The Economics of the Everything Shower

You know the drill, once a week  — typically on Sunday  — you trudge towards your bathroom and begin the arduous process known as ‘the everything shower’. For most, the everything shower includes: washing your hair, using a hair mask, exfoliating, shaving, using body wash, and, an amalgamation of post-shower skincare rituals. Unsurprisingly, this is typically a custom that is most prominent among women. There are countless articles by well-known publications — Vogue, Allure, Harper’s Bazaar, Women’s Health, and BuzzFeed — detailing step-by-step instructions, in addition to a slew of products necessary to purchase for the ritual.

So why are women taking everything showers? Perhaps it is because of the burdensome  — and ever-present  — weight of patriarchal, societal beauty expectations placed upon our shoulders. Hookup culture further amplifies this pressure, framing the everything shower as a prerequisite for desirability. We are expected to be hairless, smooth, glistening, and delectable, whilst most men don’t even bother to wash their behinds. Even whilst galavanting around in public, most women feel the need to have a complete absence of body hair. A CNN article titled, “Why women feel pressure to shave”, touches on this notion, “Hair removal – or otherwise – has long shaped gender dynamics, served as a signifier of class and defined notions of femininity and the “ideal body””. Beauty standards aside, women have also been fed the belief that an everything shower is equivalent to self-care.

In the 1950s, self-care originally referred to the “activities patients and their families could perform to promote their health and well-being separate from the care of medical professionals” (Vox). A few decades later, the Black Panthers promoted self-care as an act of political resistance, and prioritizing the well-being of the community as opposed to the mere individual. Now, self-care basically means cancelling plans, and watching Netflix whilst doing your ten-step skincare routine. As of 2024, the beauty industry is worth a staggering $570 billion (Forbes), and the wellness industry is worth an insane $6.3 trillion (Bloomingdale). Clearly this weekly everything shower benefits these greedy capitalist tycoons, more than it does you. 

So what does true self-care look like? Well, it can manifest in many different forms. Setting boundaries is a form of self-care. So is being compassionate with yourself, as well as working towards radical self-acceptance. Exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet, staying hydrated, enjoying the sunlight, and getting plenty of sleep are — although very cliché — also fantastic examples of self-care. Implementing these things, little by little, will enhance your life substantially more than a two-hour-long shower. Most importantly though, self-care isn’t solely about the self, it’s about working with others towards the betterment of the larger community. To quote Angie Jaime, “I must remember my sense of self has always been, and needs to remain, plural” (Vice).  

Works Cited:

Anbouba, Margaux. “I Have Mastered the ‘Everything Shower.’” Vogue, Vogue, 16 Nov. 2023, www.vogue.com/article/everything-shower. 

Buontempo, Fabiana. “I Love My Weekly ‘Everything Shower.’ Here’s What the Viral Trend Is All About.” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 5 Apr. 2024, www.buzzfeed.com/fabianabuontempo/everything-shower-explainer. 

Benveniste, Alexis. “Yes, There Is a Correct Order for Everything You Do in the Shower.” Allure, 27 Feb. 2023, www.allure.com/story/tiktok-everything-shower-order. 

Cerini, Marianna. “Why Women Feel Pressured to Shave.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 

Mar. 2020, www.cnn.com/style/article/why-women-feel-pressured-to-shave/index.html. 

Donahue, Anne T. “Self-Care Can’t Be Bought.” The Globe and Mail, The Globe and Mail, 29 

May 2023, www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article-self-care-cant-be-bought/. 

“Here’s a Step-by-Step Guide to Having an Everything Shower.” Harper Bazar, 30 Jan. 2024,

www.harpersbazaar.in/beauty/story/heres-a-step-by-step-guide-to-having-an-everything-shower-796412-2024-01-30.

Jaime, Angie, et al. “True Self-Care Is Not about You.” VICE, 9 Aug. 2024, 

www.vice.com/en/article/true-self-care-is-not-about-you/. 

Kestenbaum, Richard. “The Beauty Business Keeps Growing but It’s Missing a Huge 

Opportunity.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 28 June 2024, www.forbes.com/sites/richardkestenbaum/2024/06/27/the-beauty-business-keeps-growing-but-its-missing-a-huge-opportunity/. 

Lee, Bruce Y. “The ‘everything Shower’ Has Been Trending on TikTok, Here’s What It Is.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 25 Sept. 2023, www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/09/23/the-everything-shower-has-been-trending-on-tiktok-heres-what-it-is/. 

Rappaport, Sarah. “Global Wellness Industry Is Now Worth $6.3 Trillion.”

Bloomberg.Com, Bloomberg, 5 Nov. 2024, www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-05/global-wellness-industry-is-now-worth-6-3-trillion?embedded-checkout=true. 

Volpe, Allie. “How the Self-Care Industry Made Us so Lonely.” Vox, 3 June 2024,
www.vox.com/even-better/350424/self-care-isolation-loneliness-epidemic. 

Weiner, Zoe. “How an ‘Everything Shower’ Helped Heal My Relationship with My Body.” Women’s Health, 14 May 2024, www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/a60684133/everything-shower-body-positivity/. 

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