Shower Temperature

In the winter i like it very hot, and i reduce the flow so i can have nice long showers without fear of running out of hot water, it also helps to warm the room so i don't have a heart attack when leaving the shower.
In the summer i have it warm, on the hottest days i might have it cool but not cold.
I live in the south west of England so the temperature varies between average 2-8°c in winter and 23-26°c in the summer.

The absolute threshold of Too Hot. Bathe in Cleansing Fire.

I have never been able to take an actual cold shower. gimme it

I hate saunas, hot tubs, and any situation in which being hot is a requirement. It baffles me that people are into that.

Ideal shower temp for me is just warm enough that I'm not shivering.

I used to be a hot shower person. Now I take lukewarm or cold ones. It's only the first like 5 or so seconds that is a bit of a shock with a cold shower, but after that it's okay, and it wakes you up much much more effectively. It also helps me not take too much time. If I take a hot shower, then I'm likely to stay in there for like 15-20 minutes sometimes. If it's cold, then I want to get the hell out of there as soon as possible. No stalling.

Its changes with the season. In winter i will let it be as hot as the water heater is set, sometimes no cold water running at all. In the summer i will keep it at body temp or a little lower and cool off, only on hot days do i really have it set where i would consider it cold.

I try to wash off the shame but they just don't make water hot enough!

@farleyslundgren: I’m at the point where long cold showers are fine. Refreshing as hell!

I always like to start it off hot and then turn it down a bit through. I tried cold showers for a month or so and both are fine if you get used to them.

I like to start off warm and work my way up to hot as my body adjusts to the temperature. Sometimes I do like it near-scalding, backing off just enough to where it doesn't hurt.

If I just got done working out or if I'm super hot, I will take a cold-ish shower. I usually don't make it really cold unless I feel like I'm going to die from heat exhaustion.

Warm, then hot. My water heater has the capacity of a thimble so it all generally devolves into an ice cold shower after the first few moments of bliss.

What, nothing in-between luke-warm and skin-melting? How about pleasantly sweltering?

There's definitely such a thing as "too hot", but "skin-melting" is closer to acceptable than lukewarm. Lukewarm is almost worse than ice cold.

Warm, unless it's a super hot day or post exercise, then it might be cool. I used to love a hot shower but then realised I was just setting off the sweaty mess switch in my body and ruining all the good work the shower has just done.

I brush my teeth in the shower rather than take a beer in. Thought this was perfectly normal until moving in with my partner who thinks it's the habit of a lunatic.

I start it out nice and lukewarm and gradually build it up to hot. Not stupid hot. Not like my wife. God damn if I get in the shower after her and don't remember to turn it down first it's like an inferno how do women do that?

Scalding. I can't do anything less than hot, even post working outside in summer weather all day.

Never ice cold. I tried that for a while, realised it was doing nothing and then decided to start enjoying life.

To quote a recent study on the subject:

The findings indicate contrast water therapy and contrast showers did not accelerate physical recovery in elite netballers after a netball specific circuit; however, the psychological benefit from both interventions should be considered when determining the suitability of these recovery interventions in team sport.

- Influence of contrast shower and water immersion on recovery in elite netballers. J Strength Cond Res. 2014 Aug;28(8):2353-8.

Luke warm

Warm

Very warm

Hot ---------------------------------------------------------------->

Prickly hot

Scaldinlinly hot

Only psychotics and Cosmo Kramer take cold showers.

Hottish. Not trying to come out looking like a lobster, but it's gotta be hot enough to get a good steam going, too. Comfortably hot, I guess.

As cold as it goes, nothing wakes me up like a freezing cold shower and heat doesn't agree with me generally. I don't feel uncomfortable from cold until it gets to about -10C but 30C weather is absolutely insufferable to me.

Turn up the hot all the way with just a slight bit of cold. So not "burn my skin off" hot, but pretty close.

Hot. Boil. Melt.

Then, cause Florida is already a warm state, gradually drop it down.

I've definitely exited the shower sweating before. Gotta cool off a little bit.

It depends! In the morning I take a quick hot shower using shampoo for everything, for a quick clean before school or whatever I’m doing that day. Then when I get home I like to rinse off and really scrub good with cool but not cold water (is that lukewarm? I dunno!). But if I swam that day then I like to take a really hot shower to thaw out! Either that or I like to take a hot bath =)

@rahf: I came to the same conclusion. After taking hot showers my entire life, I switched to freezing cold for quite a while. I recently switched back, and am finally enjoying them again.

For a brief moment at the end, I still go full blast cold on my head and face. That is usually enough to wake me up without taking an ice cold shower.

@someoneproud: It just feels more refreshing. The warm water feels...not dirty, but less cleansing. I’ve gotten accustomed to it.

I’ve also noticed my co-workers all wash their hands in hot water at work. I crank that shit to the right an wash ‘em cold.

@nutter: This feels so backwards.

How can one clean anything in cold water, let alone yourself.

@nutter: I love the feeling of a cold shower, gets me clean and invigorates me. Room temp does nothing for me and I just can't enjoy it when it's really hot. I took warm showers until I was about 15 but after a couple of cold ones I was thoroughly converted.

