Currently somewhere the hot water only lasts a few minutes? Looking to be more efficient with your time in the morning? Or maybe you’re trying to do your part and conserve more water by showering less. Developing a routine that gets you in and out of the shower might seem impossible, but there are methods that get the whole task done swiftly, so you have more time for other things.
Here is everything you need to know to shower quickly:
Get The Right Temperature
How do you know when you’ve found the perfect water temperature? That depends. If you live in a region where the outdoor air is chilly, warmer showers will be more preferable. If you have a health condition, such as high blood pressure, it might be better to avoid a very hot shower. Figure out which temperature—hot or cold—is right for you by considering your showering goals.
Benefits of Cold Showers
- Improved clarity and awareness
- Improved circulation, decreased inflammation
- Better hair and skin
- Promotes muscle recovery
- Can easily turn on the shower, hop in, and hop out
Benefits of Hot Showers
- Kills bacteria and helps you get clean
- Soothes sore muscles
- Relaxation before bed
- Warms up a cold body
With a hot shower or bath, you’re going to have to wait for the water heater to do its magic. Rather than wasting time while the water warms, it’s recommended that you knock out a couple other tasks, such as brushing your teeth, getting undressed, picking out your outfit, starting your skincare routine, and so on.
If the thought of choosing either cold or hot doesn’t suit you, try a contrast shower. If you’re aiming for a 5-10 minute shower, you can start with one temperature (preferably cool) and then switch back and forth during the course of your shower. This will get your blood pumping.
Arrange Everything You Need
Before you even step into the shower, do yourself a favor and set yourself up for quick shower success. Decide what you’re going to do in the shower regularly. Do you plan on shaving, brushing your teeth, and scrubbing down all the time? Then you’re going to need those things ready.
Line up your razor, loofah, shampoo and conditioner bottles, and everything else you need right where you can see them. Bonus points if you arrange them by importance. The more quickly you reach these objects, the faster you can move in the shower.
One great way to do this is to purchase a shower caddy. Make sure the organizer is large enough to accommodate your soap, razors, bottles, and whatnot. The caddy should be made of rust-proof materials and not weigh too much.
It’s also recommended that you purchase a timer. Some showers might come with timers already installed, while other people might find that using a timer on their phone will suffice. Either way, having a designated allotment will help you stay focused. Soon, you’ll get used to showering quickly, so you’ll be able to finish quickly without a countdown.
Want to get even more out of your shower in the morning? Build a 10- to 15-minute playlist. Just don’t start an impromptu dance party and lose track of time. You can bop along to the beat, but you still have to scrub.
One more thing! You might want to bring a bucket into the shower with you to collect some of the water for rinsing off, shaving, or simply water the outdoor plants on hot days. Hello, water conservation.
Try The Navy Shower Technique
Did you know that while a normal shower can use around 60 gallons of water on average, the Navy Shower technique consumes about 11 gallons. Imagine the savings! Obviously, this showering technique was developed by the Navy, where, despite being surrounded by water, fresh water is in short supply. If you want to save a little money on your water bill and make your shower an eco-friendly place, try this out.
The first thing you want to do is measure your water’s flow rate. Grab a 1 gallon bucket and monitor how long it takes for the bucket to fill. If the 1 gallon bucket fills within a minute, you can assume that a 15 minute shower is going to use 15 gallons of water.
Note that the typical flow rate of a US shower is around 4 gallons per minute. You can then estimate how much water you use per shower by taking the flow rate you just calculated and multiplying it by the time it takes for you to shower in the morning.
How to Take a Navy Shower
- Wet your hair and body. Saturate a washcloth so you have something to rinse with later. Get yourself completely wet then turn off the shower.
- While the shower is off, grab a sponge, washcloth, loofah, or just your hands and lather up. Firmly scrub yourself.
- Rinse off the soap and shampoo as quickly as possible. The goal is to rinse off completely within 30 seconds.
- If you need to use a conditioner or shave your legs, use the same method. Wet the region of your body, turn the water off, do your task, and then turn the water on to rinse.
Don’t worry if you can’t wash everything off within 30 seconds right away. Depending on the size of your shower, your body, limitations, and other factors, you probably won’t be moving as fast as a marine or Navy Seal. Just try to stick to the 30-second rule as much as you can. In time, you’ll get used to the Navy Shower technique and move more efficiently.
