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One month ago, YouTube creator Victory Marrie uploaded a 15-minute video titled “My Everything Shower Routine.” In it, she rattles off her long ritual, which includes lighting a candle, exfoliating twice, shaving, using a loofah to scrub herself down with three body washes, and ending with a feminine cleanser (a whole other issue, and please, avoid these). Another creator, Audrey Victoria, shared her everything shower routine on TikTok last month. Her first video, labeled “Part One,” already has 10 steps, which makes me wonder how many she can possibly lay out in “Part Two.”
The everything shower is not a new phenomenon. People have indulged in long, luxurious showers since the inception of indoor plumbing, but this particular term was born in very recent history. Google searches for it have grown steadily since January 2023, around the time it exploded on TikTok and turned into a full-blown trend, with videos showing off a heavily product-forward, commodified version of self-care. And while everyone has their own laborious process that leaves no crevice unscrubbed, everything showers all seem to have one thing in common: an exorbitant amount of time spent in the bathroom using an exorbitant amount of products. How have we arrived here, at a point where simple hygiene has mutated into a 10-plus-step event that requires almost as much time and energy as a HIIT workout? Is it capitalism? Overconsumption? Self-absorption? Whatever it is, if you ask me, it has to stop.
While your run-of-the-mill daily shower may consist of washing your body and maybe shampooing and conditioning your hair, the limit does not exist when it comes to the everything shower—just ask my fellow Allure editors. In 2024, a number of them detailed their routines in full, with their many steps happening before, during, and after the shower. The long menu of everything shower possibilities they listed includes dry brushing, hair brushing, facial cleansing, scalp oiling, exfoliating, shaving, applying hair masks, hair washing (often twice), deep conditioning, and detangling; then applying body oil or body lotion, using a gua sha, ice rolling, self-tanning, and sheet masking. In between all of this may be the time spent letting these products sink in or “marinate,” as they put it. The shower may also come with accoutrements, like luxurious candles, shower steamers, or eucalyptus leaves for an aromatic experience. Are you relaxed yet? I’m not.
While the everything shower is meant to be a moment of self-care, the longer the trend continues, the more it feels like an opportunity to consume as many products as possible in one sitting (or, well, standing). And with all due respect to my brilliant colleagues—love you guys!—should we really be extending our shower time when, in the world of ChatGPT, water usage is rising to concerning levels? In 2025, a team at Cornell University calculated that by 2030, AI data systems in the US could drain 731 to 1,125 million cubic meters of water per year, which is equivalent to the amount that approximately 10 million Americans use annually. And it’s not like water wasn’t in short supply before the robots. If you live in states with persistent droughts, such as California, Arizona, or Colorado, you may have experienced government-mandated limits on water usage.
Now, does the amount of water used in your beloved everything shower come anywhere near the water being used to cool massive AI data systems? No, not in the slightest, but every 20-minute shower does require around 40 gallons of water, and that’s not nothing. We should be able to have some grasp on our personal consumption, especially as Americans who, with less than 5% of the world’s population, consumed 16% of the world’s energy in 2022.
In that 2024 story, Allure’s senior editor Jesa Marie Calaor, called her everything shower a “sacred experience,” which she admitted clocked in at 45 minutes (minimum). She’s since changed her tune: “With the rising cost of everything, I’m not as indulgent as I used to be,” she admits. “My electric and water bills have been nuts, and these days, it’s less about doing ‘everything’ and more about doing whatever helps me decompress. Clean hair and shaved legs make me feel extra zen, but instead of going through body scrubs and pre-shampoo oiling, I just hop out and curl up with a good book.”
It’s not just my coworkers (well, some of them) and environmentalists who are with me. Dermatologists are also on my side. “From a skin health perspective, any shower consistently longer than 15 to 20 minutes can become excessive, especially if the water is hot,” says Minneapolis-based, board-certified dermatologist Jenny Liu. “Prolonged exposure strips the skin of its natural lipids and disrupts the barrier, which can lead to dryness, irritation, and flare-ups of conditions like eczema.” Ideally, a shower should last 5 to 10 minutes, and if the temperature is high enough to make your skin turn pink or red, it’s too hot. “Shower water should feel comfortably warm, not steamy or stinging,” says Dr. Liu.
Since I’m sure you’re dying to know, my own everything shower routine follows these steps: wash my hair (with a single shampoo and conditioner), exfoliate, shave, wash my body and face, and then, while my skin is still slightly damp, finish with a shower oil. This routine normally takes me 20 to 25 minutes, while my everyday, non-everything showers wrap up in just under 10 minutes.
Of course, how we go about our hygiene is cultural—people who live in hot, humid climates, for example, will bathe more than people who don’t, and for people who have curlier hair textures, washdays can be an entire process that comes with a lot of time in the shower.
Look, I’m all for hygiene and for taking quiet moments for yourself. Warm water pulsing over our bodies quiets our external senses and helps us turn inward. Maybe you’ll even have a steam-induced epiphany or two (there isn’t an entire sub-Reddit dedicated to “shower thoughts” for nothing). Showering can provide structure to our days and create a sense of purpose and normalcy, especially for people struggling with depression or other mental health challenges. I’m not here to tell you to quit your everything shower or to wash yourself less. In fact, please don’t! But, at the end of a long day, a perfect shower needs only a few things (which, let’s not forget, we are supremely lucky to have): warm water, effective products to wash our hair and skin, maybe a fresh razor, and 15 minutes. Max.
