Today’s shower thought: Showering’s kind of annoying, isn’t it?

Now, I’m not just saying that because I’m a guy and therefore have a primal instinct to avoid hygiene, but who wants to shower every day? Is it necessary?

Dermatologists seem to agree.

“It doesn’t matter what time of year it is—your entire body does not need to be washed daily,” says Rachel Nazarian, MD, board-certified dermatologist with Schweiger Dermatology. If you think it’s a controversial opinion, Dr. Nazarian is backed by colleague and fellow dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD, who says “you’re fine to skip a shower day or two.”

Before you give up on bars of soap entirely, remember that you still need to tend to the extra pungent parts of your body, if you’d like to keep things like friends and social interactions around. “All you need to do is clean the smelly parts,” says Dr. Gohara simply.

These are the usual suspects: Your pits, groin, and feet, which Dr. Nazarian says harbor more bacteria than other areas.

“I recommend those areas be washed daily with a gentle cleanser since they’re really the primary areas that should be considered ‘dirty,'” she says.

Pro dermatologist tip: Washing your hair is hitting two birds with one stone, as it works double for cleaning your body, too.

Related: This is How to Shower, Say Dermatologists

“Shampoo will actually wash the rest of your body passively—there’s no need to take soap and specifically wash your arms, your legs, or your trunk,” says Dr. Nazarian. Adding more soap will actually remove natural oils from your skin and dry it out.

Now you may be wondering: What if I do a sweaty workout, though?

“Working out or going to the gym doesn’t actually change this,” says Dr. Nazarian. “Sweating doesn’t make you dirty.”

So as long as you stick to cleaning those three stinky areas regularly, you can start saving on that water bill and on that toiletries bill.

And in conclusion, showering is overrated – don’t @ me.

Photo Credit: Dmitry Tkachev/Shutterstock.com; Grigvovan/Shutterstock.com