Use a High Pressure Shower Head
Do you have an outdated shower head that drips and doesn’t have enough water pressure? That’s infuriating, isn’t it? When the water doesn’t flow right, it can seem like you take forever to get clean. For women (and men) with luxuriously long locks or a lot of body hair, this can be problematic, because you can rinse the shampoo, conditioner, or soap out fast enough to get in and out within 15 minutes.
As mentioned earlier, set yourself up for success. The best investment you will make outside of a convenient shower caddy is a high-pressure eco-friendly shower head. You’ll be amazed how much faster you can move in the shower when you have an efficient high pressure shower head.
Why is a high pressure shower head such a boon? Aside from increasing the pressure of the water flow, most shower heads come with various settings to make your short shower much more relaxing and therapeutic.
How To Quickly Wash Your Hair
Whether you have long hair or a short cut, you can save time washing your hair with two simple steps.
First, get yourself a 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner. Doing so will give you the same benefits as using both products separately while saving you the time it takes to rinse and lather twice. Look for products that have a 1:3 ratio between shampoo and conditioner. If you can’t find any from a brand you like, you can always make your own by using the aforementioned ratio.
Next, wash your hair the right way. Here’s the steps to get the best results:
- Soak your hair thoroughly
- Squeeze out some product and massage your shampoo or 2-in-1 into your roots
- Rinse out your hair with water
- (If using conditioner: Add conditioner to the lower ends of your hair. Avoid the roots. Rinse).
Your hair won’t need shampooing and conditioning every single day. Usually, you can wash your hair once or twice a week to keep it healthy and clean. If you’re running low on time, you can skip this part of your shower.
Use In-Shower Lotion or Body Wash
Yes, adding another step while your in the shower might seem counter-intuitive to this whole “time-saving” thing, but it’s actually a beneficial step. Moisturizing during or after you shower is one of the best ways to prevent itchiness and dryness throughout the day. This is especially important if you take showers daily, since this can wash the natural oils from your skin, exacerbating any skin conditions you might have.
Some products are a 2-in-1 body wash and moisturizer that you can use while suds up during your shower, so you don’t have to worry about adding lotion while toweling off. It’s a win-win for you. No more dry skin and time saved!
Or, you know, you could streamline your shower even further with an all-in-one shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. While these are more aimed towards men, there’s no reason women can’t bank on this marvelous concoction either.
Some examples include:
- NIVEA Men Sensitive 3-in-1 Body Wash
- American Crew All-in-One Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash
- 18.21 Man Made 3-in-1 Body Wash, Shampoo, and Conditioner
- Alaffia Authentic African Black Soap All-in-One Body Wash, Shampoo, and Shaving Soap
- Irish Spring 5-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner
- Everyone 3-in-1 Soap: Shampoo, Body Wash, Bubble Bath, and Shampoo
Lather Efficiently
Let’s briefly talk about how important it is that you work up a decent lather. Having a good amount of cleansing foam available means you can scrub down more of your body before needing to get more water and soap to continue.
Ideally, you want to have something—a sponge, loofah, scrubber—that can suck up some of the body wash or soap to create a lather. Then scrub your entire body from head to toe. If you’re using your hands, keep your fingers outstretched to cover more surface area. When you lather up either way, you’ll be able to wash down much faster.
Shave Gently
Previously, you may have showered and shaved at the same time. Sorry, ladies and gents. Not only is that a waste of a rich, protective lather, but you’re also wasting water. You want to have your limbs or face wet, fill a cup or go to your bucket of water, turn off the shower, lather up the shaving gel or soap, and then soak the razor in the cup or bucket. You can return to the cup or bucket every time you need to rinse off the stubble from the blades.
For the ladies, this might seem weird, but men do this all the time when they shave their beards outside of the shower.
Once your cheeks, arms, legs, or wherever else you shave is nice and hairless, give your body a rinse off. And with that, you’re more or less done in the shower.
Showering Quickly, Worth it Or Not?
Hopefully, you now know how to shower quickly. Showers keep us healthy and clean, remove stress, and help with recovery. However, taking too long a shower isn’t good for either the skin or the environment. Showering quickly gives you (and the environment) all the benefits.
Remember, don’t bathe in dangerously hot water, and be sure to clean and sanitize your shower and shower head often, since those places can harbor bacteria.
