardian reports that 17 per cent of people in Britain abandoned daily showers during the pandemic, with parents even going so far as to say their teenagers were quick to do the same. People are now questioning if they need to shower, as well as if they even want to and at a time where environmental disasters plague the media, many are seeing this as an opportunity to be more conscious about their water usage and environmental footprint.

So there you go. You do you, boo.