How to Take a Speedy Shower: Tips for Saving Time & Water

Are you running late and still have to shower? A quick shower may be your best bet, but how can your shower quickly and efficiently? Speeding up your shower routine is a piece of cake, and only requires a little extra thinking. In this guide, we'll fill you in on all the quick shower secrets to help you scrub from head to toe in a matter of minutes.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Quick Shower Tips

  1. 1
    Take cold showers. If the water is cold, you may find that you're less inclined to wallow in the shower. Jump into the shower as soon as you turn it on, and try to keep the shower on for under two minutes. Beyond efficiency, cold showers can increase alertness, improve circulation, stimulate weight loss, ease stress, and speed muscle recovery.[1]
  2. 2
    Complete other tasks while the water heats up. If you don't want to jump right into a cold shower, turn on the water and complete other tasks while the water warms up. Depending on the efficiency of your water heater and the number of other people needing to use the shower, your system might heat up almost immediately, or it might take as long as a few minutes. Find a few quick tasks that you can complete while you're waiting.
    • Get undressed. Lay out your post-shower outfit. Quickly prepare anything else you might need for the day.
    • Take out your shower supplies. Prepare your shampoo, conditioner, soap, powder, deodorant, towel, and anything else that you'll need.
    • Brush your teeth while the water warms up. Once the water is warm, you can finish brushing your teeth in the shower. Spit out the toothpaste and wash your brush in the shower to save water and time.
  3. 3
    Time yourself. Consider setting an alarm for one, two, or three minutes, depending on how quick a shower you want to take. Train yourself to race against the clock. When the alarm goes off, get out of the shower, even if you aren't completely done. With the pressure on, you may find new ways to optimize your routine. Challenge yourself to speed up your showers by at least a few seconds every week.[2]
  4. 4
    Try the "navy shower."[3] Use the first thirty seconds to get yourself wet. Then, turn off the water during the middle portion of the shower while you lather up with soap. Finally, turn the water back on to rinse off in a minute or less. This is a great way to save water and energy, and it might well spur you to take shorter showers.[4]
Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Washing Your Hair

  1. 1
    Be efficient with shampoo and conditioner. Squeeze a dollop of shampoo onto your hand, then quickly and thoroughly mix it into your hair. Let it sit for thirty seconds while you wash your body or perform another shower task. Then, wash the shampoo out while you squeeze a bit of conditioner into your palm. Run the conditioner through your hair, then let it sit for up to a minute as you shave, exfoliate, or perform another shower task. Wash the conditioner of your hair and get out of the shower.
  2. Image titled Shower Quickly Step 6
    2
    Wash your hair with a 2-in-1 shampoo conditioner. Look for a cleansing conditioner product that contains a 1:3 ratio of shampoo to conditioner. This way, you can clean your hair while you condition it. It may be easier to shower quickly if you don't need to take the time to apply and rinse out two separate hair-care products.[5]
  3. Image titled Shower Quickly Step 7
    3
    Use high water pressure to wet your hair quickly. Long or thick hair may take more time to wash than shorter cuts. If your shower has a nozzle with adjustable water pressure, turn on a jet stream so the water sprays harder. The more quickly your hair gets wet, the more quickly you can wash it.
  4. Image titled Shower Quickly Step 8
    4
    Consider not washing your hair. If you're in a hurry, try foregoing the shampoo and conditioner for the day. Get your hair wet, but don't use any time-consuming hair products. You do not need to shampoo your hair every day.[6]
    • If you're feeling dirty, but you're in an extreme rush, consider leaving your hair dry altogether. Use a shower cap to keep the moisture out, or simply hold your hair out of the shower stream.
Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Caring for Your Body

  1. Image titled Shower Quickly Step 9
    1
    Lather soap efficiently. Squeeze a dollop of soap onto your hand, and spread your palm and fingers as wide as possible. Use your outstretched hand to quickly and efficiently cover the maximum surface area of your body. You may be surprised how much area your hands can cover when they're fully spread out. For instance, you may be able to lather each leg in one pass if you can almost reach around them.
    • Try using a scrubber or loofah with body wash already applied. This can be a great way to cover surface area.
    • Work symmetrically with both hands, lathering each side of your body at the same time. Lather each side of your chest and torso, under both arms, up both legs – all in tandem, with your hands spread out. This technique also works with lathering your hair quickly, as well as for drying off quickly.
  2. Image titled Shower Quickly Step 10
    2
    Exfoliate. If exfoliation is part of your daily routine, consider doing it in the shower so that it's easier to wash off the skin particles. This is not a way to shower more quickly, per se – but it may help you streamline your general morning routine.[7]
  3. Image titled Shower Quickly Step 11
    3
    Shave in the shower. You might need to look in the mirror to shave your face, but you can shave other parts of your body while the water streams around you. Try shaving your chest, your legs, or any other area that needs a touch-up. Lather up with lotion or shaving cream. Shave gently and methodically, and let the water wash away the loose hairs.
    • This works best for just a touch-up shave. If your body is very hairy, then you run the risk of clogging the shower drain.

Community Q&A

  • Question
    Is showering mandatory?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Showering is not required by law. However, you should use a shower or a bath to keep yourself clean. You are more prone to sickness and other bad things such as acne if you don't.
  • Question
    I always seem to get distracted in the water. How can I prevent this?
    xXThatRandomChicXx
    xXThatRandomChicXx
    Community Answer
    Use a timer, like a kitchen timer or one on your phone. Set it to go off a few minutes apart, leaving you just enough time in between to get stuff done.
  • Question
    How can I wash my face with face wash quickly and effectively while also needing to wash 2 foot long and thick hair?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Put the 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner in your hair, then leave it in while you wash your face. Then rinse everything off at once.

Warnings

  • Check the water temperature before hopping in.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
  • A shower can be a source of a bad injury if you're in too much of a rush to realize that you've spilled soap on the shower floor. If you slip, fall, and hit your head, you may injure yourself in the fall.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
  • Don't lock the door to the bathroom, if you fall, people can get to you without being locked out.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.medicaldaily.com/benefits-cold-showers-7-reasons-why-taking-cool-showers-good-your-health-289524
  2. ↑ http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/how-to-hack-your-morning.html
  3. ↑ http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-tips-for-taking-a-shorter-45267
  4. ↑ http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-take-the-worlds-most-efficient-shower
  5. ↑ http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/how-to/a4887/20-ways-to-get-ready-faster/
  6. ↑ http://www.webmd.com/beauty/shampoo/how-often-wash-hair
  7. ↑ http://womanitely.com/proven-ways-exfoliate-skin-properly/

About This Article

wikiHow Staff
Co-authored by:
wikiHow Staff
wikiHow Staff Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff. Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 455,246 times.
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Co-authors: 106
Updated: November 3, 2022
Views: 455,246
Categories: Showering
Article SummaryX

To shower quickly, take cold showers so you're more eager to get them over with. You can also try the navy shower method, where you hop in the shower for 30 seconds, turn the water off and lather up with soap, and then turn it back on and rinse off for 60 seconds. If you know how short you want your showers to be, set a timer and race to finish showering before it goes off. To learn how to quickly wash your hair so your showers are shorter, scroll down!

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