Millennial Hygiene Habits Boomers Just Don't Understand

It's no secret there's a massive generational divide among baby boomers and millennials — and it seems that the gap is only getting wider. Alas, now it appears 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 in different times," Jennie Bristow, a reader in sociology at Canterbury Christ Church University in the United Kingdom, told Reader's Digest in 2025.

While there's plenty of outdated boomer hygiene advice millennials can't stand, like their reckless abandon for proper food storage practices, their willy-nilly handwashing routines, and even their love of bar soap, there are also a lot of millennial hygiene habits that boomers simply don't understand, either. Let's get into it, shall we?  

Much to many baby boomers' dismay, millennials are reaching for all-natural antiperspirants free of aluminum and parabens, and sometimes (gasp) even nothing at all. According to a 2019 study by YouGov, many millennials are actually more likely to forego wearing deodorant or antiperspirant altogether, citing that only 69% of Americans between the ages of 25 to 34 apply either one. 

This millennial hygiene habit may stem from unfounded claims that antiperspirants cause cancer. "To date, there's absolutely no evidence that breast cancer is caused by exposure to anything in antiperspirants or deodorants, full stop," Dr. Harold Burstein, a breast oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told the New York Times in 2021. 

Boomers also appear to be confused about millennial women foregoing their razors and learning to embrace their body hair. In boomers' defense, the idea that women should be completely hairless was basically ingrained in them from the very get-go. The practice of shaving legs and underarms first became mainstream in the 1940s, after the Gillette company started desperately trying to market their products to women, even taking out ads in lifestyle magazines, painting the picture that female body hair was an embarrassing problem and something that needed to be remedied. 

These days, however, many millennials are pushing back on the idea that their natural body hair is something that needs to be maintained, and the practice of shaving legs and underarms is slowly becoming a thing of the past. According to a study conducted by Mintel, the percentage of women who shave their underarm hair has dropped from 95% in 2013 to 77% in 2020 (via The Telegraph).

Top sheet? Never heard of her. According to a 2019 study conducted by Casper, 67% of Americans ages 55 and up are sticklers for a top sheet — the sheet that serves as a barrier between you and your comforter and, theoretically speaking, saves you from having to wash that bulky comforter weekly. Much to the chagrin of the boomers, however, many millennials aren't a fan of the top sheet and have ditched them altogether: Only 26% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 said that a top sheet is a non-negotiable. Additionally, 18% of those polled stated they were "strongly against" the use of a top sheet. "I simply refuse to use a top sheet because I think they're so annoying," 26-year-old Jesse Lynn Harte told the Wall Street Journal in 2022.

As it turns out, many millennials are also ditching paper napkins as well, opting to use paper towels for everything, including wiping their mouths at the dinner table. According to a 2016 survey by Mintel (via The Washington Post), only 56% of the consumers surveyed copped to buying paper napkins in the past six months. Conversely, a whopping 86% said they purchased paper towels. "Millennials do not buy napkins. That's what paper towels are for," one user proudly declared on X in response to the generational discourse. 

According to Dan Nirenberg, the marketing director for the napkin department at Georgia-Pacific, a pulp and paper company, back in the 1950s, paper napkins were a staple in many American households. "This was mainly for convenience," Nirenberg told the Post. "Back then, paper was an affordable luxury, and having disposable napkins saved time."

Buckle up, boomers: As it turns out, millennials aren't on the same level of consistency when it comes to cleaning their kitchens and bathrooms frequently. (Unfortunately, not cleaning your shower affects your health more than you think, as they are breeding grounds for a plethora of bacteria.) According to a survey conducted by Vyv Tech, while 94% and 89% of baby boomers noted that they cleaned their kitchens and bathrooms weekly (respectively), only 82% and 74% of millennials reported the same.

But don't just take their word for it. "My mom mopped multiple times a day. I struggle to mop and sweep even weekly," one Reddit user declared on a thread titled, "Things about your home you don't care about as much as previous generations?" Cue the "Back in my day..." 

Waste not, want not? We would be remiss not to touch on the environmental hygiene of it all, aka boomers' tendency to store anything and everything away for a rainy day, including food past their expiration dates (but that's a story for a different day). Suffice to say, boomers are simply aghast at the way millennials love throwing things out all in the name of decluttering and minimalism; think popular organizational and lifestyle brands like The Home Edit and Marie Kondo's KonMari Method for decluttering. "Best I can tell, they don't care anymore, which is fine," 72-year-old Steve Johnson told Business Insider about his adult children's less-than-enthusiastic sentiments about taking on his lifetime's worth of stuff he stowed away in his basement. "I feel bad about that, honestly, just trashing stuff," Johnson lamented.