I do enjoy a good hot-spring when circumstances allow but I suspect I'd get more out of some sort of cold spring(?), if they're a thing? Liking a cold shower also comes in handy if I'm stuck somewhere without hot water, it's been real nice not having to think/worry about it.

Hot all the way, even during the last hurricane when we lost power for a week and the house was in the 90s the entire week, cold showers were still miserable.

@efesell: Balls, grit, determination.

@someoneproud: Yeah, it makes washing in the wild, or cleaning with stowed water at sea easier, never mind a power outage or something.

Not having to squirm around because it’s too cold is pretty liberating.

I live on a tiny island where the humidity is such that it feels like it is higher than 100% yet never rains. At one point in my life, I was of the "as close to burning me as possible" crowd, but anymore, if I take a hot shower where I live I am sweating by the time I'm done drying off. I now prefer lukewarm, although lukewarm leaning towards cold. So I guess, best descriptor, would be "cool" showers. I think as I get older I just run too hot to take hot showers anymore.

Hot as hell. But if I go actually use my muscles, moving heavy furniture or some such, then that shower needs to be ice cold.

Warmish. I used to go for as hot as possible, but I've been having issues with dry skin that hot showers make 100x worse. I've also cut my shower time in half.

If I was running out in the heat or something I'll sometimes go for a cold shower to help cool off, but that's rare.

I wouldn't say skin-melting hot, but I want that shit hot. I want to know I'm killing all the things that are on me.

I take a shower every day (twice if I work; once before, then after) but considering that's not actually good for your skin, and the hot temperature is terrible for your skin (if your skin turns red, it's too hot) then I just do slightly above lukewarm. I've done cold, and while you feel good once you're out of the shower, and skin feels less itchy if you have itchy skin, I can't keep up with it. You also risk getting hypothermia depending on how long you shower in cold water as well as even heart attack if you're not used to the cold water since as you gasp for air your heartbeat becomes irregular. It's not for everyone but it does have its benefits. It's recommended that if you like to do cold showers, do a lukewarm one for the most part, and then the last 30 seconds to a minute of the shower you turn it to cold.

Also, I stopped using soap aside from in my armpits and groin. I sometimes don't even get in there, and sometimes, though rarely use shampoo. It just depends on how much I sweat/stink. I've never had dandruff which I'm pretty sure has to do with the everyday showers. I only take a shower every day because I hate bed head and dried up sweat which can't be fully fixed with just a rag and water. I used to take showers as a way to relax, but now I just try to get myself clean and get out. I don't want to waste water and an excess of water is bad for the skin; I try to shoot for about five minutes but it's a little more and sometimes a little less depending on my activity level or what I choose to do in there, like shampooing. Coincidentally, just a few hours ago I was seeing whether there was a shower temperature gauge so I can get it just right.

I prefer using handheld showerheads so you can get every. single. part. I think it's interesting though that people think hot showers are better than cold when it comes to getting bacteria off. If anything, the hot shower strips you of the good bacteria you have as well, but really to kill more bacteria from a hot shower than a cold or lukewarm one, you'd have to have water that burns your skin. Water temperature for bacteria on your skin doesn't matter, what matters is the soap you use (or lack of soap). Also, there's a misunderstanding about soap. Using in excess can ruin the skin since it'll take the natural oils off your skin and make your skin dry. While I don't really do cold showers, I do splash my face and hair with cold water after I shave. I don't get zits on my face really, but cold water on my shaved skin helps make it so I don't get ingrown hairs. If I used hot/warm water only, I might get them and that's annoying.

TL;DR: If you plan on putting soap all over your body, you have to do research to find the right one because many just aren't good for your skin. Hot water isn't good for your skin.

Wanna take a real firm stance on no matter what temperature please always use soap.

@efesell: Good Christ, Man! I hope this goes without saying!

On the topic of shower tips, and I’m sure someone will tell me this is actually terrible (because everything somehow is), I love these scrub cloths:

https://www.amazon.com/Salux-Nylon-Japanese-Beauty-Yellow/dp/B007IAE5WY/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=asian+scrub+cloth&qid=1566763726&s=gateway&sr=8-2

My wife bought us some a few years back, and they do a great job. I’d imagine those seeking to purify their filth in the scalding waters of hell would also appreciate the way these things scrub your skin like sandpaper. They’re actually not that rough, I love ‘em!

@nutter: I've been thinking of buying a couple of those. I've seen people recommending them more than once. I think my skin is pretty sensitive, though, so I need something that gives a light scrubbing. I currently use natural loofahs, but I've found them to be too rough on my skin, so I recently ordered some regular washcloths to use instead.

Luke warm just about all the time. In winter, but a bit warmer, but in summer, I usually like it just not cold to the skin. Never really steaming hot. If I can be a little less terrible to the environment as a human, I will try. Same thing with only taking a 5 minute shower.

I'm a hot shower guy, also I like hot showers, lol

@bonelessspirit: If you want to scrub with reckless abandon and really put your skin through some shit, these will do it. You can do a full shammy routine and just really get everything easily.

You can also go lightly and bunch it up with some body wash and it’s basically like a loofah.

Lukewarm. I only mess with hot water in hot tubs. Cold water is fine on a blistering hot summer day in the south though.l

Lukewarm is the best for your skin and for keeping cool. Cold showers will actually heat you up.