It’s no secret that there’s a huge generation gap between baby boomers and millennials — and the gap seems to be growing. Unfortunately, it now seems that even personal hygiene habits have become the subject of many heated debates between the two generations. “There are always cultural differences between generations, because people grow up at different times,” said Jenny Bristow, a reader in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. Readers’ summary In 2025.
While there are a lot of Outdated hygiene advice that millennials can’t affordlike their reckless abandonment of proper food storage practices, their willy-nilly hand-washing routines, and even their love of bar soap, there are also a lot of millennial hygiene habits that baby boomers don’t understand either. Let’s get into it, shall we?
Boomers don’t buy the scary, if unfounded, claims about deodorant and antiperspirant
Much to the dismay of many baby boomers, millennials are turning to all-natural, aluminum- and paraben-free antiperspirants, and sometimes (gasp) even none at all. According to a 2019 study by YouGovIn fact, many Millennials are likely to forgo using deodorant or antiperspirant altogether, noting that only 69% of Americans ages 25 to 34 use either.
This millennial hygiene habit may stem from unsubstantiated claims that antiperspirants cause cancer. “So far, there is absolutely no evidence that breast cancer is caused by exposure to anything in antiperspirants or deodorants,” said Dr. Harold Boorstin, a breast oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. New York Times In 2021.
Boomers aren’t as ready to embrace their body hair as millennials
Boomers also seem confused about millennial women ditching razors and learning to embrace their body hair. In defense of the baby boomers, the idea of women being completely hair-free was ingrained in them from the beginning. The practice of shaving legs and armpits first became mainstream in the 1940s, after Gillette began a desperate attempt to market its products to women, even taking out ads in lifestyle magazines, painting a picture that female body hair was an embarrassing problem and something that needed to be addressed.
However, these days, many millennials are falling back on the idea that natural body hair is something that needs to be maintained, and the practice of shaving their legs and armpits is slowly becoming a thing of the past. According to a study conducted by Mintel, the percentage of women who shave their armpit hair decreased from 95% in 2013 to 77% in 2020 (via Telegraph).
Baby boomers are forever loyal to their front page, unlike millennials
Top sheet? I’ve never heard of it. According to a study conducted in 2019 by Casper67% of Americans ages 55 and older stick with a top sheet — the sheet that acts as a barrier between you and your comforter and, in theory, saves you from having to wash that bulky comforter weekly. However, to the dismay of boomers, many Millennials are not fans of the upper tier and have abandoned it entirely: Only 26% of Americans ages 18 to 34 said the upper tier is non-negotiable. In addition, 18% of those surveyed stated that they were “strongly opposed” to the use of a top sheet. “I simply refuse to use a top sheet because I think it’s too annoying,” said 26-year-old Jesse Lynn Hart. Wall Street Journal In 2022.
Millennials don’t spend as much money on tissues as boomers
As it turns out, many millennials are also ditching the napkins, choosing to use paper towels for everything, including wiping their mouths at the dinner table. According to a 2016 Mintel survey (via Washington Post)Only 56% of consumers surveyed used to buy paper napkins in the past six months. Conversely, 86% said they had purchased paper towels. “Millennials don’t buy paper towels. That’s what paper towels are for,” one user proudly declared. X In response to the generational letter.
According to Dan Nierenberg, marketing manager for the tissue division of Georgia Pacific, a pulp and paper company, in the 1950s, tissue paper was a staple in many American households. “This was primarily for convenience,” Nirenberg told the newspaper. “At the time, paper was an affordable luxury, and having disposable tissues saved time.”
Millennials don’t clean their bathrooms and kitchens as much as baby boomers do
Get ready, boomers: As it turns out, millennials aren’t quite as consistent when it comes to cleaning their kitchens and bathrooms frequently. (Unfortunately, Not cleaning your showerhead affects your health more than you thinkbecause it is a breeding ground for a large number of bacteria.) According to a survey he conducted Development technologyWhile 94% and 89% of Baby Boomers indicated that they cleaned their kitchens and bathrooms weekly (respectively), only 82% and 74% of Millennials reported doing so.
But don’t take their word for it. “My mom mops it multiple times a day. I struggle with mopping and vacuuming even weekly,” one Reddit user said. Announce In a topic titled “Things about your home that you don’t care about as much as previous generations did?” Cue “Back in my day…”
Boomers don’t like the declining trend
Waste no, don’t you want? We’d be remiss if we didn’t touch on the eco-cleanliness of it all, also known as Baby Boomers’ tendency to store anything and everything away for a rainy day, including… Foods that are past their expiration date (But that’s a story for a different day). Suffice it to say that Boomers are simply aghast at the way Millennials like to throw away everything in the name of organization and simplicity; Think popular organizational and lifestyle brands like The Home Edit and Marie Kondo’s KonMari method for decluttering. “The best I can say is they don’t care anymore, which is good,” said 72-year-old Steve Johnson. Business insider About his adult children’s less-than-enthusiastic feelings about seizing the items he had stored in his basement his entire life. “Honestly, I feel bad about it, just smashing things,” Johnson lamented.
