The Rock Showers Three Times a Day. Should You?
A-list shower routines have been the talk of the internet for the last few weeks. The discourse started with Ashton Kutcher, who said he uses soap and water on his “armpits and crotch daily” but “nothing else ever” on Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert.
“I’m a big fan of waiting for the stink,” Kristen Bell said shortly after, speaking on chat show The View. Then Jake Gyllenhaal weighed in, telling Vanity Fair, “More and more I find bathing to be less necessary, at times.”
Just as we were beginning to view Hollywood’s red carpet elite as serial soap-dodgers, Johnson revealed his daily shower routine on Twitter. It turns out you’re highly unlikely to smell what The Rock is cooking, because the man takes three showers a day.
After a fan tweeted that he “can’t possibly be one of those stinky” stars, DJ replied: “Nope, 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. Face wash, body wash, exfoliate and I sing (off key) in the shower.”
Nope, 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.
Face wash, body wash, exfoliate and I sing (off key) in the shower 🧼 🎶 https://t.co/iE6ZPhrthL— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 7, 2021
If a triple-shower routine sounds extreme, it’s worth remembering that DJ doesn’t operate like regular mortals. When a Twitter user replied saying, “This is... weirder than not showering?”, he justified his routine: “Nothing weird about this, my friend. I workout twice a day and then I go to work for 12+ hours. I shower 3xs. Easy to understand.”
If anything, Johnson has got his daily routine down to a fine art. To find out whether his is a regimen we should all aspire to – or whether Gyllenhaal et al. are more on the money – we quizzed Dr Sasha Dhoat and Dr Adam Friedmann, consultant dermatologists at Stratum Clinics, about DJ’s three-shower approach. “There is no magic number,” Dr Dhoat told us.
“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.”
The real-world takeaway? Unless you’re hitting your very own Iron Paradise twice a day with a monster workout, you don’t need to wash up as frequently as DJ. And if you are, get acquainted with the cold tap.
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