10 Ways to Make Personal Hygiene More Accessible

Photo by mk. s on Unsplash

You don’t need me to tell you that societal expectations for hygiene, beauty, and wellness are unrealistic. They’re often ableist and really meant for wealthy people with lots of time and energy.

Honestly, even the not-so-rich and still-really-busy people have unreasonably high expectations for how to take care of yourself every day, usually in the time you wake up before leaving your house for the day.

Not all of us are able to do everything expected in a row first thing in the morning. It’s just not possible. Some of us can’t do certain tasks at all without help. I certainly can’t.

So here’s a list of ways I’ve made taking care of my personal hygiene more accessible. Maybe some of these will help you too, or at least give you ideas for how to tailor your life to your own needs.

Just so you know, you will see some links in here. They’re actually not affiliate links. Everything listed is something either I, or someone I know, has found useful. I hope you can find something that helps you too!

1. Take care of your energy first!
   Need morning meds? Take them first. Food, water, caffeine, etc. make sure you’re full, medicated, and energized before trying to do anything else. We want to set ourselves up for success! So make sure you feel the best you can before moving on to other things
2. Break tasks up throughout the day
   If you’re fortunate enough to be working or taking classes from home right now, then you really have no reason why you must do all your hygiene tasks first. Use those tasks as a way to break up your work throughout the day. Sign in, take care of some work tasks, then go brush your teeth. Brush your hair at your desk if you need to sit and listen/watch for a bit. Put your deodorant on when you run to take a bathroom break. There’s no rule about timing for most of these tasks, so don’t try to force one. Just do it when it works for you so you can take breaks in between.
3. Use chairs/stools
   Getting a comfy stool for my bathroom changed my life. I had been having the hardest time for months getting up the strength to brush teeth, put on deodorant, wash my face, and do my hair in the mornings. It was awful. I thought it was all the tasks themselves that wore me out, but then I realized it was just the prolonged standing. Now, even on my iffy days, I can get through most of those tasks without hurting myself because I get to sit through the whole process. 10/10 would recommend.
   I also added a chair at the front door with a basket full of things to get my kid ready in the mornings. Everything is at hand and the chair fits my kid in front of me so we can both be comfortable while getting them ready.
   Basically, any spot you would usually stand in for more than a few seconds should get a chair or stool. Including in the shower. You might not use them every day, but you’ll be so grateful for it on the days you need it.
4. Change up how you bathe
   For starters- I don’t take showers anymore. I only take baths. Mostly because I can’t fit a chair in my shower, so this allows me to sit for the whole process. It also makes it easier to keep my hair dry on non-wash days.
   To keep from wearing yourself out in the tub, there are a few things you can do to make it gentler. One thing I started doing was using a bath cup instead of constantly laying back then sitting up over and over again. It made my baths much less exhausting!
   Much like with the morning routine steps, you can also spread bath steps across multiple baths! This mostly applies to shaving in my experience. If you like to shave your legs, you can do just different parts on different days. One day do the calves, the next day do the thighs, etc. But there’s also a helpful tool if it’s still hard to reach your legs! Did you know you can buy razor extension handles? I was so excited when I got mine! I missed being able to shave my own legs and this gave me a little bit of my independence back.
   There’s also scalp brushes — they don’t work well in my hair because I have too much. But this is a good tool for scrubbing your head if lathering in shampoo is hard for you. I also hear it feels nice. Again, I wouldn’t know because my hair is too thick. lol
   Sometimes even getting in the tub is going to be too much though. This is when sponge baths come in. Wash cloth, actual sponge, whatever. Use the sink and clean up the essentials to stay feeling fresh even when you don’t have a lot of energy.
5. Get outside help for washing
   Something I just learned a few months ago is that Great Clips charges $10 for a hair wash and you don’t have to make an appointment, just check in online when you’re on the way. I’d never really been to a Great Clips before, again, because I have a lot of hair. So Great Clips was never the kind of place I could go to get haircuts. I initially asked around at salons for help but couldn’t get a quote below $35 for a wash because they expected a whole styling. Thankfully, someone on Twitter gave me the suggestion and now I go in twice a week! They know me by name now and have all my stuff ready for me by the time I come in at this point. And honestly, my hair has never looked better. I’ve spent years trying to figure out how to make my hair look nice consistently and these ladies just got it down no problem. I should have been going to them for help way sooner!
6. Stock up on underwear
   You can wear the same pants for a few days in a row, but don’t do that to yourself with underwear if you can avoid it. Turning them backwards and inside out isn’t the way either. I know laundry is hard to get done. So keep at least 2 weeks worth of underwear stocked up at a time. Honestly, you know yourself. However many days it usually takes you to get to your laundry, that’s the minimum number of pairs of underwear you need. Having a clean pair for every day even when you’re struggling to take care of yourself is absolutely worth it. It keeps you fresh smelling, prevents rashes and such, and it’s a manageable way to make yourself feel more ready for the day ahead.
7. Save your joints
   It’s 2022. We have mitigated the need to manually do so many things. It’s time to take advantage of these options!
   Electric toothbrush — I keep meaning to get myself one. Holding my brush tight enough to get a decent scrubbing in hurts lately. Pretty sure this upgrade will be worth it
   Electric face scrubber — I got one recently by Conair. My skin feels icky more often than not, and this has been the only product that has ever made me feel fresh when I was done. It’s made me like washing my face better than I did before which is a big help in overcoming my executive dysfunction. Absolutely worth it.
   Continuous spray bottle — I water down leave-in conditioner in this bottle as a daily detangler. It takes a lot of spray to get my hair even moist, and the squeeze triggers were killing my hands. This bottle has helped so much.
8. Disposable toothbrushes
   Colgate has these nifty things that have the toothpaste built in and don’t require rinsing. I kept them in my cars for years when I was in college or working multiple jobs so I could freshen up between shifts. They’re also great for when you slip up and forget to brush your teeth until you’ve already left the house (guilty). Obviously, not a great solution to use for the daily morning routine. But they’re fantastic in a pinch.
9. Create setups that work for you
   I briefly mentioned this earlier, but I keep a chair near the front door with essential items to get my kid ready. This includes their hairbrush, hair spray, hair bands, socks, shoes, masks, and jackets. I keep my makeup in a bag on the floor near my work desk and my mirror in the bottom drawer of said desk. There are also upstairs and downstairs stashes of supplies like brushes, hair bands, toothpastes, deodorant, etc.
   Don’t set up your space in ways that you think “normal” people would set up theirs. Keep your stuff where you’re most comfortable using it. If you like doing your makeup at the dining table, make a spot to store it near there instead of in your bathroom. If you’re constantly forgetting items you need each day because their “proper” places are all over the house, condense them all into one spot. This seriously makes getting ready smoother and the clean up afterwards easier.
10. Checklists!
    Frankly, this last option is hit or miss depending on how your brain works. I thrive off of checklists, my husband feels like they’re tools of oppression. So, you know, you do you.
    For my fellow checklist lovers- having a daily checklist of selfcare gets that dopamine flowing before your day even starts. I can get at least 10 things accomplished on my list just by taking care of myself. And dang does that feel good! I personally use Todoist because I can set them to repeat as often as needed, it’s easy to reschedule when I miss stuff, and it rewards me with pretty colors. Yes, I am very motivated by pretty colors.

So the short version — do what works for you. Don’t expect to get to every single thing every single day. Be gentle on yourself regardless of what you’ve gotten done. Remember, personal hygiene is for your sake. Don’t let others dictate how that process should look.